Sohji Izumi (和泉 崇司, Izumi Sôji; born February 1, 1988 in Hiroshima) is a Japanese actor. Izumi was born in Hiroshima…Sohji Izumi (和泉 崇司, Izumi Sôji; born February 1, 1988 in Hiroshima) is a Japanese actor. Izumi was born in Hiroshima, Japan in 1988. He competed in javelin throwing in high school, placing 4th in Hiroshima prefecture and 8th in Chugoku Area. While studying at the University of Central Arkansas, he broke the school record and received an athletic scholarship. He participated in the United States Army ROTC program and received basic military training. He also completed the Emergency Medical Technician training at the local fire station, and Advanced Life-support training at the Tokyo Fire Department. Izumi began acting in 2012 after completing graduate school. He is best known for his roles as Carlito in the drama Angel Heart, a sequel to City Hunter by Tsukasa Hojo.
Shigeaki Kato (加藤 シゲアキ, Katō Shigeaki; born July 11, 1987) is a Japanese musician, writer, actor and a member of the…Shigeaki Kato (加藤 シゲアキ, Katō Shigeaki; born July 11, 1987) is a Japanese musician, writer, actor and a member of the J-pop group NEWS, from ELOV-Label formerly known as Johnny's Entertainment.
Yūta Hiraoka (平岡 祐太, Hiraoka Yūta; born September 1, 1984) is a Japanese actor who belongs to the talent agency Amuse…Yūta Hiraoka (平岡 祐太, Hiraoka Yūta; born September 1, 1984) is a Japanese actor who belongs to the talent agency Amuse, Inc. He gained recognition in 2004 film Swing Girls and won "Newcomer of the Year" Award at 28th Japan Academy Prize. Then he appeared in several dramas and films, including Water Boys 2005 Summer, Tokyo Friends: The Movie (2006), Daisuki!! (2008), Kiina (2009), NECK (2010), The Reason I Can't Find My Love (2011), ATARU (2012), Ando ♡ Roid (2013), Hanasaki Mai Speaks Out (2014), Attack on Titan: Counter Rockets (2015), Specialist (2016), Tokyo Tarareba Girls (2017) and best known for the role of "Mikio Enokido" (榎戸 幹雄) in 2007 TV drama series Operation Love.
Toshinao Nakagawa (中川 俊直, Nakagawa Toshinao) is a former Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party. The scion…Toshinao Nakagawa (中川 俊直, Nakagawa Toshinao) is a former Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party. The scion of an elite political family, Nakagawa resigned in April 2017 following reports of an extramarital affair.
Taizo Harada (原田 泰造, Harada Taizō; born March 24, 1970, in Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture) is a Japanese comedian and…Taizo Harada (原田 泰造, Harada Taizō; born March 24, 1970, in Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture) is a Japanese comedian and actor who performs boke in the comedy trio Neptune. He is nicknamed Taizō (タイゾー). Harada is represented with Watanabe Entertainment. He is a father with two children. Harada has an older sister and a younger brother.
Kōji Kikkawa (吉川 晃司, Kikkawa Kōji; born August 18, 1965) is a Japanese singer, musician and actor. His most recent…Kōji Kikkawa (吉川 晃司, Kikkawa Kōji; born August 18, 1965) is a Japanese singer, musician and actor. His most recent album is 2022's Over the Nine. Kōji was born in Hiroshima and his music career began on February 1, 1984, with "Monica" (later remade in Cantonese sung by Leslie Cheung) and he won eight music awards in the same year. After taking a short break in 1988, he came back as a lead singer in the band Complex with Tomoyasu Hotei (former guitarist of Boøwy) and "Be My Baby" was released. Complex remained as one of the most popular bands in Japan until 1990, when it was announced that Complex had disbanded. After "Complex", Kōji released series of hit singles such as "Setsunasa O Korosenai", "Kiss Ni Utarete Nemuritai" and "Boy's Life". Kōji completed a "20th Anniversary Tour" at Budokan on February 1, 2005. In 2006 he recorded "One World," the theme for the 2006 motion picture Kamen Rider Kabuto: God Speed Love. More recently, he had teamed up with popular Japanese DJ TWINS to release a single "Juicy Jungle". Also, DJ TWINS had released an album with remixes of several of Kōji's previous hits. With this new sound-disco revisit, Kōji redefined himself like he does year after year. Throughout all his career, it could be considered that Kōji had outgrown from an idol to an artiste that explore the music boundary. He writes his own songs, produced and arranged his own albums and also played most of the instruments in it. He had just released a remix album of his old hits-titled-DISCO K2. In April 2007, a new single "BABY JANE" was released. He portrayed Sokichi Narumi/Kamen Rider Skull in the Kamen Rider W franchise from 2009 to 2010, and sung "Nobody's Perfect," Skull's theme. In 2011, Kōji and Tomoyasu Hotei reunited as Complex for two concerts at the Tokyo Dome to benefit victims of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. The duo had not performed together as Complex for almost 21 years. In 2017, Koji's single "SAMURAI ROCK" was used theme for the J-Sports broadcast of 2017 World Baseball Classic. In 2024, 13 years later, Kikkawa and Hotei reunited again for another Complex benefit concert at the Tokyo Dome, this time to benefit the victims of the 2024 Noto earthquake. In 2025, Kikkawa formed the unit Ooochie Koochie with Tamio Okuda.
Yūrei Yanagi (柳 憂怜 or 柳ユーレイ, Yanagi Yūrei; born 8 April 1963) is a Japanese actor and tarento. He was born in Fuchū…Yūrei Yanagi (柳 憂怜 or 柳ユーレイ, Yanagi Yūrei; born 8 April 1963) is a Japanese actor and tarento. He was born in Fuchū, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. Yanagi was originally a member of Takeshi Kitano's gundan. In 1990 he continued to work with Takeshi for the film Boiling Point. Afterwards, he appeared in over eight more films before meeting up with Takeshi again for the 1997 film Hana-bi. His most recent roles have been in horror films such as Ring, Ju-on and Ju-on 2. He is married to actress, novelist, and essayist Atsuko Kawada. He is also credited as Masahiko Ono or Yuurei Yanagi.
Masanori Sera (Japanese: 世良公則) (born 14 December 1955) is a Japanese singer and actor from Fukuyama. He graduated from…Masanori Sera (Japanese: 世良公則) (born 14 December 1955) is a Japanese singer and actor from Fukuyama. He graduated from Osaka University of Arts. As a singer Sera's rock band, Sera Masanori&TWIST appeared in the Kōhaku Uta Gassen twice (1978 and 1979). He made his solo debut with the single Tokyo rouge (Tokyo指紅) in 1982. As an actor, he appeared in popular detective drama Taiyō ni Hoero! from 1982 to 1984. In 1998, he won Best Supporting Actor award at the 22nd Japan Academy Prize (film award) for his role in Dr. Akagi.
Hideki Saijō (西城 秀樹, Saijō Hideki; originally Tatsuo Kimoto (木本 龍雄, Kimoto Tatsuo); April 13, 1955 – May 16, 2018) was…Hideki Saijō (西城 秀樹, Saijō Hideki; originally Tatsuo Kimoto (木本 龍雄, Kimoto Tatsuo); April 13, 1955 – May 16, 2018) was a Japanese singer, composer, actor, drummer, voice actor, and television and radio show host. Due to his numerous pioneering achievements throughout Asia in the 1970s and 1980s, he is considered an icon amongst Shōwa era idols. With on-stage vivacity and highly acclaimed vocals as his defining trademarks, Saijō quickly came to dominate the Japanese charts of the 1970s. He was consistently promoted as part of the Shin-Gosanke (新御三家, "New Big Three") idol trio alongside two other soloists who debuted around the same time: Goro Noguchi and Hiromi Go. Almost seven years into his career, his 28th single "YOUNG MAN (Y.M.C.A.)" (a Japanese cover of the Village People song of the same name) became a social phenomenon in Japan, selling over 1.8 million copies.
Eikichi Yazawa (矢沢 永吉, Yazawa Eikichi; born September 14, 1949) is a Japanese singer and songwriter. He is the father…Eikichi Yazawa (矢沢 永吉, Yazawa Eikichi; born September 14, 1949) is a Japanese singer and songwriter. He is the father of singer-songwriter Yoko Yazawa. He has been nicknamed as "Ei-chan" (永ちゃん), "Boss" and "The King of Rock".
Takuro Yoshida (吉田 拓郎, Yoshida Takurō) is a Japanese male singer-songwriter. He was born on April 5, 1946, in Okuchi…Takuro Yoshida (吉田 拓郎, Yoshida Takurō) is a Japanese male singer-songwriter. He was born on April 5, 1946, in Okuchi, Kagoshima, and raised in Hiroshima. He made his debut with the single "Imeji no Uta / Mark II" on June 1, 1970. His 1972 recording of "Tabi no Yado" sold over one million copies by September that year, and was awarded a gold disc. He established the record company "For Life Records" with Yosui Inoue, Shigeru Izumiya, and Hitoshi Komuro in 1975. Yoshida is a musician whose songs have been used as theme songs in television series such as Jun (純) , the theme song of Cromartie High School, as well as being covered by another popular artists like Hirakawachi 1-chome (Yoshida's "Natsu Yasumi"), KinKi Kids (Yoshida's "Zenbu Dakishimete").
Mikijirō Hira (平 幹二朗, Hira Mikijirō; 21 November 1933 – 23 October 2016) was a Japanese actor. Starting as a stage…Mikijirō Hira (平 幹二朗, Hira Mikijirō; 21 November 1933 – 23 October 2016) was a Japanese actor. Starting as a stage actor in the 1950s, he also worked in film and television and was active until the time of his death. From the 1970s he starred in several of Yukio Ninagawa's productions, including an acclaimed role as Macbeth. Described as "Japan's best Shakespearean actor", Hira received several awards throughout his career, including an excellence award at the 2011 National Arts Festival hosted by the Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs.
Isao Kimura (木村 功, Kimura Isao; 22 June 1923 – 4 July 1981), sometimes credited as Kō Kimura, was a Japanese stage and…Isao Kimura (木村 功, Kimura Isao; 22 June 1923 – 4 July 1981), sometimes credited as Kō Kimura, was a Japanese stage and film actor who appeared in more than one hundred films of directors such as Akira Kurosawa, Mikio Naruse, Tadashi Imai and Yoshishige Yoshida.
Ryuji Sainei (載寧 龍二, Sainei Ryūji), born on October 8, 1981, in Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan) is a Japanese…Ryuji Sainei (載寧 龍二, Sainei Ryūji), born on October 8, 1981, in Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan) is a Japanese actor, best known for his role as Banban "Ban" Akaza/Deka Red in the 2004 Super Sentai series Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger. He is currently a freelance actor but was affiliated with Horipro until December 31, 2014. On April 1, 2015, he changed his name to "さいねい 龍二", the same reading.