Katsunori Takahashi (高橋 克法, Takahashi Katsunori; born 7 December 1957) is a Japanese politician of the Liberal…Katsunori Takahashi (高橋 克法, Takahashi Katsunori; born 7 December 1957) is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, who serves as a member of the House of Councillors.
Hiroshi Mori (森 博嗣, Mori Hiroshi; born December 7, 1957) is a Japanese writer and engineer. He is known for writing…Hiroshi Mori (森 博嗣, Mori Hiroshi; born December 7, 1957) is a Japanese writer and engineer. He is known for writing mystery novels – particularly his debut work The Perfect Insider, which won him the first Mephisto Prize in 1996 – but he considers himself to be a researcher as well as a craftsman. He writes his name as "MORI Hiroshi," family name first and uppercased, regardless of the language when romanized.
Hōō Tomomichi, born Tomomichi Kabetani (7 December 1956 – 16 January 2013) was a sumo wrestler from Gamagōri, Aichi…Hōō Tomomichi, born Tomomichi Kabetani (7 December 1956 – 16 January 2013) was a sumo wrestler from Gamagōri, Aichi, Japan. He made his professional debut in September 1971, and reached the top division in July 1979. His highest rank was sekiwake. He is the only sekiwake since the six-tournaments-a-year schedule began in 1958 to never win a sanshō or special prize. He was one of the few wrestlers to face both Takanohana Kenshi and his son Takanohana Kōji, having fought the latter in the makushita division towards the end of his career. He left the sumo world upon retirement in May 1990. He died of heart disease in 2013.
Ichiro Furutachi (古舘 伊知郎, Furutachi Ichirō; born December 7, 1954) is a Japanese announcer, tarento, television…Ichiro Furutachi (古舘 伊知郎, Furutachi Ichirō; born December 7, 1954) is a Japanese announcer, tarento, television presenter, and newscaster represented by Furutachi-Project. He was an announcer for TV Asahi. He graduated from Kita Kuritsu Takinogawa Daini (No. 2) Elementary School, Chiyoda Kuritsu Kanda Hitotsubashi Junior High School, Rikkyo Niiza Junior and Senior High School, and Rikkyo University, where he studied Economics with a focus on Business Administration. Controversy erupted when he stepped down as the anchor of TV Asahi's evening news broadcast, Hōdō Station, a removal reportedly due to political pressure in response to the show's critical tone.
Yoko Morishita (森下洋子 Morishita Yoko, born in Hiroshima December 7, 1948) is a Japanese ballerina for Matsuyama Ballet…Yoko Morishita (森下洋子 Morishita Yoko, born in Hiroshima December 7, 1948) is a Japanese ballerina for Matsuyama Ballet Company.
Kōzō Okamoto (Japanese: 岡本 公三, Hepburn: Okamoto Kōzō; IPA: [o̞ka̠mo̞to̞ ko̞ːzo̞ː]; 7 December 1947 – 23 July 2026) was…Kōzō Okamoto (Japanese: 岡本 公三, Hepburn: Okamoto Kōzō; IPA: [o̞ka̠mo̞to̞ ko̞ːzo̞ː]; 7 December 1947 – 23 July 2026) was a Japanese communist militant and a member of the Japanese Red Army (JRA), responsible for the massacre of 26 passengers at Ben-Gurion International Airport in Israel in 1972. While at university, Okamoto was introduced to the Red Army Faction (the precursor organization to the JRA) by his brother, a member of the group. He later traveled to Beirut, Lebanon, where he received military training by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and was selected to carry out the Lod Airport massacre. He was the sole survivor of the three perpetrators. After his arrest by Israeli forces, Okamoto was sentenced to three life sentences, but was released in the 1985 Jibril Agreement after serving 13 years. He would later move to Lebanon, where he spent three years in prison on false visa charges before being granted asylum, despite a Japanese extradition request.
Masayoshi Shimizu (清水 聖義, Shimizu Masayoshi; born 7 December 1941) is a Japanese politician who served as the mayor of…Masayoshi Shimizu (清水 聖義, Shimizu Masayoshi; born 7 December 1941) is a Japanese politician who served as the mayor of Ōta, Gunma, Japan from 1995 to 2025. As of 1 July 2010, he is also the chairman of the Gunma Kokusai Academy school in Ōta.
Masami Tanabu (田名部 匡省, Tanabu Masami) (7 December 1934 – 26 March 2025) was a Japanese politician of the Democratic…Masami Tanabu (田名部 匡省, Tanabu Masami) (7 December 1934 – 26 March 2025) was a Japanese politician of the Democratic Party of Japan, a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Hachinohe, Aomori and graduate of Rikkyo University, he was elected to the House of Councillors for the first time in 2004 after serving in the Aomori Prefectural Assembly for two terms and then in the House of Representatives for six terms. Tanabu was a past head coach of the Japan national ice hockey team. He also competed at the 1960 Winter Olympics and the 1964 Winter Olympics. Tanabu died due to septic shock in hospital in Hachinohe, on 26 March 2025, at the age of 90.
Hiroshi Fujita (Japanese: 藤田 宏, Hepburn: Fujita Hiroshi) (born 7 December 1928 in Osaka) is a retired Japanese…Hiroshi Fujita (Japanese: 藤田 宏, Hepburn: Fujita Hiroshi) (born 7 December 1928 in Osaka) is a retired Japanese mathematician who worked in partial differential equations. He obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Tokyo, under the supervision of Tosio Kato.
Shintaro Tsuji (辻 信太郎, Tsuji Shintarō; born December 7, 1927) is a Japanese entrepreneur and former civil servant. He…Shintaro Tsuji (辻 信太郎, Tsuji Shintarō; born December 7, 1927) is a Japanese entrepreneur and former civil servant. He is the founder and former-president of Sanrio, a merchandise company known for its characters, including Hello Kitty.
Seiichi Niikuni (新国誠一, Niikuni Seiichi; December 7, 1925 – August 23, 1977) was a Japanese poet and painter. He was one…Seiichi Niikuni (新国誠一, Niikuni Seiichi; December 7, 1925 – August 23, 1977) was a Japanese poet and painter. He was one of the foremost pioneers of the international avant-garde concrete poetry movement, creating works of calligraphic, visual and aural poetry. He is recognized as one of the most important poets of recent times in Japanese and German textbooks. It is said that during his later years, he started to prefer the old kanji orthography form of his name, 新國誠一.
Yoshio Miyake (三宅芳夫, Miyake Yoshio; 7 December 1913 – 26 April 1983) was a Japanese gymnast. He competed in eight…Yoshio Miyake (三宅芳夫, Miyake Yoshio; 7 December 1913 – 26 April 1983) was a Japanese gymnast. He competed in eight events at the 1936 Summer Olympics.
Shigeru Egami (江上 茂, Egami Shigeru; December 7, 1912 – January 8, 1981) was a pioneering Japanese master of Shotokan…Shigeru Egami (江上 茂, Egami Shigeru; December 7, 1912 – January 8, 1981) was a pioneering Japanese master of Shotokan karate who founded the Shōtōkai style. He was a student of Gichin Funakoshi, who is widely recognized as the founder of modern karate.
Tazuko Sakane (坂根 田鶴子, Sakane Tazuko; December 7, 1904 – September 2, 1975) was a Japanese film director. She was…Tazuko Sakane (坂根 田鶴子, Sakane Tazuko; December 7, 1904 – September 2, 1975) was a Japanese film director. She was Japan's first female director, followed by Kinuyo Tanaka. Her first feature film New Clothing (初姿 Hatsu Sugata, 1936) is known to be the first Japanese feature film directed by a woman. The majority of her films are educational nonfiction films produced by Manchukuo Film Association for Japanese immigrants and Manchu in Manchukuo. Her only known surviving film is Brides on the Frontier (開拓の花嫁 Kaitaku no Hanayome, 1943). She worked closely with Japanese Director Kenji Mizoguchi and was credited as an Editor and/or Assistant Director for over 15 films directed by him. While growing up, her father, a wealthy businessman, often took her to the cinema. She graduated from Nikkatsu Uzumaki Girls' School in 1929.
Shūzō Takiguchi (瀧口 修造, Takiguchi Shūzō; December 7, 1903 – July 1, 1979) was a Japanese poet, art critic, and artist.…Shūzō Takiguchi (瀧口 修造, Takiguchi Shūzō; December 7, 1903 – July 1, 1979) was a Japanese poet, art critic, and artist. He was a central figure in prewar and postwar Japanese Surrealism, helping introduce the movement through his 1930 translation of André Breton's Surrealism and Painting and through direct correspondence with Breton. He also published a 1940 monograph on Joan Miró that museum sources describe as the world's earliest monograph on the artist. He was also a key figure in the history of wartime repression directed at Japanese Surrealism: in 1941, he was arrested on suspicion of violating the Peace Preservation Law, and museum accounts note that he remained under police surveillance until the end of the war. Starting in the 1950s, he also supported younger postwar avant-garde artists through his work at Takemiya Gallery in Tokyo, where he was responsible for selecting artists and coordinating exhibitions from 1951 to 1957. In 1958, he served as commissioner for the Japan Pavilion at the 29th Venice Biennale and as a member of the international jury. Around 1960, he increasingly turned to his own visual practice, producing drawings, watercolors, decalcomanias, and other experimental works. He was also recognized in international Surrealist circles: according to the Dalí Foundation, Takiguchi and Chirū Yamanaka were named in the 1938 Dictionnaire abrégé du surréalisme as "promoters of the surrealist movement in Japan". His writings, artist books, and works have since entered the holdings of major international institutions including the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the British Museum, and the Art Institute of Chicago. His posthumous reception has also included presentation in major international exhibition contexts, including Surrealism Beyond Borders, organized by The Met and Tate Modern, and a 1986–1987 programme at the Centre Pompidou in Paris.
Yu Wen, better known by his courtesy name Yu Dafu (December 7, 1896 – September 17, 1945) was a modern Chinese short…Yu Wen, better known by his courtesy name Yu Dafu (December 7, 1896 – September 17, 1945) was a modern Chinese short story writer and poet. He was one of the new literary group initiators, and this new literary group was named the Creation Society. His literary masterpieces include Chenlun (沈淪, Sinking), Chunfeng chenzui de wanshang (春風沈醉的晚上, Intoxicating Spring Nights), Guoqu (過去, The Past), Chuben (出奔, Flight) and so on. Yu Dafu's literary works' writing style and main themes profoundly influenced a group of young writers and formed a spectacular romantic trend in Chinese literature in the 1920s and 1930s. He died in the Japanese-occupied Dutch East Indies, likely executed.
Jinichi Kusaka (草鹿 任一, Kusaka Jin'ichi; 7 December 1888 – 24 August 1972) was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy…Jinichi Kusaka (草鹿 任一, Kusaka Jin'ichi; 7 December 1888 – 24 August 1972) was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Fellow Admiral Ryūnosuke Kusaka was his cousin.
Yosano Shō (与謝野 志やう; née Hō (鳳); 7 December 1878 – 29 May 1942), known by her pen name Yosano Akiko (Shinjitai: 与謝野 晶子…Yosano Shō (与謝野 志やう; née Hō (鳳); 7 December 1878 – 29 May 1942), known by her pen name Yosano Akiko (Shinjitai: 与謝野 晶子, Kyūjitai: 與謝野 晶子, Japanese pronunciation: [jo.sa.no (|) aꜜ.kʲi̥.ko]), was a Japanese author, poet, feminist, pacifist, and social reformer, active in the late Meiji era as well as the Taishō and early Shōwa eras of Japan. She is one of the most noted, and most controversial, post-classical female poets of Japan.
Chūjō Suketoshi (中條 資俊; December 7, 1872 – March 3, 1947) was a Japanese physician, a Hansen's disease researcher, the…Chūjō Suketoshi (中條 資俊; December 7, 1872 – March 3, 1947) was a Japanese physician, a Hansen's disease researcher, the first director of Matsuoka Hoyoen Sanatorium (1909–1947). He repeatedly reported turpentine spirit preparation he named TR as effective for leprosy.
