Hiroko Takahashi (高橋理子, Takahashi Hiroko (born 1977)) is a Japanese artist and kimono designer whose work is in the…Hiroko Takahashi (高橋理子, Takahashi Hiroko (born 1977)) is a Japanese artist and kimono designer whose work is in the permanent collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Takeharu Yamanaka (山中 竹春, Yamanaka Takeharu; born 27 September 1972) is a Japanese politician and current mayor of…Takeharu Yamanaka (山中 竹春, Yamanaka Takeharu; born 27 September 1972) is a Japanese politician and current mayor of Yokohama, the capital of Kanagawa Prefecture. He defeated incumbent mayor Fumiko Hayashi in the 2021 Yokohama mayoral election. His independent campaign was supported by the Constitutional Democratic Party, Social Democratic Party, and the Communist Party of Japan. Yamanaka's campaign focused on the opposition for a planned integrated resort development and casino for the city which was to be built on Yamashita Pier, criticism against the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and additional sister city relationship with San Francisco, California. Yamanaka formerly worked as a professor at Yokohama City University and as a data scientist. On 16 January 2026, Yamanaka issued a public apology after Yokohama's human resource chief, Jun Kubota, accused Yamanaka of using terms such as "idiot" and "human scum" to disparage staff. In July 2026, a third-party investigation confirmed these allegations and also Yamanaka saying things like "everyone over 55 is stubborn and useless", even telling an official to "disembowel" if he failed to secure a bid to host an international conference. On 28 August 2026, two weeks after some of Japan's major political parties urged him to step down from his post, Yamanaka announced his intention to resign as the mayor of Yokohama.
Eri Nitta (新田 恵利, Nitta Eri; married name Eri Nagayama (長山 恵利, Nagayama Eri), March 17, 1968 in Kamifukuoka (now part…Eri Nitta (新田 恵利, Nitta Eri; married name Eri Nagayama (長山 恵利, Nagayama Eri), March 17, 1968 in Kamifukuoka (now part of Fujimino), Saitama Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese singer, actress, lyricist, and tarento. She made her professional debut as the fourth member of the all-female singing group Onyanko Club in 1985. She made her solo debut with the hit song Winter Opera Glasses (冬のオペラグラス, Fuyu no Opera Gurasu) on January 1, 1986. Nitta performed the opening and ending theme songs for the first 14 episodes of the Little Women anime television series from Nippon Animation. Nitta attended and graduated from Fujimino Municipal Fukuoka Junior High School and Saitama Prefectural Fukuoka High School.
Izumi Hoshi (星 泉, Hoshi Izumi; born 1967) is a Japanese scholar of Tibetan linguistics at the Tokyo University of…Izumi Hoshi (星 泉, Hoshi Izumi; born 1967) is a Japanese scholar of Tibetan linguistics at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. Born in Chiba, she is the daughter of the equally noted Tibetan linguist Michiyo Hoshi.
Kenichirō "Ken" Mogi (茂木 健一郎, Mogi Kenichirō; born October 20, 1962 in Tokyo) is a Japanese scientist. He is a senior…Kenichirō "Ken" Mogi (茂木 健一郎, Mogi Kenichirō; born October 20, 1962 in Tokyo) is a Japanese scientist. He is a senior researcher at Sony Computer Science Laboratories and a visiting professor at the University of Tokyo. According to the profile posted at his personal blog, his mission is "to solve the so-called mind-brain problem". After graduating from the University of Tokyo in 1985 with a degree in science and in 1987 with a degree in law, Mogi received in 1992 a Ph.D. with the thesis "Mathematical Model of Muscle Contraction". Ken Mogi was Japan's first TED speaker. He presented in 2012 March. Mogi has published over 50 books, most of which are written in Japanese. They cover not only brain science but also include, but are not limited to, philosophy, history, art, education, and linguistics. His books have been frequently used as a source of university entrance examinations. His book "Nō to Kasō" (脳と仮想; "Brain and Imagination") has received the 2005 Hideo Kobayashi award, and another book "Ima Koko kara Subete no Basho e" (今ここからすべての場所へ; "From Here, to Everywhere") has received the 2008 Takeo Kuwabara academic award. In 2009, Mogi was charged with violation of tax laws by the National Tax Agency. Mogi failed to file a tax return for his income of 400 million yen (US$5.2 million) over 3 years. In 2018, Mogi published his first book in English titled "Ikigai", in which he discussed the topic of the same name.
Akira Furusawa (Japanese: 古澤 明, Hepburn: Furusawa Akira; born 1961) is a Japanese physicist known for his contributions…Akira Furusawa (Japanese: 古澤 明, Hepburn: Furusawa Akira; born 1961) is a Japanese physicist known for his contributions to quantum teleportation. He is a professor of physics in University of Tokyo and specializes in nonlinear optics, quantum optics, and quantum information science.
Takaaki Kajita (梶田 隆章, Kajita Takaaki; Japanese pronunciation: [kadʑita takaːki]; born 9 March 1959) is a Japanese…Takaaki Kajita (梶田 隆章, Kajita Takaaki; Japanese pronunciation: [kadʑita takaːki]; born 9 March 1959) is a Japanese physicist, known for neutrino experiments at the Kamioka Observatory – Kamiokande and its successor, Super-Kamiokande. In 2015, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics jointly with Canadian physicist Arthur B. McDonald for the discovery of neutrino oscillations. On 1 October 2020, he became the president of the Science Council of Japan.
Hideo Hosono (細野秀雄, Hosono Hideo; born September 7, 1953) is a Japanese material scientist most known for the discovery…Hideo Hosono (細野秀雄, Hosono Hideo; born September 7, 1953) is a Japanese material scientist most known for the discovery of iron-based superconductors. Hosono, Hideki Shirakawa and Yoshinori Ohsumi are the three keynote speakers at the Institute of Integrated Research (IIR) founding lecture at the Institute of Science Tokyo.
Yukiko Kada (嘉田 由紀子, Kada Yukiko; born May 18, 1950) is a Japanese politician and member of the National Diet of Japan…Yukiko Kada (嘉田 由紀子, Kada Yukiko; born May 18, 1950) is a Japanese politician and member of the National Diet of Japan, serving as member of the House of Councillors from Shiga Prefecture since 2019. She was the governor of Shiga for two terms from 2006 to 2014.
Masakatsu Shibasaki (柴崎 正勝, Shibasaki Masakatsu; born 25 January 1947) is a Japanese chemist. In 1974 he earned his…Masakatsu Shibasaki (柴崎 正勝, Shibasaki Masakatsu; born 25 January 1947) is a Japanese chemist. In 1974 he earned his doctorate in chemistry, in the group of Shun’ichi Yamada. He did a post doc with Elias J. Corey at Harvard. He returned to Japan and became a professor in 1977 at Teikyō University and moved to Hokkaidō University in 1986. 1983–1986 Shibasaki was a research group leader at the Sagami chemical research center. From 1991 until 2010 he served as professor at Tokyo University. Since 2010 he is representative director of Microbial Chemistry Research Foundation (Chemistry), Tokyo. He is perhaps best known for developing a range of binol based heterobimetallic catalysts, which now bear his name.
Sumio Iijima (飯島 澄男, Iijima Sumio; born 2 May 1939) is a Japanese physicist and inventor, often cited for his discovery…Sumio Iijima (飯島 澄男, Iijima Sumio; born 2 May 1939) is a Japanese physicist and inventor, often cited for his discovery of carbon nanotubes. Although carbon nanotubes had been observed prior to his "invention", Iijima's 1991 paper generated unprecedented interest in the carbon nanostructures and has since fueled intense research in the area of nanotechnology. Born in Saitama Prefecture in 1939, Iijima graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering degree in 1963 from the University of Electro-Communications, Tokyo. He received a Master's degree in 1965 and completed his Ph.D. in solid-state physics in 1968, both at Tohoku University in Sendai. Between 1970 and 1982 he performed research with crystalline materials and high-resolution electron microscopy at Arizona State University. He visited the University of Cambridge during 1979 to perform studies on carbon materials. He worked for the Research Development Corporation of Japan from 1982 to 1987, studying ultra-fine particles, after which he joined NEC Corporation where he is still employed. He discovered carbon nanotubes in 1991. When he discovered carbon nanotubes, he not only took pictures of them but he put two together and explained what they really are. Afterwards, he was credited with the discovery. He is also a University Professor at Meijo University since 1999. Furthermore, he is the Honorary AIST Fellow of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Distinguished Invited University Professor of Nagoya University. He was awarded the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Physics in 2002, "for the discovery and elucidation of the atomic structure and helical character of multi-wall and single-wall carbon nanotubes, which have had an enormous impact on the rapidly growing condensed matter and materials science field of nanoscale science and electronics." He is a foreign associate of National Academy of Sciences, foreign member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. He is also a Member of the Japan Academy.
Takekoshi Yosaburō (竹越 與三郎; November 22, 1865 – January 12, 1950) was a Japanese historian and politician, member of…Takekoshi Yosaburō (竹越 與三郎; November 22, 1865 – January 12, 1950) was a Japanese historian and politician, member of the Diet and Privy councillor. He was a graduate of Keiō Gijuku. Takekoshi was a committed advocate of Japanese expansion into the South Seas, rather than China. Among his works published in English are Japanese Rule in Formosa and a monumental Economic Aspects of the Civilization of Japan, which includes a wealth of quantitative data from pre-modern sources.
Iwao Hirose (広瀬 巌 (Hirose Iwao), born 1970) is a Japanese philosopher and economist. He is currently professor and…Iwao Hirose (広瀬 巌 (Hirose Iwao), born 1970) is a Japanese philosopher and economist. He is currently professor and Canada Research Chair in Value Theory and the Philosophy of Public Policy at McGill University.