December: 1,876 people
Soichiro Fukutake (福武 總一郎, Fukutake Sōichirō; born 1945) is a Japanese billionaire, and the former chairman of the…
Soichiro Fukutake (福武 總一郎, Fukutake Sōichirō; born 1945) is a Japanese billionaire, and the former chairman of the Benesse Corporation, a publishing firm and juku company known for its patronage of the arts.
Kenji Ueno (上野 健爾, Ueno Kenji, 1945, Kumamoto Prefecture) is a Japanese mathematician, specializing in algebraic…
Kenji Ueno (上野 健爾, Ueno Kenji, 1945, Kumamoto Prefecture) is a Japanese mathematician, specializing in algebraic geometry. He was in the 1970s at the University of Tokyo and was from 1987 to 2009 a professor at the University of Kyoto and is now the director of Yokkaichi University's Seki Kōwa Institute for Mathematics. In 1978 he was an Invited Speaker (Classification of algebraic manifolds) at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Helsinki. Ueno was a visiting professor at several universities, including the University of Bonn and the University of Mannheim in the 1970s. He is the author and editor of several books on algebraic geometry.
Minoru Kino (木野 実, Kino Minoru; born 5 December 1945) is a Japanese former handball player who competed in the 1972…
Minoru Kino (木野 実, Kino Minoru; born 5 December 1945) is a Japanese former handball player who competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics and in the 1976 Summer Olympics.
Kuriko Namino (波乃 久里子, Namino Kuriko) (born December 1, 1945, in Kamakura, Japan) is an actress. Her brother Nakamura…
Kuriko Namino (波乃 久里子, Namino Kuriko) (born December 1, 1945, in Kamakura, Japan) is an actress. Her brother Nakamura Kanzaburō XVIII was an actor in kabuki, theatre, television and commercials.
Junko Terashima (Japanese: 寺島 純子, Hepburn: Terashima Junko; born 1 December 1945), known professionally as Sumiko Fuji…
Junko Terashima (Japanese: 寺島 純子, Hepburn: Terashima Junko; born 1 December 1945), known professionally as Sumiko Fuji (富司 純子, Fuji Sumiko), is a Japanese actress. She began acting in the 1960s under the name Junko Fuji (藤 純子, Fuji Junko), becoming famous as the female lead in yakuza films opposite such stars as Kōji Tsuruta and Ken Takakura. She even starred in her own series as the sword-wielding gambler Red Peony in the Hibotan Bakuto series. Initially retiring in 1972 after getting married, she began appearing on TV in 1974 under her real name. She later returned to films in 1989 using the name Sumiko Fuji, and expanded her acting repertoire. She won the Blue Ribbon Award for best supporting actress in 1999 and 2006. She is married to the kabuki actor Onoe Kikugorō VII and is the mother of the actress Shinobu Terajima and the kabuki actor Onoe Kikugorō VIII.
Hideaki Kobayashi (小林 秀明, Kobayashi Hideaki; born December 12, 1945) is a Japanese diplomat. He was born in Nagano…
Hideaki Kobayashi (小林 秀明, Kobayashi Hideaki; born December 12, 1945) is a Japanese diplomat. He was born in Nagano Prefecture in 1945, and passed the Higher Diplomatic Service Examination in 1967. He entered the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1968, after graduating from the University of Tokyo's Public Law Faculty. He spent the year 1969–1970 at Carleton College. He spent his first years in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the Asian Affairs Bureau. From 1988 to 1990, he served as Counselor of the Japanese Embassy in Australia. From 1990 to 1992 he served as Counsellor of the Japanese Embassy in Poland. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, he sat as the Deputy Permanent Representative of Japan at the UN. From 2005 to 2008, he served as Japanese Ambassador to Thailand. While in Thailand, he participated in free trade negotiations with Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Toshitsugu Saito (斉藤 斗志二, Saitō Toshitsugu; 27 December 1944 – 3 October 2026) was a Japanese politician of the Liberal…
Toshitsugu Saito (斉藤 斗志二, Saitō Toshitsugu; 27 December 1944 – 3 October 2026) was a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party who was a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet from 1986 to 2009. A native of Fuji, Shizuoka and graduate of Sophia University, he attended Waseda University for graduate study and business school at the University of Washington in the United States. From 2001 to 2002 he was Director General of the Japan Defense Agency (now Minister of Defense). Saito died on 3 October 2026, at the age of 81.
Kyōji Saitō (齋藤 恭司, Saitō Kyōji; born 25 December 1944) is a Japanese mathematician, specializing in algebraic geometry…
Kyōji Saitō (齋藤 恭司, Saitō Kyōji; born 25 December 1944) is a Japanese mathematician, specializing in algebraic geometry and complex analytic geometry.
Naoko Fukatsu (深津 尚子, Fukatsu Naoko; born 23 December 1944 in Okazaki, Aichi) is a former international table tennis…
Naoko Fukatsu (深津 尚子, Fukatsu Naoko; born 23 December 1944 in Okazaki, Aichi) is a former international table tennis player from Japan.
Hiroshi Umemura (梅村 浩; 1944 – March 8, 2019) was a Japanese mathematician and professor at Nagoya University in the…
Hiroshi Umemura (梅村 浩; 1944 – March 8, 2019) was a Japanese mathematician and professor at Nagoya University in the field of algebraic geometry and differential equations.
Susumu Kagawa (香川 征, Kagawa Susumu; 1944 – 7 April 2021) was a Japanese urologist and a co-author of 41 peer-reviewed…
Susumu Kagawa (香川 征, Kagawa Susumu; 1944 – 7 April 2021) was a Japanese urologist and a co-author of 41 peer-reviewed articles all of which can be found on Web of Science and PubMed. He was also a President of the University of Tokushima.
Hiroshi Komiyama (小宮山 宏, Komiyama Hiroshi; born December 15, 1944) is a Japanese scientist. He was the president of…
Hiroshi Komiyama (小宮山 宏, Komiyama Hiroshi; born December 15, 1944) is a Japanese scientist. He was the president of University of Tokyo from April 2005 to March 2009. He is also the chairman of Mitsubishi Research Institute. His major research fields are Chemical engineering, Environmental engineering, functional material science and CVD reaction engineering. He is member of the World Knowledge Dialogue Scientific Board. When he was an undergraduate, he belonged to the American football club at University of Tokyo.
Miwa Fukuhara (福原 美和, Fukuhara Miwa; born December 13, 1944) is a Japanese former competitive figure skater. She is a…
Miwa Fukuhara (福原 美和, Fukuhara Miwa; born December 13, 1944) is a Japanese former competitive figure skater. She is a two-time Winter Universiade champion and a six-time Japanese national champion. She finished 21st in the 1960 Winter Olympic Games, and 5th in the 1964 Winter Olympic Games. After retiring from competition, Fukuhara became a coach. She is a member of the founding family of Shiseido.
Kazuo Funaki (舟木 一夫; born 12 December 1944 in Ichinomiya, Aichi) is a Japanese Enka singer. Kazuo also has a career as…
Kazuo Funaki (舟木 一夫; born 12 December 1944 in Ichinomiya, Aichi) is a Japanese Enka singer. Kazuo also has a career as a stage actor, film actor, and TV actor. His real name is Shigeyuki Ueda (上田 成幸).
Tadashi Irie (入江 禎, Irie Tadashi; born December 9, 1944 in Uwajima, Ehime) is a yakuza, the head (kumicho) of the…
Tadashi Irie (入江 禎, Irie Tadashi; born December 9, 1944 in Uwajima, Ehime) is a yakuza, the head (kumicho) of the Osaka-based 2nd Takumi-gumi and the grand general manager (so-honbucho) of the 6th Yamaguchi-gumi. He is regarded as the number-three leader of the 6th Yamaguchi-gumi, the largest known yakuza syndicate.
Tsuneo Mori (森 恒夫, Mori Tsuneo; December 6, 1944 – January 1, 1973) was a Japanese radical leftist and terrorist. He…
Tsuneo Mori (森 恒夫, Mori Tsuneo; December 6, 1944 – January 1, 1973) was a Japanese radical leftist and terrorist. He was born in Osaka and entered the Osaka City University where he became involved in leftist politics, eventually joining the Red Army Faction, which was a schismatic militant subfaction of the Japan Communist League. After many members of the Red Army Faction were arrested by the Japanese police with Mori remaining at large, several members of the group went to North Korea with Japan Airlines Flight 351 and some formed the Japanese Red Army. Mori remained in Japan and eventually became the leader of the United Red Army. Along with Hiroko Nagata, he allegedly killed 12 members and he was arrested in February 1972. He committed suicide by hanging in his cell in Tokyo on January 1, 1973.
Hideyuki Ashihara (芦原 英幸, Ashihara Hideyuki; December 5, 1944 – April 24, 1995) was a Japanese master of karate who…
Hideyuki Ashihara (芦原 英幸, Ashihara Hideyuki; December 5, 1944 – April 24, 1995) was a Japanese master of karate who founded Ashihara karate in 1980 with the emphasis on Sabaki. He is often attributed as one of the originators of the tai sabaki (whole body movement) method, although the concept was already very common in other martial arts, such as judo. He was known for his weapon skills including shuriken and tonfa.
Sōroku Yagisawa (八木沢 荘六, Yagisawa Sōroku; born December 1, 1944 in Nikkō, Tochigi, Japan) is a Japanese former Nippon…
Sōroku Yagisawa (八木沢 荘六, Yagisawa Sōroku; born December 1, 1944 in Nikkō, Tochigi, Japan) is a Japanese former Nippon Professional Baseball pitcher. He played for the Tokyo Orions and Lotte Orions. He later managed the Chiba Lotte Marines.
Masaru Nashimoto (梨元 勝, Nashimoto Masaru; 1 December 1944 – 21 August 2010) was a Japanese reporter who specialized in…
Masaru Nashimoto (梨元 勝, Nashimoto Masaru; 1 December 1944 – 21 August 2010) was a Japanese reporter who specialized in covering show-business gossip and scandals. He was born in Nakano, Tokyo.
Atsutoshi Nishida (西田 厚聰, Nishida Atsutoshi; 29 December 1943 – 8 December 2017) was a Japanese business executive.
Susumu Katsumata (勝又 進, Katsumata Susumu; December 27, 1943 – December 3, 2007) was a Japanese manga artist.
Tokiko Kato (加藤 登紀子, Katō Tokiko; born December 27, 1943) is a Japanese singer, composer, lyricist, actress and…
Tokiko Kato (加藤 登紀子, Katō Tokiko; born December 27, 1943) is a Japanese singer, composer, lyricist, actress and activist. She was born in Harbin, Manchukuo, to Japanese parents. She graduated from the University of Tokyo. She worked as a visiting professor at Josai International University. Her career and personal life became deeply intertwined with Japan's radical 1960s student and peace movements. 1972 she married Toshio Fujimoto, leader of the student movement, who was in jail. While being held hostage by hijackers on All Nippon Airways Flight 857, Kato used her cell phone to keep in contact with police during the hijacking. In the late summer of 2023, as geopolitical tensions simmered between China and Japan, she staged a concert for peace in Harbin,.
Kenji Maruyama (丸山 健二, Maruyama Kenji; born December 23, 1943) is a Japanese author. He received the Akutagawa Prize…
Kenji Maruyama (丸山 健二, Maruyama Kenji; born December 23, 1943) is a Japanese author. He received the Akutagawa Prize for one of his novels, Summer’s Passage (夏の流れ, Natsu no nagare), in 1966, at the age of 23, becoming the third of an often touted group of college seniors to win the prize at age 23, following Ishihara Shintaro and Oe Kenzaburo.
Masafumi Hara (原 正文, Hara Masafumi; born December 21, 1943) is a former Japanese football player. He played for Japan…
Masafumi Hara (原 正文, Hara Masafumi; born December 21, 1943) is a former Japanese football player. He played for Japan national team.
Sata Isobe (磯辺 サタ, Isobe Sata; 19 December 1944 – 18 December 2016) was a Japanese volleyball player. She was a member…
Sata Isobe (磯辺 サタ, Isobe Sata; 19 December 1944 – 18 December 2016) was a Japanese volleyball player. She was a member of the Japanese winning teams, Oriental Witches, at the 1962 World Championships and 1964 Summer Olympics. She died in 2016 at the age of 72. It is reported by The Sankei News that she lost her parents because of World War II but never lost her patience, warm personality and strength.
Shiratayama Hidetoshi (born 25 December 1943 as Hidetoshi Shirata) is a former sumo wrestler from Kagami, Kumamoto…
Shiratayama Hidetoshi (born 25 December 1943 as Hidetoshi Shirata) is a former sumo wrestler from Kagami, Kumamoto, Japan. He made his professional debut in September July 1959 and reached the top division in March 1971. His highest rank was maegashira 4. Upon retirement from active competition he became an elder in the Japan Sumo Association, under the name Tanigawa. He reached the Sumo Association's mandatory retirement age in December 2008.
Mariko Kaga (Japanese: 加賀まりこ, Hepburn: Kaga Mariko; born December 11, 1943) is a Japanese actress.
Keisuke Sawaki (澤木 啓祐, Sawaki Keisuke; born 8 December 1943) is a Japanese former long-distance runner who competed in…
Keisuke Sawaki (澤木 啓祐, Sawaki Keisuke; born 8 December 1943) is a Japanese former long-distance runner who competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics and in the 1972 Summer Olympics.
Noriko Ohara (大原永子, Ōhara Noriko; born December 8, 1943) is a Japanese artistic director and retired ballet dancer. She…
Noriko Ohara (大原永子, Ōhara Noriko; born December 8, 1943) is a Japanese artistic director and retired ballet dancer. She was a principal dancer with the Scottish Ballet from 1976 to 1995. Since 2014, she has been the artistic director of the National Ballet of Japan at the New National Theatre, Tokyo. Ohara was awarded an honorary Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1997 and was named to Japan's Order of the Rising Sun in 2014.
Masahiro Doi (土井 正博, Doi Masahiro) (born December 8, 1943) is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder in…
Masahiro Doi (土井 正博, Doi Masahiro) (born December 8, 1943) is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder in Nippon Professional Baseball. He played for the Kintetsu Buffaloes from 1962 to 1974 and the Taiheiyo Club / Crown Lighter / Seibu Lions from 1975 to 1981. In a career that spanned 20 years, the slugger was selected to 15 All-Star games and was named to the Best Nine Award three times (1967, 1968, 1978). Over four decades after his retirement, Doi ranks 10th all-time in hits in Japanese baseball history with 2,452. He last served as the batting coach for the Chunichi Dragons.
Yuriko Hoshi (星 由里子, Hoshi Yuriko; 6 December 1943 – 16 May 2018), born Yuriko Shimizu (清水 由里子), was a Japanese…
Yuriko Hoshi (星 由里子, Hoshi Yuriko; 6 December 1943 – 16 May 2018), born Yuriko Shimizu (清水 由里子), was a Japanese actress. She appeared in more than 90 films beginning in 1959.
Kiyoshi Tomizawa (富沢 清司, Tomizawa Kiyoshi; born December 3, 1943) is a former Japanese football player. He played for…
Kiyoshi Tomizawa (富沢 清司, Tomizawa Kiyoshi; born December 3, 1943) is a former Japanese football player. He played for Japan national team.
Kiwako Taichi (太地 喜和子, Taichi Kiwako; 2 December 1943 – 13 October 1992) was a Japanese film actress. She appeared in…
Kiwako Taichi (太地 喜和子, Taichi Kiwako; 2 December 1943 – 13 October 1992) was a Japanese film actress. She appeared in 20 films between 1967 and 1985.
Thereza Imanishi-Kari is an associate professor of pathology at Tufts University. Her research focuses on the origins…
Thereza Imanishi-Kari is an associate professor of pathology at Tufts University. Her research focuses on the origins of autoimmune diseases, particularly systemic lupus erythematosus, studied using mice as model organisms. Previously she had been a faculty member at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is notable for her role in what became known as the "Baltimore affair", in which a 1986 paper she co-authored with David Baltimore was the subject of research misconduct allegations. Following a series of investigations, she was eventually exonerated of the charges in 1996.
Eiko Kaneta (Japanese: 金田 英行 Kaneta Eikō; 30 December 1942 – 17 June 2022) was a Japanese politician. A member of the…
Eiko Kaneta (Japanese: 金田 英行 Kaneta Eikō; 30 December 1942 – 17 June 2022) was a Japanese politician. A member of the Liberal Democratic Party, he served in the House of Representatives from 1993 to 2005. Kaneta died in Tokyo on 17 June 2022 at the age of 79.
Tadayoshi Ichida (市田 忠義, Ichida Tadayoshi; born December 28, 1942) is a Japanese politician who served as a member of…
Tadayoshi Ichida (市田 忠義, Ichida Tadayoshi; born December 28, 1942) is a Japanese politician who served as a member of the House of Councillors for the proportional district from 1998 to 2022. He was the Secretary General of the Japanese Communist Party from 2000 to 2014.
Koya Nishikawa (西川 公也, Nishikawa Kōya; born 26 December 1942) is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party…
Koya Nishikawa (西川 公也, Nishikawa Kōya; born 26 December 1942) is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Shioya District, Tochigi he attended Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology as both undergraduate and graduate students. After college, he worked at the government Tochigi Prefecture from 1967 to 1978. He was elected to the assembly of Tochigi Prefecture for the first time in 1979 and then to the Diet for the first time in 1996. On 9 December 2020, he resigned as the special adviser to the Cabinet after being involved in a bribery scandal corresponding to a boating trip hosted by a former head of a major egg farm, who was involved in a separate bribery case.
Yasuyuki Kuwahara (桑原 楽之, Kuwahara Yasuyuki; December 22, 1942 – March 1, 2017) was a Japanese football player. He…
Yasuyuki Kuwahara (桑原 楽之, Kuwahara Yasuyuki; December 22, 1942 – March 1, 2017) was a Japanese football player. He played for Japan national team.
Kazuyoshi Kaneko (金子 一義, Kaneko Kazuyoshi; born 20 December 1942) is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic…
Kazuyoshi Kaneko (金子 一義, Kaneko Kazuyoshi; born 20 December 1942) is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party and a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature).
Yoshitaka Egawa (江川 嘉孝, Egawa Yoshitaka; 20 December 1942 – 26 December 2024) was a Japanese basketball player. He…
Yoshitaka Egawa (江川 嘉孝, Egawa Yoshitaka; 20 December 1942 – 26 December 2024) was a Japanese basketball player. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1964 Summer Olympics. Egawa died in Kisarazu on 26 December 2024, at the age of 82.
Aritatsu Ogi (小城 得達, Ogi Aritatsu; born December 10, 1942) is a former Japanese football player. He played for Japan…
Aritatsu Ogi (小城 得達, Ogi Aritatsu; born December 10, 1942) is a former Japanese football player. He played for Japan national team.
Kōichi Kawakita (川北 紘一, Kawakita Kōichi; December 5, 1942 – December 5, 2014) was a Japanese special effects director…
Kōichi Kawakita (川北 紘一, Kawakita Kōichi; December 5, 1942 – December 5, 2014) was a Japanese special effects director, cinematographer, and optical photographer.
Issei Kitagawa (北川 一成, Kitagawa Issei; December 1, 1942 in Higashiōsaka – September 7, 2021) was a Japanese politician…
Issei Kitagawa (北川 一成, Kitagawa Issei; December 1, 1942 in Higashiōsaka – September 7, 2021) was a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet (national legislature). A graduate of Kansai University, he was elected to the House of Councillors for the first time in 2004 after serving in the assembly of Osaka Prefecture for four terms.
Tetsuya Watari (渡 哲也, Watari Tetsuya) born Michihiko Watase (渡瀬 道彦, Watase Michihiko) (December 28, 1941 – August 10…
Tetsuya Watari (渡 哲也, Watari Tetsuya) born Michihiko Watase (渡瀬 道彦, Watase Michihiko) (December 28, 1941 – August 10, 2020) was a Japanese film, stage, and television actor.
Teruo Higa (比嘉 照夫, Higa Teruo; born December 28, 1941) is a professor at the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa, to…
Teruo Higa (比嘉 照夫, Higa Teruo; born December 28, 1941) is a professor at the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa, to the south of the main Japanese archipelago, and grew up there. Following his graduation from the Department of Agriculture, University of the Ryukyus, he took his doctorate from the Agricultural Research Department of Kyushu University Graduate School, eventually returning to join the teaching staff of the University of the Ryukyus as lecturer in 1970, becoming assistant professor two years later. He became Professor of Horticulture in 1982. He pioneered the development of "effective microorganism" products. He is a Master of Health and Nutrition with The Beijing DeTao Masters Academy (DTMA), a high-level, multi-discipline, application-oriented higher education institution in Shanghai, China.
Masahiro Futahashi (二橋 正弘, Futahashi Masahiro; December 27, 1941 – June 8, 2026) was a Japanese official who served…
Masahiro Futahashi (二橋 正弘, Futahashi Masahiro; December 27, 1941 – June 8, 2026) was a Japanese official who served twice as Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary from 2003 to 2006 and 2007 to 2008. He served under the cabinets of Junichiro Koizumi and Yasuo Fukuda. Before that, Futuhashi was a bureaucrat in the Ministry of Home Affairs, serving as administrative vice minister from 1999 to 2001.
Nobuo Kaiho (海保 宣生, Kaiho Nobuo; 21 December 1941 – 19 April 2015) was a Japanese basketball player. He competed in the…
Nobuo Kaiho (海保 宣生, Kaiho Nobuo; 21 December 1941 – 19 April 2015) was a Japanese basketball player. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1964 Summer Olympics.
Japan was the host nation for the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. 328 competitors, 270 men and 58 women, took part in…
Japan was the host nation for the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. 328 competitors, 270 men and 58 women, took part in 155 events in 21 sports.
Tiger Tateishi (タイガー立石) (December 20, 1941 - April 17, 1998), pen name of Kōichi Tateishi (Tateishi Kōichi (立石紘一) was a…
Tiger Tateishi (タイガー立石) (December 20, 1941 - April 17, 1998), pen name of Kōichi Tateishi (Tateishi Kōichi (立石紘一) was a Japanese painter, mangaka, picture book artist, and ceramic artist.
Tomiaki Fukuda (福田 富昭, Fukuda Tomiaki; born December 19, 1941) is a Japanese sports official and retired freestyle…
Tomiaki Fukuda (福田 富昭, Fukuda Tomiaki; born December 19, 1941) is a Japanese sports official and retired freestyle wrestler who won the world bantamweight title in 1965. He is vice president of the Japanese Olympic Committee, where he heads the National Training Center Commission. He is also president of Japan Wrestling Federation and vice president of the International Federation of Associated Wrestling (FILA). He served as chef de mission for the Japanese teams at the 2008 Summer Olympics and 2005 East Asian Games.