100 Notable alumni of
Meiji University
Updated:
Meiji University is 45th in the world, 7th in Asia, and 6th in Japan by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 100 notable alumni from Meiji University sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff.
-
Mone Kamishiraishi
- Occupations
- narratorseiyūactorsinger
- Biography
-
Mone Kamishiraishi is a Japanese actress and singer. She is the older sister of actress Moka Kamishiraishi.
-
Takeshi Kitano
- Occupations
- writerdirectorcomedianactorpainter
- Biography
-
Takeshi Kitano, also known as Beat Takeshi (ビートたけし, Bīto Takeshi) in Japan, is a Japanese comedian, actor, and filmmaker. While he is known primarily as a comedian and TV host in his native Japan, he is better known abroad for his work as a filmmaker and actor as well as TV host.
-
Tomohisa Yamashita
- Occupations
- film actorcomposertelevision actoractorsinger
- Biography
-
Tomohisa Yamashita, also widely known as Yamapi (山P, YamaP), or Tomo, is a Japanese singer, actor, and TV host.
-
Kenjirō Tsuda
- Occupations
- seiyūactor
- Biography
-
Kenjiro Tsuda is a Japanese actor, voice actor, and film director. His talent agency is ANDSTIR.
-
Keiko Kitagawa
- Occupations
- fashion modelmodelfilm actoractor
- Biography
-
Keiko Kitagawa is a Japanese actress and former model. She was an exclusive model for the Japanese Seventeen magazine from late 2003 to mid-2006, and quit modeling when she left the magazine. Her first acting role was Sailor Mars in the Sailor Moon live action show Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (2003-2004), and after her role in the film Mamiya Kyōdai, she left modeling to concentrate on acting. She has appeared in several films, including The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) and Handsome Suit (2008), and has played leading roles in the TV Dramas Mop Girl (2007), Homeroom on the Beachside (2008), Buzzer Beat (2009), Lady Saigo no Hanzai Profile (2011), and Akumu-chan (2012).
-
Zhou Enlai
- Occupations
- ministerpoliticianforeign minister
- Biography
-
Zhou Enlai was a Chinese statesman, diplomat, and revolutionary who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China from September 1954 until his death in January 1976. Zhou served under Chairman Mao Zedong and aided the Communist Party in rising to power, later helping consolidate its control, form its foreign policy, and develop the Chinese economy.
-
Yuto Nagatomo
- Occupations
- association football player
- Biography
-
Yuto Nagatomo is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a full back for Japanese club FC Tokyo and the Japan national team.
-
Yutaka Matsushige
- Occupations
- actor
- Biography
-
Yutaka Matsushige is a Japanese actor.
-
Osamu Mukai
- Occupations
- actor
- Biography
-
Osamu Mukai is a Japanese actor. He was born in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. He graduated from Meiji University.
-
Mao Inoue
- Occupations
- actorchild actor
- Biography
-
Mao Inoue is a Japanese actress. Her debut as an actress was when she was five years old. She is best known to Japanese television drama audiences as Akane Imai (今井 茜, Imai Akane) in Kids War (キッズ・ウォー, Kid's War), as Makino Tsukushi in the popular Hana Yori Dango series, and as Sugi Fumi (ja) in the 54th taiga drama Hana Moyu. She also appeared in a number of films including I Give My First Love to You Rebirth and The Snow White Murder Case.
-
Ren Ōsugi
- Occupations
- actorfilm actorseiyū
- Biography
-
Ren Osugi, born Takashi Osugi (大杉 孝, Ōsugi Takashi, September 27, 1951 in Komatsushima, Tokushima, Japan – February 21, 2018) was a Japanese actor. For his work in Cure, Hana-bi and other films, Osugi was given the Best Supporting Actor award at the 1999 Yokohama Film Festival. He often worked alongside Takeshi Kitano and Susumu Terajima. In the DVD commentary to the MPD Psycho television series, director Takashi Miike said that he admired Osugi's experience to shift quickly from comic and imbecilic to authoritative and earnest. He died of heart failure at the age of 66 on February 21, 2018.
-
Ken Takakura
- Occupations
- actorsingerfilm actor
- Biography
-
Ken Takakura, born Goichi Oda (小田 剛一, Oda Gōichi, February 16, 1931 – November 10, 2014), was a Japanese actor and singer who appeared in over 200 films. Affectionately referred to as "Ken-san" by audiences, he was best known for his brooding style and the stoic presence he brought to his roles. He won the Japan Academy Prize for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role four times, more than any other actor. Takakura additionally received the Japanese Medal of Honor with purple ribbon in 1998, the Person of Cultural Merit award in 2006, and the Order of Culture in 2013.
-
Tōru Furuya
- Occupations
- child actoractorseiyū
- Biography
-
Tōru Furuya is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator. As a child, he was a member of Gekidan Himawari, a children's acting troupe. He is currently employed by the talent management firm Aoni Production, since 1982.
-
Masahiko Tsugawa
- Occupations
- film directorchild actoractorcritic
- Biography
-
Masahiko Tsugawa, born Masahiko Katō (加藤 雅彦 Katō Masahiko; January 2, 1940 – August 4, 2018) was a Japanese actor and director.
-
Senichi Hoshino
- Occupations
- professional baseball playerbaseball manager
- Biography
-
Senichi Hoshino was a Japanese Nippon Professional Baseball player and manager.
-
Jun Mizutani
- Occupations
- table tennis player
- Biography
-
Jun Mizutani is a retired Japanese table tennis player. He became the youngest Japanese national champion at the age of 17. His consecutive singles titles at the national championships from 2007 to 2011 made him the first man to win the event five times in a row.
-
Toshiyuki Nishida
- Occupations
- narratorseiyūactorsinger
- Biography
-
Toshiyuki Nishida is a Japanese actor. He has won two Japanese Academy Awards for best actor, for The Silk Road (1988) and Tsuribaka Nisshi 6 (1993). He has also won the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Actor for Get Up! and Tsuribaka Nisshi 14 (2003). Outside Japan he is best known for his role as Pigsy (Cho Hakkai) in Monkey.
-
Akira Kobayashi
- Occupations
- film directorsingeractorrecording artistprofessional golfer
- Biography
-
Akira Kobayashi is a Japanese actor and singer. His nickname is Maito Gai (マイトガイ, "Might Guy").
-
Tomiichi Murayama
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
-
Tomiichi Murayama is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1994 to 1996. He led the Japan Socialist Party, and was responsible for changing its name to the Social Democratic Party of Japan in 1996. Upon becoming Prime Minister, he was Japan's first socialist leader in nearly fifty years. He is most remembered today for his speech "On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the War's end", in which he publicly apologised for Japan's past colonial rule and aggression. Of the ten living former prime ministers of Japan, he is currently the oldest living prime minister, following the death of Yasuhiro Nakasone on 29 November 2019. Murayama is also the only living former Japanese prime minister who was born in the Taishō era.
-
Asami Imai
- Occupations
- seiyūtelevision producersingeractor
- Biography
-
Asami Imai is a Japanese voice actress and singer affiliated with Early Wing. She debuted as a voice actress in 1997 and as singer in 2009 by releasing her first single "Day by Day / Shining Blue Rain" under the 5pb. Records label. She is also well known for giving voices to Chihaya Kisaragi in THE IDOLM@STER (all related productions, except for IDOLM@STER: Xenoglossia), Kurisu Makise in Steins;Gate, Tsubaki Yayoi in BlazBlue, and Ayumi Shinozaki in Corpse Party. She along with Eri Kitamura formed the music unit Artery Vein which is also under the 5pb. label.
-
Kazufumi Miyazawa
- Occupations
- actorsinger-songwriterpoet
- Biography
-
Kazufumi Miyazawa is the founder of the Japanese bands The Boom and Ganga Zumba. The former was noted in the 1990s for a fusion of rock, pop, and local Okinawan folk music. Miyazawa is responsible for virtually all lyrics and music for The Boom, who are best known for their 1993 hit song "Shima Uta".
-
Koichi Hagiuda
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
-
Kōichi Hagiuda is a Japanese politician who served as the Chairman of the Policy Research Council of the Liberal Democratic Party from August 2022 to December 2023. He previously served as Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, and was Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary from 2015 to 2016 and Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology from 2019 to 2021.
-
Yoshitaka Sakurada
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
-
Yoshitaka Sakurada is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, and a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). He formerly served as Minister of State for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games in the Fourth Abe Cabinet.
-
Kenshin Kawakami
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
-
Kenshin Kawakami is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Chunichi Dragons and in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves.
-
Hakase Suidōbashi
- Occupations
- owarai tarentotarento
- Biography
-
Hakase Suidobashi is a Japanese comedian who is a member of the comedy duo Asakusa Kid. His real name is Masayoshi Ono (小野 正芳, Ono Masayoshi).
-
Yōsuke Matsuoka
- Occupations
- politiciandiplomat
- Biography
-
Yōsuke Matsuoka was a Japanese diplomat and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Empire of Japan during the early stages of World War II. He is best known for his defiant speech at the League of Nations in February 1933, ending Japan's participation in the organization. He was also one of the architects of the Tripartite Pact and the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact in the years immediately prior to the outbreak of war.
-
Atsushi Onita
- Occupations
- tarentopoliticianactorprofessional wrestler
- Biography
-
Atsushi Onita is a Japanese actor, politician, and semi-retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) and is credited with introducing the deathmatch style of professional wrestling to Japan. He is a former All Asia Tag Team Champions alongside Yoshitatsu.
-
Naoki Inose
- Occupations
- university teacherhistoriancriticpoliticianbiographer
- Biography
-
Naoki Inose is a Japanese politician, journalist, historian, social critic and biographer of literary figures such as Yukio Mishima and Osamu Dazai. He served as Lieutenant Governor of Tokyo from June 2007 until becoming Acting Governor on 1 November 2012 following the resignation of Shintaro Ishihara. He was elected Governor in a historical landslide victory in December 2012, but announced his resignation on December 19, 2013, following a political funds-related scandal; his resignation was approved and became effective December 24, 2013.
-
Yusuke Nomura
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
-
Yusuke Nomura is a professional Japanese baseball player. He plays pitcher for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp.
-
Wakaba Higuchi
- Occupations
- figure skater
- Biography
-
Wakaba Higuchi is a Japanese figure skater. She is the 2018 World silver medalist and a five-time Japanese national medalist (bronze in 2015, silver in 2016, 2017, 2020, and 2022). On the junior level, she is a two-time World Junior bronze medalist (2015, 2016), the 2014–15 Junior Grand Prix Final bronze medalist, and a two-time Japan Junior national champion (2015, 2016). She won a bronze medal in team event, representing Japan at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
-
Koki Niwa
- Occupations
- table tennis player
- Biography
-
Koki Niwa is a Japanese male table tennis player. He is the gold medalist at the 2010 Youth Olympics and he won the World Junior Table Tennis Championships in 2010 (doubles) and 2011 (singles).
-
Yu Tamura
- Occupations
- rugby union player
- Biography
-
Yu Tamura is a Japanese rugby union player. Tamura currently plays for the Canon Eagles rugby team. His regular playing positions are fly-half and Centre.
-
Kan Kikuchi
- Occupations
- novelistplaywrightbusinesspersonwritertranslator
- Biography
-
Hiroshi Kikuchi, also known as Kan Kikuchi (which uses the same kanji as his real name), was a Japanese author. He established the publishing company Bungeishunjū, the monthly magazine of the same name, the Japan Writer's Association and both the Akutagawa and Naoki Prize for popular literature. He came to prominence for the plays "Madame Pearl" and "Father Returns", but his ample support for the Imperial Japanese war effort led to his marginalization in the postwar period. He was also the head of Daiei Motion Picture Company (currently Kadokawa Pictures). He was known to have been an avid player of mahjong.
-
Naoya Ogawa
- Occupations
- judokamixed martial arts fighterprofessional wrestler
- Biography
-
Naoya Ogawa is a Japanese Olympic and world champion judoka, retired professional wrestler, and mixed martial artist. He won a total of seven medals at the All-Japan Judo Championships (second only behind Yasuhiro Yamashita), and set a record of seven medals at the World Judo Championships. Ogawa won the silver medal in the +95 kg judo weight class at the 1992 Summer Olympics.
-
Jūrō Kara
- Occupations
- writerdirectoractorimpresariostage actor
- Biography
-
Jūrō Kara is a Japanese avant-garde playwright, theatre director, author, actor, and songwriter. He was at the forefront of the Angura ("underground") theatre movement in Japan.
-
Keita Sano
- Years
- 1994-.. (age 30)
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
-
Keita Sano, nicknamed "Thanos" is a Japanese professional baseball infielder for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
-
Tatekawa Shinosuke
- Occupations
- rakugokacomedian
- Biography
-
Shinosuke Tatekawa is a rakugo performer. His real name is Teruo Takeuchi (竹内 照雄, Takeuchi Teruo). With his comic group, Rokunin-no-Kai (Group of Six), formed in 2003, he has helped to popularise rakugo among young Japanese people. He is also well known as a TV presenter, and has presented the primetime NHK General show Tameshite Gatten (ためしてガッテン) since it started in 1995.
-
Takeo Miki
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
-
Takeo Miki was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1974 until 1976.
-
Katsunori Nomura
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
-
Katsunori Nomura also called as Katsunori (カツノリ) is currently a Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) coach for the Hanshin Tigers. Before coaching, he played in NPB from 1996 to 2006, primarily as a second or third-string catcher. Nomura was drafted in 1995 by the Yakult Swallows, the team managed by his father, catching-great and long-time manager Katsuya Nomura. Over the course of his playing career, his father managed him for five seasons with three different teams—two with the Swallows, two with the Hanshin Tigers and one with the Golden Eagles.
-
Eijirō Tōno
- Occupations
- seiyūactor
- Biography
-
Eijirō Tōno was a Japanese actor who, in a career lasting more than 50 years, appeared in over 400 television shows, nearly 250 films and numerous stage productions. He is best known in the West for his roles in films by Akira Kurosawa, such as Seven Samurai (1954) and Yojimbo (1961), and films by Yasujirō Ozu, such as Tokyo Story (1953) and An Autumn Afternoon (1962). He also appeared in Kill! by Kihachi Okamoto and Tora! Tora! Tora!, a depiction of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. His final film was Juzo Itami's A-ge-man (Tales of a Golden Geisha) in 1990. Tōno also starred as the title character in the long-running television jidaigeki series Mito Kōmon from 1969 to 1983. In the early years of his career he acted under the name of Katsuji Honjo (本庄克二).
-
Kento Itohara
- Years
- 1992-.. (age 32)
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
-
Kento Itohara is a Japanese professional baseball infielder for the Hanshin Tigers in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball.
-
Masao Koga
- Occupations
- classical guitaristcomposerguitarist
- Biography
-
Masao Koga was a Japanese composer, mandolinist, and guitarist of the Shōwa era who was dubbed "Japan's Irving Berlin" by Universal Press Syndicate. His melancholy style, based upon Nakayama Shimpei's yonanuki scale, was popularly known in Japan as "Koga melody" (古賀メロディー, Koga merodī). He was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure (Fourth Class) and the People's Honor Award for his contributions to Japanese music.
-
Hidehiko Yoshida
- Occupations
- mixed martial arts fighterjudoka
- Biography
-
Hidehiko Yoshida is a Japanese gold-medalist judoka and retired mixed martial artist. He is a longtime veteran of Japan's PRIDE Fighting Championships, competing in the Middleweight (93kg) and Heavyweight divisions. He won gold at the 1992 Summer Olympic Games at –78 kg. Yoshida also had two famous fights with MMA pioneer Royce Gracie that resulted in a no-contest and a time-limit draw.
-
Sachiya Yamasaki
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
-
Sachiya Yamasaki is a professional Japanese baseball player. He plays pitcher for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.
-
Nozomi Nishida
- Occupations
- seiyūsinger
- Biography
-
Nozomi Nishida is a Japanese voice actress and singer from Gifu Prefecture. She began her voice acting career in 2014 and played her first major role in 2016 as the character Makina Nakajima in the anime series Macross Delta. She became part of the music group Walküre, which performs songs for the Macross franchise. She is also known for her roles as Satori Tamaba in Armed Girl's Machiavellism and Tsubasa Arihara in Hachigatsu no Cinderella Nine.
-
Masatoshi Koshiba
- Occupations
- researcherphysicistprofessor
- Biography
-
Masatoshi Koshiba was a Japanese physicist and one of the founders of neutrino astronomy. His work with the neutrino detectors Kamiokande and Super-Kamiokande was instrumental in detecting solar neutrinos, providing experimental evidence for the solar neutrino problem.
-
Miki Watanabe
- Occupations
- politicianbusinesspersonwriter
- Biography
-
Miki Watanabe is a Japanese entrepreneur and politician. He founded the Watami chain of izakaya restaurants and headed the company until 2011, when he resigned to run in the 2011 Tokyo gubernatorial election. Watanabe's run for the governorship of Tokyo was inspired by Michael Bloomberg's mayorship of New York City. Watanabe came in third with 16.8%, losing to incumbent governor Shintaro Ishihara.
-
Yuya Yanagi
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
-
Yūya Yanagi is a professional Japanese baseball player. He pitches for the Chunichi Dragons.
-
Yōhei Sasakawa
- Occupations
- diplomatentrepreneurphilanthropist
- Biography
-
Yōhei Sasakawa is chairman of The Nippon Foundation, the World Health Organization Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination, and Japan's Ambassador for the Human Rights of People Affected by Leprosy. His global fight against leprosy and its accompanying stigma and social discrimination is an issue to which he has remained highly committed for more than 40 years. As chairman of The Nippon Foundation, Japan's largest charitable foundation, he guides public-interest activities in modern Japan. Sasakawa received his degree from Meiji University’s School of Political Science and Economics. Sasakawa's father was businessman, politician, and philanthropist Ryōichi Sasakawa.
-
Shigeru Sugishita
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
-
Shigeru Sugishita was a Japanese professional baseball pitcher and coach. Renowned for his forkball, Sugishita dominated the Central League from 1950–1955, winning more than 30 games twice (winning at least 23 games each season), and garnering three Eiji Sawamura Awards. Sugishita usually split his time between starting games and pitching in relief. He played 11 seasons, ten of them for the Chunichi/Nagoya Dragons.
-
Hiromi Oka
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
-
Hiromi Oka is a professional Japanese baseball player. He plays outfielder for the Chiba Lotte Marines. Oka is known as person that he has the same name as heroine of Aim for the Ace!, Japanese animation. Oka is outfielder but he had worn No. 18, it is known as uniform number that great pitcher wear in Japanese professional baseball, from 2017 to 2018.
-
Seishirō Sakamoto
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
-
Seishirō Sakamoto is a professional Japanese baseball player. He plays catcher for the Hanshin Tigers.
-
Takashi Uemoto
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
-
Takashi Uemoto is a professional Japanese baseball player. He plays infielder for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp.
-
Yōsuke Natsuki
- Occupations
- racing automobile driveractor
- Biography
-
Yosuke Natsuki was a Japanese actor. He had participated twice in the Dakar Rally as a racing driver.
-
Sohn Kee-chung
- Occupations
- long-distance runnermarathon runnerathletics competitor
- Biography
-
Sohn Kee-chung was an Olympic athlete and long-distance runner. He became the first ethnic Korean to win a medal at the Olympic Games, winning gold in the marathon at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. He was born in the Korean Peninsula, but he competed as a member of the Japanese delegation because Korea was under Japanese occupation at the time. Sohn set an Olympic record of 2 hours 29 minutes 19.2 seconds.
-
Kenzo Suzuki
- Occupations
- rugby union playerprofessional wrestler
- Biography
-
Kenzo Suzuki is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his appearances with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and in the United States with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where he was a one-time WWE Tag Team Champion in the latter company. He currently performs for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) under the ring name Kenso, where he is a one-time World Tag Team Champion and a one-time Gaora TV Champion.
-
Yoshitaka Shindō
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
-
Yoshitaka Shindō is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature).
-
Shogo Hama
- Occupations
- actormodel
- Biography
-
Shogo Hama is a Japanese actor.
-
Sei Muroya
- Occupations
- association football player
- Biography
-
Sei Muroya is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a right back for Hannover 96 in the 2. Bundesliga and for the Japan national team.
-
Shigeru Takada
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
-
Shigeru Takada is a former general manager of the Yokohama DeNA BayStars, and former manager of the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters and the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. He was previously an outfielder for the Yomiuri Giants and won the 1968 Central League Rookie of the Year award.
-
Hiroaki Shimauchi
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
-
Hiroaki Shimauchi is a Japanese professional baseball outfielder for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball.
-
Shuhei Fukuda
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
-
Shuhei Fukuda is a professional Japanese baseball player. He plays infielder for the Orix Buffaloes.
-
Banboku Ōno
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
-
Banboku Ōno was a Japanese politician who was a powerful faction leader within the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the early postwar period, serving stints as Speaker of the House of Representatives, Secretary General of the Liberal Party, and Vice President of the Liberal Democratic Party.
-
Kihachi Okamoto
- Occupations
- screenwriterfilm director
- Biography
-
Kihachi Okamoto was a Japanese film director who worked in several different genres.
-
Ben Nighthorse Campbell
- Enrolled in Meiji University
- Studied in 1960-1964
- Occupations
- rancherjudokapolitician
- Biography
-
Ben Nighthorse Campbell is an American Cheyenne politician who represented Colorado's 3rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 1993 and was a United States Senator from Colorado from 1993 to 2005. He serves as one of 44 members of the Council of Chiefs of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Tribe. During his time in office, he was the only Native American serving in Congress. He was the last Native American elected to the U.S. Senate until the 2022 election of Cherokee Markwayne Mullin.
-
Yusuke Torigoe
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
-
Yusuke Torigoe, nicknamed "Usuki", is a former Nippon Professional Baseball infielder.
-
Takashi Sasagawa
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
-
Takashi Sasagawa is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Bunkyō, Tokyo and dropout from Meiji University, he was elected for the first time in 1986 after two unsuccessful runs in 1972 and 1983. In 1993 he left the LDP and participated in the formation of the New Frontier Party in the following year. In 1996 he left the New Frontier Party, rejoining the LDP in the following year. From 2000 to 2001 he was Minister of State for Science and Technology Policy in the cabinet of Yoshirō Mori.
-
Takahiro Imanami
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
-
Takahiro Imanami is a Japanese professional baseball player. He debuted in 2008. He had 11 runs.
-
Otomo Yoshihide
- Occupations
- jazz musicianperformance artistcomposerguitaristrecord producer
- Biography
-
Otomo Yoshihide is a Japanese composer and multi-instrumentalist. He mainly plays guitar, turntables, and electronics.
-
Shun Takayama
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
-
Shun Takayama is a Japanese professional baseball outfielder for the Hanshin Tigers in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball.
-
Morio Agata
- Occupations
- singer-songwritersongwriterfilm directoressayistactor
- Biography
-
Agata Morio is a Japanese folk rock singer-songwriter and actor. He also directed three films.
-
Norio Sasaki
- Occupations
- association football managerassociation football player
- Biography
-
Norio Sasaki is a Japanese football coach and former player who is currently the general manager of Omiya Ardija Ventus. He is best known for leading the Japan women's national team to their first and only FIFA Women's World Cup win in 2011 over the United States on penalty kicks. He retired as head coach in March 2016 after eight years. Sasaki also coached the Japan women's U-20 national team starting in 2007.
-
Hiroshi Ohshita
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
-
Hiroshi Ohshita, also spelled Oshita, was a Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder who began his career after World War II. Known for his trademark blue bat, he hit a record 20 home runs in a season and was home run king and leading hitter three times for the Toei Flyers. Ohshita was also a heavy hitter with the Nishitetsu Lions of the Pacific League during the 1950s.
-
Kenoh
- Occupations
- professional wrestler
- Biography
-
Daisuke Nakae is a Japanese professional wrestler and martial artist, better known by the ring name Kenoh (拳王, Ken'ō). He currently wrestles in Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is currently the GHC Heavyweight Champion in his third reign. He is also a former GHC National Champion.
-
Kenta Uehara
- Years
- 1994-.. (age 30)
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
-
Kenta Uehara is a professional Japanese baseball player. He plays pitcher for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.
-
Hideo Fujimoto
- Occupations
- professional baseball playerbaseball player
- Biography
-
Hideo Fujimoto was a Japanese baseball pitcher. He holds the Japanese records for lowest career ERA (1.90) and seasonal ERA (0.73), as well as best all-time winning percentage (.697). During his career, which spanned the one-league and two-league era, he played for the Tokyo Kyojin/Yomiuri Giants and the Chunichi Dragons. He was the player-manager of the Giants in 1944 and part of 1946 (the league cancelled all games in 1945 because of the Pacific War).
-
Hiroko Suzuki
- Occupations
- politicianprofessional wrestlerpromoterannouncermanager
- Biography
-
Hiroko Suzuki, née Mizuno (水野, Mizuno), (born 1974) is a Japanese politician, professional wrestling valet, occasional professional wrestler and professional wrestling promoter best known in the United States for her work with World Wrestling Entertainment on its SmackDown! brand under the ring name Hiroko. She graduated from Meiji University, and became an announcer of Fukushima Central Television. She is married to professional wrestler Kenzo Suzuki.
-
Daisuke Ban
- Occupations
- actor
- Biography
-
Daisuke Ban, born Kiyonori Saito (斎藤 清憲, Saitō Kiyonori), is a Japanese actor. He was born on May 5, 1947, in Saitama prefecture, north of Tokyo. He is best known for portraying several heroic roles in tokusatsu, including Jiro in Android Kikaider and Goro Watari in Inazuman.
-
Tatsumi Yoda
- Occupations
- businessperson
- Biography
-
Tatsumi Yoda is a Japanese business magnate.
-
Eiji Gō
- Occupations
- film actoractor
- Biography
-
Eiji Gō was a Japanese actor. He appeared in more than sixty films from 1960 to 1982.
-
Ryohei Michibuchi
- Occupations
- association football player
- Biography
-
Ryohei Michibuchi is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a winger for Maltese Premier League club Balzan.
-
Hiroyoshi Sasagawa
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
-
Hiroyoshi Sasakawa is a Japanese politician and businessman. He is the member of the House of Representatives for Gunma 3rd district belonging to the Liberal Democratic Party.
-
Masahiro Andoh
- Occupations
- musiciancomposerguitarist
- Biography
-
Masahiro Andō is a Japanese composer and guitarist from Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. From 1976 to 2021, he was the guitarist and leader of the Japanese jazz-fusion band T-Square. He was also one-third of Ottottrio, a supergroup led by three Japanese guitarists: himself, Hirokuni Korekata of KORENOS and Issei Noro of Casiopea.
-
Cho Man-sik
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
-
Cho Man-sik, also known by his art name Godang (고당), was a Korean independence activist.
-
Yuzo Kawashima
- Occupations
- screenwriterfilm director
- Biography
-
Yūzō Kawashima was a Japanese film director and screenwriter known for his lively comedies.
-
Fumiaki Matsumoto
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
-
Fumiaki Matsumoto is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party and a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). Matsumoto served as a vice minister for the Cabinet Office between August 2017 and January 2018. He resigned from his post after recorded in the Diet mocking the gravity of US military helicopter accidents in Okinawa.
-
Hiroki Yamada
- Occupations
- association football player
- Biography
-
Hiroki Yamada is a Japanese footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or a winger for Júbilo Iwata.
-
Morizono Masataka
- Occupations
- table tennis player
- Biography
-
Masataka Morizono is a Japanese table tennis player. With doubles partner Yuya Oshima, he won the gold medal in the men's doubles event at both the 2015 and 2017 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals, as well as winning a silver medal in men's doubles at the 2017 World Championships.
-
Shun Ishikawa
- Years
- 1990-.. (age 34)
- Occupations
- professional baseball player
- Biography
-
Shun Ishikawa is a Japanese former professional baseball infielder. He has played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Chunichi Dragons.
-
Koichi Tani
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
-
Koichi Tani is a Japanese politician serving in the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature) as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party.
-
Yukio Kasaya
- Occupations
- ski jumper
- Biography
-
Yukio Kasaya is a Japanese former ski jumper. At the 1972 Olympics in Sapporo he became the first Japanese athlete to win a gold medal and the second Japanese (after Chiharu Igaya) to win any medal at the Winter Olympics. Previously he placed second at the 1970 World Championships and won the first three jumping events at the 1971/72 Four Hills Tournament. He also took part in the 1964, 1968 and 1976 Olympics and served as the Olympics flag bearer for Japan in 1976 and 1998.
-
Taisei Irie
- Occupations
- professional baseball player
- Biography
-
Taisei Irie is a professional Japanese baseball player. He is a pitcher for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
-
Noboru Akiyama
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
-
Noboru Akiyama was a Japanese Nippon Professional Baseball pitcher, originally from Okayama, Okayama. He played with the Taiyo Whales. He is a member of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.
-
Kosuke Kanamaru
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
-
Kosuke Kanamaru is a Japanese professional basketball player who plays for the San-en NeoPhoenix of the B.League in Japan.
-
Naoki Matoba
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
-
Naoki Matoba, nicknamed "Matton", is a Japanese former professional baseball catcher in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. He played for the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks/Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in 2000, and from 2003 to 2008 and with the Chiba Lotte Marines in 2010 and 2011.
-
Kiyoshi Sasabe
- Occupations
- screenwriterfilm director
- Biography
-
Kiyoshi Sasabe was a Japanese film director.
-
Yuichi Maruyama
- Occupations
- association football player
- Biography
-
Yuichi Maruyama is a Japanese football player.
-
Fumiya Araki
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
-
Fumiya Araki is a Japanese professional baseball infielder who currently plays for the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball.
-
Hirotaka Mita
- Occupations
- association football player
- Biography
-
Hirotaka Mita is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for J2 League club Yokohama FC.
-
Itō Sachio
- Occupations
- writernovelistliterary criticpoetwaka poet
- Biography
-
Itō Sachio was the pen-name of Itō Kōjirō (伊藤 幸次郎), a Japanese tanka poet and novelist active during the Meiji period of Japan.
