Hikaru Kaihatsu (Japanese: 開發 光, Hepburn: Kaihatsu Hikaru; born April 21, 1989), who is professionally known as Hikakin…
Hikaru Kaihatsu (Japanese: 開發 光, Hepburn: Kaihatsu Hikaru; born April 21, 1989), who is professionally known as Hikakin (Japanese: ヒカキン), is a Japanese YouTuber, beatboxer, and businessman. He co-founded and is supreme advisor of the Japanese multi-channel network Uuum. He also established, and serves as co-CEO and Chief creative officer of the company Bee. Hikakin is also a member of the Japanese music group Hikakin & Seikin. His popularity on YouTube and extensive media coverage have made him one of Japan's most-prominent online personalities and content creators. Hikakin was born and raised in Myōkō City, Niigata Prefecture. He opened his YouTube channel "Hikakin" in 2006, posting mainly beatboxing videos. In 2010, he posted "Super Mario Beatbox", a beatbox medley of music from Super Mario Bros., which gained over a million views in one week. In 2012, he quit his supermarket to focus on his YouTube channel. In 2015, he began producing music, including the "YouTube Theme Song", which he co-wrote with his brother Seikin, and in November of the same year, his channel "HikakinTV" exceeded 2.57 million subscribers, making it the most-subscribed-to YouTube channel in Japan. In 2021, his YouTube channel "HikakinTV" surpassed 10 million subscribers and by 2022, "HikakinTV" had accumulated more than 10 billion views. In 2023, Hikakin launched his brand Hikakin Premium (currently known as Bee), and released cup ramen, "Misokin Rich Miso Ramen" (みそきん 濃厚味噌ラーメン), and cup rice, "Misokin Rich Miso Meshi" (みそきん 濃厚味噌メシ), at 7-Eleven stores in Japan, which had sold 60 million meals in July 2026. On April 21, 2026, he launched the barley tea "Onicha" (鬼茶) and two months later, sales surpassed 7.5 million bottles. Hikakin's seven YouTube channels have more than 30 million subscribers and 25.7 billion views, and as of July 2026, his main channel, "HikakinTV", is the eighth-most-subscribed-to YouTube channel in Japan. His online popularity has boosted sales of the video games he plays and inspired support for charitable fundraising. Hikakin has been nominated in the International category at the 10th and 12th Streamy Awards, and Forbes Japan named him one of the "Top 50 Influencers" in 2019.
Famous People from Niigata Prefecture
Niigata Prefecture: 9 people
Takashi Amano (天野尚, Amano Takashi; 18 July 1954 – 4 August 2015) was a professional Japanese track cyclist…
Takashi Amano (天野尚, Amano Takashi; 18 July 1954 – 4 August 2015) was a professional Japanese track cyclist, photographer, designer, and aquarist. He founded Aqua Design Amano (ADA), a Japanese company that specializes in the design of aquariums and their production. Amano was the author of Nature Aquarium World (TFH Publications, 1994), a three-book series on aquascaping, freshwater aquarium plants, and fish. He also published the book Aquarium Plant Paradise (TFH Publications, 1997). A species of freshwater shrimp, the "Amano shrimp" or "Yamato shrimp" (Caridina multidentata; previously Caridina japonica), was named after him. Amano discovered the species' ability to eat large quantities of algae. Amano ordered several thousand of them from a local distributor. They have since become widely used in freshwater planted aquariums. Amano also developed a line of aquarium products under the Aqua Design Amano (ADA) brand. His aquarium column, "Nature Aquarium," appeared in the monthly magazines Practical Fishkeeping and Tropical Fish Hobbyist. He died of pneumonia in 2015 at the age of 61.
Kazuhiko Torishima (Japanese: 鳥嶋 和彦, Hepburn: Torishima Kazuhiko; born October 19, 1952) is a Japanese publishing…
Kazuhiko Torishima (Japanese: 鳥嶋 和彦, Hepburn: Torishima Kazuhiko; born October 19, 1952) is a Japanese publishing executive and former manga magazine editor, who is currently serving as an outside director at Bushiroad. He formerly worked at Shueisha, where he began as an editor in 1976, before becoming a senior managing director (CEO), and later a Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions director. When he moved to Hakusensha in 2015, he first served as president, then representative director, before taking on the role of advisor. He began working for Bushiroad at the end of 2022. Torishima has been called one of the most important figures in the history of manga, and has been credited with pioneering the media mix business strategy. He is often associated with works from the manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump, for which he was editor-in-chief from 1996 to 2001. Torishima discovered Akira Toriyama and was his editor throughout the run of Dr. Slump (1980–1984) and during the first half of Dragon Ball (1984–1995). He received a Special Achievement Award at the 2022 Japan Media Arts Festival for his work in manga.
Kenji Otsubo (Japanese: 大坪 賢次, Hepburn: Kenji Otsubo; born May 25, 1944) is a Japanese businessman.
Hideji Ōtaki (大滝 秀治, Ōtaki Hideji; June 6, 1925 – October 2, 2012) was a Japanese actor. He served as President of the…
Hideji Ōtaki (大滝 秀治, Ōtaki Hideji; June 6, 1925 – October 2, 2012) was a Japanese actor. He served as President of the Mingei Theatre Company.
Eishiro Saito (斎藤 英四郎, Saitou Eishiro) (November 11, 1911 - April 22, 2002) was a Japanese businessman, the former…
Eishiro Saito (斎藤 英四郎, Saitou Eishiro) (November 11, 1911 - April 22, 2002) was a Japanese businessman, the former President of Nippon Steel, the 6th Chairman of the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) from 1986 to 1991, President of the Japan Science Foundation from 1988, President of the Japan Sports Fund, and President of the Nagano Olympic Organizing Committee.
Kichimatsu Kishi (岸 吉松 Kishi Kichimatsu, ?–1956) was a Japanese immigrant to the United States who worked as a farmer…
Kichimatsu Kishi (岸 吉松 Kishi Kichimatsu, ?–1956) was a Japanese immigrant to the United States who worked as a farmer and businessman. Along with fellow immigrants from Japan, his impact on rice farming in the southern United States would change the agricultural industry of the region. Kishi would establish an agricultural colony in Southeast Texas and would own an oil company. Born as one of eight children to a Japanese banker, he attended Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo, Japan, but was taken from his studies in 1904 to fight in the Russo-Japanese War. He was eventually sent to Manchuria on the mainland of China where he remained until the Japanese victory in 1905. He considered remaining there, but the high cost of land and lawlessness prompted him to return to his homeland. Years earlier, Sadatsuchi Uchida (Japan’s consul to the United States) toured the southern United States in 1902. Uchida reported back to Japan with promising news that the rice farming was underdeveloped and showed potential for large profit. At the time, the dense population of Japan and limited workable land meant that many rice farmers would never own their own land. This sparked Kishi’s interest in migrating to the United States in 1906.
Baron Masuda Takashi (益田 孝; November 12, 1848 – December 28, 1938) was a Japanese industrialist, investor, and art…
Baron Masuda Takashi (益田 孝; November 12, 1848 – December 28, 1938) was a Japanese industrialist, investor, and art collector. He was a prominent entrepreneur in Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa period Japan, responsible for transforming Mitsui into a zaibatsu through the creation of a general trading company, Mitsui & Co. He also established a newspaper, the Chugai Shōgyō Shimpō (中外商業新報), which was later renamed the Nihon Keizai Shimbun.
Baron Ōkura Kihachirō (大倉 喜八郎; 23 October 1837 – 5 April 1928) was a Japanese businessman, investor, and…
Baron Ōkura Kihachirō (大倉 喜八郎; 23 October 1837 – 5 April 1928) was a Japanese businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He was the corporate progenitor of the Ōkura-gumi zaibatsu, which later became the Taisei Corporation, and the Ōkura Shōgyō Gakkō ("Okura Commerce School") which later became Tokyo University of Economics in 1949. In contrast to most of the zaibatsu, the Ōkura zaibatsu was founded by someone from the peasant class.