Natsuki Uchiyama (内山 奈月, Uchiyama Natsuki; born 25 September 1995) is a Japanese copywriter and former idol. She is a…Natsuki Uchiyama (内山 奈月, Uchiyama Natsuki; born 25 September 1995) is a Japanese copywriter and former idol. She is a former member of the Japanese idol girl group AKB48, where she was part of Team B.
Takuya Kawamura (Japanese: 河村拓哉, Hepburn: Kawamura Takuya; December 20, 1993) is a Japanese quiz player, writer…Takuya Kawamura (Japanese: 河村拓哉, Hepburn: Kawamura Takuya; December 20, 1993) is a Japanese quiz player, writer, television personality and member of the YouTube and media group QuizKnock.
Akiko (亜希子; born 18 August 1989, in Chiba Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese actress, singer, and former member of the…Akiko (亜希子; born 18 August 1989, in Chiba Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese actress, singer, and former member of the female idol group SDN48. Her real name is Akiko Oki (大木 亜紀子, Ōki Akiko). Her hobby is reading. Her skills are writing, playing basketball, long-distance running, and cooking. Akiko's twin sister is Natsuko.
Ryūki Kajita (梶田 隆基, Kajita Ryūki; born October 14, 1987), known professionally as Mafia Kajita (マフィア 梶田), is a…Ryūki Kajita (梶田 隆基, Kajita Ryūki; born October 14, 1987), known professionally as Mafia Kajita (マフィア 梶田), is a Japanese writer, radio personality, actor, and voice actor. Kajita is a writer and radio personality for the Japanese gaming news website 4gamer.
Takayoshi Ohmura (Japanese: 大村孝佳, Hepburn: Ōmura Takayoshi; born 26 December 1983) is a Japanese musician and…Takayoshi Ohmura (Japanese: 大村孝佳, Hepburn: Ōmura Takayoshi; born 26 December 1983) is a Japanese musician and songwriter. In 2004, he released the album Nowhere to Go, which included contributions from Richie Kotzen, Mark Boals, and Doogie White. In 2005, Ohmura formed the band Cross Hard and issued the album Eclipse from East. In 2006, along with Cross Hard's bassist, Kaoru, he formed Gloria, releasing the albums MOTIF (2008) and Acrobatic Road (2009). Between 2015 and 2016, he was a member of Uroboros.
Carolina Ceca FRSA (born August 25, 1979) is a Spanish artist, art historian and art writer based in Tokyo, Japan. She…Carolina Ceca FRSA (born August 25, 1979) is a Spanish artist, art historian and art writer based in Tokyo, Japan. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts. Her art has been presented in group and solo exhibitions throughout Europe and Japan. She has been featured on TV, radio, newspapers and magazines. Ceca has a degree in Art History from the University of Salamanca in Spain, where she completed her postgraduate studies on Contemporary Art. Also, she commenced a degree in Fine Arts and Asian studies before travelling to Japan in 2005 to conduct several fields of research at Ferris University, Yokohama. Between 2005 and 2010, she worked and resided in Japan, Spain, Morocco and Italy. In 2011, after the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, she returned to Tokyo, where she spends most of her time creating her artworks, writing, giving lectures and conducting seminars. In her artworks, she uses numerous types of natural materials, including ashes, Japanese washi paper and organdy. Ceca has confirmed that she was deeply influenced by Dondoro (Japanese performer) during her first year in Japan, also by the Japanese dance movement Ankoku Butoh.
Mineko Nomachi (能町みね子, Nōmachi Mineko; born March 17, 1979) is a Japanese essayist, columnist, illustrator, and radio…Mineko Nomachi (能町みね子, Nōmachi Mineko; born March 17, 1979) is a Japanese essayist, columnist, illustrator, and radio and television personality. She is best known for her blog I'm Queer but I'm an Office Lady (オカマだけどOLやってます。, O-kama dakedo OL yattemasu), which was published as a book by Bungeishunjū in 2006, and for multiple radio and television programs co-hosted with writer Mitsurou Kubo. Her name is a pen name derived from a combination of the names of her paternal and maternal grandmothers.
Aki Miyashita (みやしたあき, Miyashita Aki; born May 18, 1977) is a Japanese professional wrestler better known as Danshoku…Aki Miyashita (みやしたあき, Miyashita Aki; born May 18, 1977) is a Japanese professional wrestler better known as Danshoku Dino (男色ディーノ, Danshoku Dīno; lit. "Homosexual Dino", also transliterated as Danshoku Dieno). Miyashita has spent most of his career competing for DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT), where he plays an overly exaggerated homosexual character. His ring name comes from the character of Baron Dino (男爵ディーノ, Danshaku Dīno) from the manga series Sakigake!! Otokojuku and his gimmick itself is based on openly bisexual Japanese wrestler Men's Teioh.
Kunichi Nomura (野村 訓市, Nomura Kun'ichi; born April 10, 1974) is a Japanese writer, actor, radio personality, book…Kunichi Nomura (野村 訓市, Nomura Kun'ichi; born April 10, 1974) is a Japanese writer, actor, radio personality, book editor, interior designer, creative director, and DJ from Tokyo, Japan.
Yoshihisa "Kowloon" Kurosawa (黒沢 喜久, Kurosawa Yoshihisa) (born 1971) is a Japanese businessman, essayist, and…Yoshihisa "Kowloon" Kurosawa (黒沢 喜久, Kurosawa Yoshihisa) (born 1971) is a Japanese businessman, essayist, and nonfiction writer from Tokyo, Japan. He is best known for being the designer of Hong Kong 97 on the Super Famicom, which is considered to be one of the worst video games ever made. Currently, he writes underground travel journals and computer books in Asia, and resides in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Hirohito Ōta (太田宏人, ōta hirohito; April 1, 1970 – 2018) was a Japanese freelance writer and Zen monk. Hirohito was a…Hirohito Ōta (太田宏人, ōta hirohito; April 1, 1970 – 2018) was a Japanese freelance writer and Zen monk. Hirohito was a researcher of Japanese graves and missionary history in South America with a focus on Peru. He was the Japanese editor for the Japanese-language Peru newspaper Peru Shinpō. He graduated from Kokugakuin University with a degree in Shintō studies. He was devoted to the study of Suika Shintō, a branch of Shintō developed by Yamazaki Ansai, religious sociality, and the religious activities of Lafcadio Hearn. Many of his articles dealt with Japanese Peruvians, Japanese Buddhism, and Peruvians in Japan.
Satoshi Utsunomiya (born 1969) is a Japanese fossil collector and science writer. He is an external researcher at the…Satoshi Utsunomiya (born 1969) is a Japanese fossil collector and science writer. He is an external researcher at the Osaka Museum of Natural History. He is known as the "Salaryman Fossil Hunter". The plesiosaur (also known as Satsuma-utsunomiya-ryu) was named after the old regional name of the discovery site and the discoverer, Satoshi Utsunomiya. His other discoveries include a spinosaurid tooth fossil and remains of a giant mosasaur.
Martin Fackler (born November 16, 1966) is an American journalist and author. He has worked for more than two decades…Martin Fackler (born November 16, 1966) is an American journalist and author. He has worked for more than two decades as a foreign correspondent in Japan and China, including six years as Tokyo bureau chief for The New York Times. In 2012, his team was named as finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting for its investigative coverage of the March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. He has written or co-written eleven books in Japanese, including the best-seller Credibility Lost: The Crisis in Japanese Newspaper Journalism After Fukushima (Futabasha, 2012).
Shō Aikawa (會川 昇, Aikawa Shō; born Noboru Aikawa (会川 昇, Aikawa Noboru) on August 9, 1965) is a Japanese screenwriter.…Shō Aikawa (會川 昇, Aikawa Shō; born Noboru Aikawa (会川 昇, Aikawa Noboru) on August 9, 1965) is a Japanese screenwriter. Active in various fields (and credited through various pseudonyms) since he was 17 years old, the most popular works he has helmed have been in anime and tokusatsu: Dangaioh, Ultraman: Towards the Future, Martian Successor Nadesico, Love Hina, The Twelve Kingdoms, Fullmetal Alchemist, Kamen Rider Blade, GoGo Sentai Boukenger, Kamen Rider Decade and Concrete Revolutio. Most of his anime work has been in adaptations which, when he is the main writer, feature significant deviations from the source materials' trajectory. Among those based on original concepts, 7 titles were conceived, wholly or partly, by him; he also had one manga he had written adapted to animation.
Atsushi Hachisu (蜂巣 敦, Hachisu Atsushi) (born 1963 in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese non-fiction writer for…Atsushi Hachisu (蜂巣 敦, Hachisu Atsushi) (born 1963 in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese non-fiction writer for murders and a critic for manga. He dropped out of Waseda University. He writes books about Japanese serial or spree killers such as Tsutomu Miyazaki, Sataro Fukiage and Mutsuo Toi. In March 1993, Hachisu released Devilman Ron (デビルマン論, Debiruman Ron; "Dissertation of Devilman") with the support of Go Nagai, the author of the manga Devilman. The book covered not the anime adaption of the Devilman but the original manga by Go Nagai. On November 30, 2000, he released the book "Kyosen no Ikikata" Jissen Manual: Daredemo Dekiru Semi Retire. His 2003 book Satsujin Genba o Aruku became a subject of reviews such as NHK's Shūkan Book Review and Yomiuri Shimbun.
Maha Harada (原田 マハ, Harada Maha; born 1962) is a Japanese writer and filmmaker. She has won the Japan Love Story Grand…Maha Harada (原田 マハ, Harada Maha; born 1962) is a Japanese writer and filmmaker. She has won the Japan Love Story Grand Prize, the Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize, and the Nitta Jiro Literature Prize, she has been nominated multiple times for the Naoki Prize, and several of her novels have been adapted for film and television.
Masahiko Katsuya (勝谷 誠彦, Katsuya Masahiko) (6 December 1960 – 28 November 2018) was a Japanese journalist, columnist…Masahiko Katsuya (勝谷 誠彦, Katsuya Masahiko) (6 December 1960 – 28 November 2018) was a Japanese journalist, columnist, television commentator, photographer and author. After graduating from Waseda University, he joined the publishing company Bungeishunjū in 1985 and worked as a reporter and desk editor for publications including Shūkan Bunshun, Bungeishunjū and Marco Polo. His reporting assignments included the Cambodian Civil War and the Gulf War. Katsuya left Bungeishunjū in 1996 and subsequently worked independently as a columnist, writer and television personality. He appeared regularly on Japanese television programmes including Yajiuma Plus, Sukkiri!! and Takajin no Sokomade Itte Iinkai, and later hosted the Sun Television talk programme Katsuyama Sahiko Show. In 2017, he unsuccessfully stood as an independent candidate in the 2017 Hyōgo gubernatorial election.
Minoru Kawasaki (河崎実), born 15 August 1958, is a Japanese filmmaker, best known for low-budget parody films featuring…Minoru Kawasaki (河崎実), born 15 August 1958, is a Japanese filmmaker, best known for low-budget parody films featuring surreal humour and traditional practical effects. Kawasaki began his career with mostly self-financed work, including the Den-Ace short films, featuring a parody of kyodai-style Japanese superheroes, before working on Tsuburaya Production's Ultraman Tiga (1996-1997). He had his first hit with The Calamari Wrestler (2004), about a wrestler who inexplicably becomes a giant squid. He followed this up with Executive Koala (2005), about an anthropomorphic koala salaryman who may or may not have murdered his wife, and Kabuto-O Beetle (also 2005), another wrestling-themed movie, this time with a giant stag beetle. In 2006, he released The World Sinks Except Japan, a spoof of Shinji Higuchi's remake of Japan Sinks, and Crab Goalkeeper (also 2006), a film Kawasaki describes as being his Forrest Gump (1994). Kawasaki has also directed 2008's Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit, a sequel to the 1967 Shochiku kaiju film The X from Outer Space. While the original, made during the height of Japan's "Kaiju Boom" (1966–1967), is "played straight", the sequel is another parody. Kawasaki has since directed two more kaiju films: Kaiju Mono (2016) and Monster Seafood Wars (2020).
Masahiro Yamada (山田 昌弘, Yamada Masahiro; born November 30, 1957) is a Japanese sociologist known for coining popular…Masahiro Yamada (山田 昌弘, Yamada Masahiro; born November 30, 1957) is a Japanese sociologist known for coining popular sociological terms like parasite singles and gap-widening society (格差社会, kakusa shakai). A graduate of University of Tokyo, he now teaches at Tokyo Gakugei University as professor.
Shigesato Itoi (糸井 重里, Itoi Shigesato; born November 10, 1948) is a Japanese copywriter, essayist, lyricist, game…Shigesato Itoi (糸井 重里, Itoi Shigesato; born November 10, 1948) is a Japanese copywriter, essayist, lyricist, game designer, and actor. Itoi is the editor-in-chief of his website and company Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun ("Almost Daily Itoi Newspaper") where he is currently the chairman and CEO. He is best known outside Japan for his work on Nintendo's Mother series of games, a series in which he co-owns with the game company, as well as his self-titled bass fishing video game.
Jun Maki (眞木 準, Maki Jun; October 20, 1948, in Aichi Prefecture – June 22, 2009) was a Japanese copywriter. A 1971…Jun Maki (眞木 準, Maki Jun; October 20, 1948, in Aichi Prefecture – June 22, 2009) was a Japanese copywriter. A 1971 graduate of Keio University, he formerly worked for Hakuhodo, Japan's second largest advertising agency. He died on June 22, 2009, of a myocardial infarction. He was 60 years old.
Kazuko Koike (小池一子, Koike Kazuko; born 1936) is a creative director born in Tokyo. She graduated from the School of…Kazuko Koike (小池一子, Koike Kazuko; born 1936) is a creative director born in Tokyo. She graduated from the School of Arts, Letters and Sciences, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan. She is member of the Advisory Board for Muji (“Mujirushi Ryōhin”) since its founding and Professor Emeritus at Musashino Art University in Tokyo. She is the founder and president of Kitchen Inc., an all-women studio that planned and produced design-related projects (since 1976). She is founder and president of Sagacho Exhibit Space, an alternative space for arts in Saga, Koto-ku, Tokyo (1983–2000). She is editor and author of books including Issey Miyake, East Meets West (Heibonsha, 1978); Kukan no Aura (Aura of Space) (Hakusuisha, 1993); Fashion: Fashion as a Form of Polyhedron (Musashino Art University Press, 2004); Japanese Coloring (Libro, 1981); and Japan Design (Libro, 1984). Major awards include the 1985 Mainichi Design Prize and the 1995 Japan Award for the Promotion of Art and Culture. In September 2012, she curated the exhibition "Ikko Tanaka and Future/Past/East/West of Design" at 21_21 Design Sight in Tokyo. In March 2022, her works will be displayed in an exhibition, "Alternative! Kazuko Koike Exhibition -- Soft-Power Movement of Art & Design".
Fujio Ishihara (石原藤夫, Ishihara Fujio; born in Tokyo in 1933) is a former professor of electronics at Tamagawa…Fujio Ishihara (石原藤夫, Ishihara Fujio; born in Tokyo in 1933) is a former professor of electronics at Tamagawa University, and a Japanese science fiction author. He graduated Waseda University with a degree in electronics. He made his science fiction debut in 1965. During the 1970s and 1980s he has been an active hard SF advocate. In the first half of the 1980s, he coined the term "Kōseiki Sekai" (光世紀世界, Light Century Universe), defined as the sphere with a diameter of 100 light years (within 50 light years radius from the Sun). He also edited Kōseiki Seihyō (光世紀星表, Light Century Catalogue), the star catalogue of Light Century Universe (738 stars had been known at the time, include the Sun). Also he is known for bibliographies of Japanese science fiction. He received the Seiun Award best non-fiction book in 1985 for Kōseiki no Sekai, and Nihon SF Taisho Award special award in 1991 for his bibliography works.
Yasunaga Hajime (安永 一; December 3, 1901 – February 2, 1994) was the strongest and most famous amateur Go player of the…Yasunaga Hajime (安永 一; December 3, 1901 – February 2, 1994) was the strongest and most famous amateur Go player of the 20th century in Japan. As a professional Go journalist, author and editor, and long-time undisputed strongest amateur player in Japan, Yasunaga was personally acquainted with most of the strong Japanese professional players from the 1920s to the 1980s.
Kentaro Takekuma (竹熊 健太郎, Takekuma Kentarō) is a Japanese manga artist. He is one of the authors of Even a Monkey Can…Kentaro Takekuma (竹熊 健太郎, Takekuma Kentarō) is a Japanese manga artist. He is one of the authors of Even a Monkey Can Draw Manga. He is also the story writer of Super Mario Adventures.