Hiroyasu Shimizu (清水 宏保, Shimizu Hiroyasu; born 27 February 1974) is a Japanese speed skater. A five-time world…
Hiroyasu Shimizu (清水 宏保, Shimizu Hiroyasu; born 27 February 1974) is a Japanese speed skater. A five-time world champion in the 500 meters, Shimizu became the first Japanese speed skater to win a gold medal with his performance at the 1998 Winter Olympics. At the 1998 World Championships, Shimizu set a world record (34.82) and became the first person to break the 35-second barrier in the event. Shimizu later broke this record at the 2001 World Championships with a time of 34.42. He was married to Japanese fashion model Reiko Takagaki.
Famous People from Hokkaido
Hokkaido: 28 people
Yasushi Watanabe (渡辺 靖, Watanabe Yasushi) (born 1967) is a Japanese anthropologist and a full professor at Keio…
Yasushi Watanabe (渡辺 靖, Watanabe Yasushi) (born 1967) is a Japanese anthropologist and a full professor at Keio University. He earned a Ph.D. in Social Anthropology at Harvard University in 1997. After post-doctoral fellowships at Cambridge and Oxford Universities, he joined Keio University's Graduate School of Media and Governance as well as Faculty of Environment and Information Studies in 1999. He attained the rank of full professor in 2005, and is one of Japan's most prominent experts on soft power, public diplomacy, cultural policy and American Studies. During the 2003–04 academic years, he was a recipient of an Abe Fellowship(Social Science Research Council and the Japan Foundation), which he held at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University. He was awarded a prestigious Japan Academy Medal in 2005. He served as a Fellow at Downing College, Cambridge in 2007, a visiting professor at Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris (Science-Po) in 2013 and a Japan Scholar at the Wilson Center in 2018. He was a visiting scholar at the School of International Studies at Peking University in 2017 and at College of Europe in 2018. He has been selected for the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) by the U.S. Department of State in 2018. In 2025, he was selected as an International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He serves on the editorial boards of Anthem Studies in Soft Power and Public Diplomacy, Place Branding and Public Diplomacy and International Journal of Public Diplomacy Research. He is a director (program chair) at the International House of Japan, a co-chair of the Japan Advisory Council of the Salzburg Global Seminar, and an adjunct senior fellow at NIRA (Nippon Institute for Research Advancement). He is a member of Harvard Club of Japan. He has served on the executive board of the Japanese Association for American Studies, the advisory panel on the Japan Foundation, the advisory panel on public diplomacy of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the advisory panel (chair) on NHK World. He has also served as an editorial member of Gaiko (Diplomacy) magazine, a book reviewer for Asahi Shimbun and Yomiuri Shimbun, among others.
Tetsuya Mizuguchi (水口 哲也, Mizuguchi Tetsuya; born May 22, 1965) is a Japanese video game designer, producer, and…
Tetsuya Mizuguchi (水口 哲也, Mizuguchi Tetsuya; born May 22, 1965) is a Japanese video game designer, producer, and businessman. Along with ex-Sega developers he is one of the co-founders of the video game development firm Q Entertainment. He formerly worked for Sega as a producer in their Sega AM3 'arcade machines' team, developing games like Sega Rally Championship and Sega Touring Car Championship, before moving on to become the head of Sega's United Game Artists division, the team responsible for Rez and Space Channel 5. Mizuguchi is better known for creating video games that incorporate interactive synesthesia into his game design, regardless of genre, evidenced by Rez, Lumines, Child of Eden, and Tetris Effect. He left Q Entertainment in 2013. He is currently the CEO of Enhance, Inc., a company he founded in 2014. In 2009, he was chosen by IGN as one of the top 100 game creators of all time.
Mitsutoshi Tanaka (田中光敏; born 24 September 1958 in Urakawa, Hokkaido) is a Japanese film and commercial director. He is…
Mitsutoshi Tanaka (田中光敏; born 24 September 1958 in Urakawa, Hokkaido) is a Japanese film and commercial director. He is president and CEO of Osaka-based film production firm Creators' Union and widely known for award-winning feature films such as Godai - The Wunderkind (2020), 125 Years Memory (2015), Blossoms Bloom (2014) and Ask This of Rikyu (2013). He has received numerous awards, including the Kinema Junpo Best Ten Readers' Choice Award for Best Japanese Director for his period drama Godai - The Wunderkind and the Japan Academy Film Prize as Excellent Director for the Japanese-Turkish co-production 125 Years Memory.
Hiroshi Ishii (石井 裕, Ishii Hiroshi; born 1956) is a Japanese computer scientist and a professor at the Massachusetts…
Hiroshi Ishii (石井 裕, Ishii Hiroshi; born 1956) is a Japanese computer scientist and a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is also Associate Director of the MIT Media Laboratory.
Kazuhito Hashimoto (橋本和仁, Hashimoto Kazuhito; born June 23, 1955) is a Japanese chemist. Between 2004 and 2007 he…
Kazuhito Hashimoto (橋本和仁, Hashimoto Kazuhito; born June 23, 1955) is a Japanese chemist. Between 2004 and 2007 he headed the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Tokyo. In 2016–2022 he served as President of the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) and as the editor-in-chief of the journal Science and Technology of Advanced Materials. On April 1, 2022 he assumed the position of President of Japan Science and Technology Agency. In 2006 Hashimoto received the Yamazaki-Teiichi Prize for his research on titanium dioxide photocatalyst.
Houkin Kiyohiro (寳金 清博, 24 September 1954 – ) is a Japanese medical scientist and neurosurgeon. He has served as the…
Houkin Kiyohiro (寳金 清博, 24 September 1954 – ) is a Japanese medical scientist and neurosurgeon. He has served as the President of Hokkaido University since 2020, where he is also Professor Emeritus. He holds a Doctor of Medicine degree from Hokkaido University, specializing in neurosurgery, and is one of the pioneers in the research of moyamoya disease.
Haruhiko Kataoka (片岡晴彦, Haruhiko Kataoka; born April 1952) was the 32nd Chief of Staff of the Japan Air Self-Defense…
Haruhiko Kataoka (片岡晴彦, Haruhiko Kataoka; born April 1952) was the 32nd Chief of Staff of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, the de facto air force of Japan.
Yutaka Akino (秋野豊, Akino Yutaka; 1 July 1950 – 20 July 1998) was a Japanese political scientist, researcher and…
Yutaka Akino (秋野豊, Akino Yutaka; 1 July 1950 – 20 July 1998) was a Japanese political scientist, researcher and University professor who specialized in Russian diplomacy and Central Asian geopolitics. Akino, alongside 3 others were killed by unknown assailants in Darband, a district east of Dushanbe, Tajikistan in 1998 while serving as a United Nations peacekeeper for the United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan (UNMOT).
Mamoru "Mark" Mohri, (Japanese: 毛利 衛, romanized: Mōri Mamoru; born 29 January 1948) is a Japanese scientist, a former…
Mamoru "Mark" Mohri, (Japanese: 毛利 衛, romanized: Mōri Mamoru; born 29 January 1948) is a Japanese scientist, a former NASDA astronaut, and a veteran of two NASA Space Shuttle missions. He is the first Japanese astronaut who was part of an official Japanese space program. The first Japanese person in space, Toyohiro Akiyama, was a journalist who was trained in the Soviet Union.
Kohzoh Imai (今井浩三, Kohzoh Imai; born January 1, 1948) is a Japanese physician and oncologist specializing in molecular…
Kohzoh Imai (今井浩三, Kohzoh Imai; born January 1, 1948) is a Japanese physician and oncologist specializing in molecular diagnosis and novel medical treatment of cancer. He is well known for the discovery of a Melanoma-related antigen (Chondroitin Sulfate Proteoglycan-4, or CSPG4) by producing a monoclonal antibody. In addition, he produced monoclonal antibodies against CEA or ICAM-1 and discovered their use in diagnosis and pathological analysis. He is a former professor and president of Sapporo Medical University. He was a Council Member of the Science Council of Japan. Imai is currently a professor at the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Tokyo and the director of Kanagawa Cancer Center Research Institute. In 2013, he received the Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon.
Shuichi Kato (加藤 修一, Katō Shūichi; born September 28, 1947) is a Japanese politician of the New Komeito Party, a member…
Shuichi Kato (加藤 修一, Katō Shūichi; born September 28, 1947) is a Japanese politician of the New Komeito Party, a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet (national legislature).
Norio Miyaura (宮浦憲夫, Miyaura Norio) was a Japanese organic chemist. He was a professor of graduate chemical engineering…
Norio Miyaura (宮浦憲夫, Miyaura Norio) was a Japanese organic chemist. He was a professor of graduate chemical engineering at Hokkaido University. His major accomplishments surrounded his work in cross-coupling reactions / conjugate addition reactions of organoboronic acids (for C-C bond-forming reactions) and addition / coupling reactions of diborons and boranes (to synthesize organoboronic acids and esters through B-C bond-forming reactions). He is also the co-author of Cross-Coupling Reactions: A Practical Guide with M. Nomura E. S. Miyaura was a world-known and accomplished researcher by the time he retired and so, in 2007, he won the Japan Chemical Society Award.
Tamiaki Yoneya (米谷民明, Yoneya Tamiaki) (born 1947) is a Japanese physicist. Independently of Joël Scherk and John H.…
Tamiaki Yoneya (米谷民明, Yoneya Tamiaki) (born 1947) is a Japanese physicist. Independently of Joël Scherk and John H. Schwarz, he realized that string theory describes, among other things, the force of gravity. Yoneya has worked on the stringy extension of the uncertainty principle for many years.
Akiko Yamanaka (山中 あき子, Yamanaka Akiko; born 6 November 1945) is a former Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic…
Akiko Yamanaka (山中 あき子, Yamanaka Akiko; born 6 November 1945) is a former Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), who served as a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Otaru, Hokkaido and graduate of Tsuda College, she was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in 1996 and later became a Special Ambassador for Peacebuilding of Japan. She was originally a member of the New Frontier Party but later joined the LDP.
Tadashi Watanabe (渡辺 貞, Watanabe Tadashi; born October 1944) is a Japanese computer engineer. Watanabe is the project…
Tadashi Watanabe (渡辺 貞, Watanabe Tadashi; born October 1944) is a Japanese computer engineer. Watanabe is the project manager of the RIKEN Next-Generation Supercomputer R&D Center. He played a central role in the development of the NEC SX architecture. Watanabe was awarded the Eckert–Mauchly Award in 1998, and the Seymour Cray Computer Engineering Award in 2006.
Nobukatsu Fujioka (藤岡 信勝, Fujioka Nobukatsu) (born 1943) is both a founder and vice president of the Japanese Society…
Nobukatsu Fujioka (藤岡 信勝, Fujioka Nobukatsu) (born 1943) is both a founder and vice president of the Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform (新しい歴史教科書を作る会 atarashii rekishi kyōkasho wo tsukuru kai, abbreviated 作る会 Tsukurukai), now headed by Nishio Kanji). He was once a professor at the Tokyo University and later moved to Takushoku University. He is now retired. He was born in Iwamizawa, Hokkaido, and raised in Shibecha, Hokkaido. He is noted for his efforts at removing from Japanese textbooks accounts of wartime atrocities committed by Japan during the Second World War. He is considered to be a conservative and a nationalist, and he has been quoted as saying that he "stand(s) for a viewpoint of history with an emphasis on national interest," and that the study of Japanese history is "subject to the ultimate moral imperative of whether or not it serves to inculcate a sense of pride in being Japanese." He has also said that to "write [a history] based only on verified historical truths makes...[it] insipid and dry. I had no choice but to write from my own imagination to a great extent." In the early 1990s, Fujioka founded the Liberal View of History Study Group, which advocated "correcting history" by promoting a "positive view" of Japanese history and removing all references to what he referred to as "dark history." By 1995, he had created the Association for Advancement of Unbiased View of History (自由主義史観研究会, jiyūshugi shikan kenkyūkai) and the committee to Write New History Textbooks. Among Japan's top ten bestsellers in 1997 were two volumes edited by Fujioka, History The Textbooks Do Not Teach and Shameful Modern History. In late 1996, Fujioka and his followers joined with others to form the Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform (Tsukurukai, now headed by Nishio Kanji). This group authored The New History Textbook, which was one of eight junior high school history textbooks authorized by the Ministry of Education in April 2001. In December 2000, a draft textbook circulated by the Society and shown on national television elicited criticism from many Japanese historians and teachers. He is an assenter of the negationist film The Truth about Nanjing.
Akira Onodera (Japanese: 小野寺 昭, Hepburn: Onodera Akira; born September 19, 1943 in Hokkaido) is a Japanese actor and…
Akira Onodera (Japanese: 小野寺 昭, Hepburn: Onodera Akira; born September 19, 1943 in Hokkaido) is a Japanese actor and narrator. He is well known for his role as Denka in Taiyō ni Hoero!. He made his television debut in 1969 with Panto Akogare. In 2015, Onodera won the award for best supporting actor of Tokyo Sports Film Award for Ryuzo and the Seven Henchmen.
Yosuke Kamide (1943–2021) was a Japanese physicist. He co-founded the Asia Oceania Geosciences Society and served as…
Yosuke Kamide (1943–2021) was a Japanese physicist. He co-founded the Asia Oceania Geosciences Society and served as vice-president of the International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy from 2003 to 2007. He was a fellow of the American Geophysical Union and the Japan Geoscience Union. He won a Price Medal from the Royal Astronomical Society. He taught at Nagoya University.
Norio Niikawa (新川 詔夫, Niikawa Norio; 8 May 1942 – 11 April 2020) was a Japanese physician and medical geneticist who…
Norio Niikawa (新川 詔夫, Niikawa Norio; 8 May 1942 – 11 April 2020) was a Japanese physician and medical geneticist who discovered an autosomal dominant disorder, Kabuki syndrome, also known as Niikawa-Kuroki syndrome.
Ikuko Ishii (石井 郁子, Ishii Ikuko; born 10 October 1940) is a Japanese politician and member for the House of…
Ikuko Ishii (石井 郁子, Ishii Ikuko; born 10 October 1940) is a Japanese politician and member for the House of Representatives for the Japanese Communist Party. She was born in Hokkaido and studied there.
Takashi Asano (浅野 孝, Asano Takashi; born 1937) is a Japanese-born environmental engineer and a professor emeritus at…
Takashi Asano (浅野 孝, Asano Takashi; born 1937) is a Japanese-born environmental engineer and a professor emeritus at the University of California, Davis. Asano has more than 40 years of academic and professional experience in environmental and water resources engineering, specializing in water reclamation, recycling, and reuse. During 1978–1992, he served as the water reclamation specialist for the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) in Sacramento, during the formative years of water reclamation, recycling, and reuse. Asano has conducted water reclamation and reuse studies at the SWRCB and the University of California, Davis, many of which contributed to the scientific and technical basis for State of California's Title 22 regulations (State of California Water Recycling Criteria). Previously, Asano taught at Montana State University, Bozeman, 1971–75, and Washington State University, Pullman, 1975–78. He has continued to lecture widely and publish on topics current and ancient. Asano co-authored with Franklin L. Burton, Harold L. Leverenz, Ryujiro Tsuchihashi, and George Tchobanoglous the widely used textbook entitled Water Reuse: Issues, Technologies, and Applications by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., New York, NY.
Masao Yamaguchi (山口 昌男, Yamaguchi Masao; August 20, 1931 – 10 March 2013) was a Japanese anthropologist.
Akira Suzuki (鈴木 章, Suzuki Akira; born September 12, 1930) is a Japanese chemist and Nobel Prize Laureate (2010), who…
Akira Suzuki (鈴木 章, Suzuki Akira; born September 12, 1930) is a Japanese chemist and Nobel Prize Laureate (2010), who first published the Suzuki reaction, the organic reaction of an aryl- or vinyl-boronic acid with an aryl- or vinyl-halide catalyzed by a palladium(0) complex, in 1979.
Kiyohiro Miura (三浦清宏, Miura Kiyohiro; born 1930 in Muroran, Hokkaido) is a Japanese writer. After attending the…
Kiyohiro Miura (三浦清宏, Miura Kiyohiro; born 1930 in Muroran, Hokkaido) is a Japanese writer. After attending the University of Tokyo he went to the United States for further education. He received his B.A. from San Jose State University in 1955 and his MFA from University of Iowa in 1958. His novel Chōnan no shukke (長男の出家) or My Young Son Becomes a Zen Monk won the Akutagawa Prize in 1988.
Motosaburo Masuyama (増山 元三郎, Masuyama Motosaburō; October 3, 1912 – 3 July 2005) was a Japanese statistician who…
Motosaburo Masuyama (増山 元三郎, Masuyama Motosaburō; October 3, 1912 – 3 July 2005) was a Japanese statistician who championed the ideas of R.A. Fisher and went on to influence the fields of quality control and biometrics.
Gennosuke Fuse (布施 現之助, Fuse Gennosuke; January 24, 1880 in Otaru, Hokkaidō - December 12, 1946) was a Japanese…
Gennosuke Fuse (布施 現之助, Fuse Gennosuke; January 24, 1880 in Otaru, Hokkaidō - December 12, 1946) was a Japanese anatomist of the Meiji period. He graduated from Tokyo Imperial University medical school. Then he studied abroad in Switzerland. He was assistant of the University of Zurich from 1907 to 1911 and from 1914 to 1916 and worked with Constantin von Monakow. His name is lent to the Kölliker-Fuse nucleus.
Naohide Yatsu (September 8, 1877 – October 2, 1947) was a Japanese biologist, geneticist, and embryologist. Yatsu…
Naohide Yatsu (September 8, 1877 – October 2, 1947) was a Japanese biologist, geneticist, and embryologist. Yatsu received his Ph.D. from Columbia University and was a pioneer in embryonic induction and laid the foundations for zoology research in Japan.