33 Notable alumni of
Kwansei Gakuin University
Updated:
Kwansei Gakuin University is 275th in the world, 54th in Asia, and 24th in Japan by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 33 notable alumni from Kwansei Gakuin University sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff.
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Yuriko Koike
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Yuriko Koike is a Japanese politician who has served as the Governor of Tokyo since 2016. Previously, she also served as a member of the House of Councillors from 1992 to 1993, a member of the House of Representatives from 1993 to 2016, Minister of the Environment under Junichiro Koizumi from 2003 to 2006, and Minister of Defense under Shinzo Abe between July and August 2007.
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Etsushi Toyokawa
- Occupations
- actorscreenwriter
- Biography
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Etsushi Toyokawa is a Japanese actor.
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Yūmi Nagashima
- Occupations
- announcertelevision presenter
- Biography
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Yūmi Nagashima is a Japanese former announcer for Fuji TV. She is known for being the main presenter of Mezamashi TV.
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Tadao Takashima
- Occupations
- television presentertelevision actortarentoactorfilm actor
- Biography
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Tadao Takashima was a Japanese actor and jazz musician. He appeared in more than 100 films, including the Toho productions King Kong vs. Godzilla, Atragon, and Frankenstein vs. Baragon. He also performed in stage musicals such as My Fair Lady and appeared in several television shows.
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Ura Kazuki
- Occupations
- rikishi
- Biography
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Ura Kazuki is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Neyagawa, Osaka. After winning a gold medal in sumo at the 2013 World Combat Games, he made his professional debut in 2015, wrestling with the Kise stable and he won the jonokuchi division championship in his first tournament. He reached the top makuuchi division in March 2017, but a pair of serious injuries led to two extended layoffs, and his rank dropped to the lowest since his debut tournament, and it was three and a half years before he returned to top-level competition. He has two kinboshi, or gold stars, for defeating a yokozuna.
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So Taguchi
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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So Taguchi is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Orix BlueWave / Buffaloes, and in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, and Chicago Cubs.
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Naoki Miyanishi
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Naoki Miyanishi is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
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Takashi Ogino
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Takashi Ogino is a Japanese professional baseball outfielder and shortstop for the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball.
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Oniroku Dan
- Occupations
- novelistscreenwriter
- Biography
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Oniroku Dan was a Japanese author who has been called, "the most celebrated writer of popular SM novels in Japan." Many of his stories have been filmed, most notably by Nikkatsu studio in their Roman Porno series. Dan had a close professional association with actress Naomi Tani throughout her career. He died on May 6, 2011.
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Yoshihiko Miyauchi
- Occupations
- businessperson
- Biography
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Yoshihiko Miyauchi is a Japanese businessman. He is Senior Chairman of ORIX Corp. and was a former CEO of Orix. Miyauchi served as President of the Council for Promoting Regulatory Reform in Japan. As of 2007, ORIX was Japan's largest leasing and leading diversified financial services conglomerate with assets in excess of US$69 billion and subsidiaries & associates in 24 countries worldwide.
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Shinsuke Suematsu
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Shinsuke Suematsu is a Japanese politician who serves as a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet of Japan. He has represented the Hyogo at-large district as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party since 2004. He served as Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology from 2021 to 2022.
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Takayuki Shimizu
- Occupations
- announcerpolitician
- Biography
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Takayuki Shimizu is a Japanese television announcer and politician of the Initiatives from Osaka party. He is serving his first term as a member of the House of Councillors in the National Diet, representing the Hyogo at-large district.
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Hideyuki Yokoyama
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Hideyuki Yokoyama is a Japanese economist and politician who has served as the incumbent mayor of Osaka since 9 April 2023. He graduated from Kwansei Gakuin University with a degree in economics in 2004 and immediately began a career under the Osaka prefectural government. He was elected to the Osaka Prefectural Assembly in April 2011 and won a further two terms in April 2015 and April 2019. He was elected as Osaka Restoration Association / Nippon Ishin No Kai candidate for mayor of Osaka in the April 2023 Osaka mayoral election following the previous incumbent, Ichirō Matsui's retirement from politics following the defeat of the Osaka Metropolis Plan in a 2020 referendum. He was reelected in 2026.
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Hiroto Goya
- Occupations
- association football player
- Biography
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Hiroto Goya is a Japanese football player. He currently plays for JEF United Chiba.
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Ken Naganuma
- Occupations
- association football playerassociation football coach
- Biography
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Ken Naganuma was a Japanese football player and manager. A forward, he earned four caps for the Japan national team between 1954 and 1961 and later also served as the team's manager. He was also the president of the Japan Football Association from 1994 to 1998.
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Jiro Yoshihara
- Occupations
- painter
- Biography
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Jirō Yoshihara was a Japanese painter, art educator, curator, and businessman.
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Takashi Shimizu
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Takashi Shimizu is a professional baseball catcher for the Hanshin Tigers in Japan's Central League.
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Kiyoshi Tanimoto
- Occupations
- Methodist pastor
- Biography
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Kiyoshi Tanimoto was a Japanese Methodist minister famous for his humanitarian work for the Hiroshima Maidens. Tanimoto was a U.S educated Methodist minister and moved to Hiroshima with his wife during the midst of World War II. He survived the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and was one of the six Hiroshima survivors whose experiences of the bomb and later life are portrayed in John Hersey's book Hiroshima.
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Yoshihiro Seki
- Enrolled in Kwansei Gakuin University
- In 1989 studied faculty of economics
- Occupations
- cashierpolitician
- Biography
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Yoshihiro Seki is a Japanese politician serving in the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature) as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. A native of Komatsushima, Tokushima and graduate of Kwansei Gakuin University School of economics, he was elected for the first time in the 2005 general election.
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Tokuzō Tanaka
- Occupations
- film director
- Biography
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Tokuzō Tanaka was a Japanese film director. He is well known for directing several installments of the Zatoichi and Nemuri Kyōshirō film series.
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Liu Kuo-tsai
- Years
- 1911-1993 (aged 82)
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Liu Kuo-tsai was a Taiwanese politician. Elected to the Legislative Yuan in 1969, he was named deputy speaker in 1972. In 1988, he became the acting President of the Legislative Yuan. The interim designation was removed early next year and Liu stepped down from the position in 1990.
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Junko Hiramatsu
- Occupations
- figure skaterfigure skating judgetechnical controller
- Biography
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Junko Hiramatsu, née: Ueno is a Japanese former competitive figure skater who is now a coach and International Skating Union (ISU) official. She is a five-time Japanese national champion and represented Japan twice at the Winter Olympics, in 1960 and 1964. She was the flag bearer for Japan at the 1960 Winter Olympics.
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Tiger Okoshi
- Occupations
- composerjazz musicianuniversity teachertrumpeter
- Biography
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Toru "Tiger" Okoshi is an American jazz fusion trumpeter born in Ashiya, Japan.
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Hiroki Ogita
- Occupations
- athletics competitor
- Biography
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Hiroki Ogita is a Japanese athlete who specialises in the pole vault. He competed in the pole vault event at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing, China. He finished 21st in the pole vault event at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
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Yasuhiro Yoshigaki
- Occupations
- jazz musiciandrummercomposerbandleaderpercussionist
- Biography
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From 1984 for three years he served as a regular drummer at the Osaka jazz club Royal Horse. Seeking to start a band he wanted to hear on the local scene, Yoshigaki conceived the ensemble First Edition in 1985 and launched it in 1986. The original members included Yutaka Ohara, Itayuki Shioya (as), Eiichiro Arasaki (ts), Makoto Aoyagi (p, as), and Yosuke Inoue (b; later replaced by Osamu Mihara). The group combined arranged material with open forms; later Kazuhisa Uchihashi (g) joined and activities expanded to Tokyo and Nagoya. As an offshoot, he co-founded Altered States around 1990; early sets included rock-like and vocal numbers, moving toward fully improvised performances by Mosaic (1994). He also formed the improvising trio SIGHTS with Yutaka Ohara and Hiroshi Funato; in 1995 the trio recorded Tatta and toured.
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Iku Takenaka
- Occupations
- poet
- Biography
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Iku Takenaka was a Japanese poet from Hyogo prefecture. He graduated from Kwansei Gakuin University. His best-known work is a cinepoem Rugby.
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Susumu Hamamura
- Enrolled in Kwansei Gakuin University
- In 2000 studied policy studies
- Occupations
- salarymanpolitician
- Biography
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Susumu Hamamura is a member of Komeito serving in the Japanese House of Representatives, a position that he has been elected to two times. He is supportive of casinos in Japan, saying that they will help the economy and "will give foreigners something to do at night".
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Katsuya Nakano
- Occupations
- association football player
- Biography
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Katsuya Nakano is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for J3 League club Tochigi SC.
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Yoshitaka Tokunaga
- Years
- 1992-.. (age 34)
- Occupations
- rugby union player
- Biography
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Yoshitaka Tokunaga is a Japanese rugby sevens player. He competed for Japan 7s at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil.
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Hara Otohiko
- Occupations
- businesspersonbusiness executive
- Biography
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Otohiko Hara, formerly known as Otohiko Yabashi, was a Japanese corporate executive. He was a chief executive officer of Unitika Tsusho [:ja:] (later, Unitika Trading [:ja:]). One of the first Japanese businesspersons who led Dai Nippon Spinning Co., Ltd. (later, Unitika), one of Japan's three largest textile makers, to the first overseas expansion of Japanese corporations after World War II.
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Masakatsu Nishikawa
- Occupations
- rugby union player
- Biography
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Masakatsu Nishikawa is a Japanese rugby union player who plays as a Flanker. He currently plays for Sunwolves in Super Rugby and Suntory Sungoliath in Japan's domestic Top League.
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Norikazu Fujii
- Years
- 1925-1992 (aged 67)
- Occupations
- table tennis player
- Biography
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Norikazu Fujii was a former Japanese international table tennis player.
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Kazuaki Kimura
- Occupations
- scientist
- Biography
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Kazuaki Kimura was a Japanese scholar of modern Japanese literature. He was a professor at Ritsumeikan University and held senior administrative roles at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University and Poole Gakuin University. His research focused on the writer Atsushi Nakajima, a writer at the beginning of the Shōwa period.
