100 Notable alumni of
Nihon University
Updated:
Nihon University is 22nd in the world, 4th in Asia, and 4th in Japan by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 100 notable alumni from Nihon 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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Hiroyuki Sanada
- Occupations
- stage actorfilm actorchild actorkaratekaactor
- Biography
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Hiroyuki Sanada is a Japanese actor and martial artist. He began his career in the mid-1960's at the age of six, and gained prominence for his roles in Japanese and Hong Kong action films, later establishing himself as a dramatic actor.
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Yu Aoi
- Occupations
- stage actormodelfashion modelfilm actor
- Biography
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Yu Aoi is a Japanese actress and model. She made her film debut as Shiori Tsuda in Shunji Iwai's 2001 film All About Lily Chou-Chou. She subsequently portrayed Tetsuko Arisugawa in Hana and Alice (2004), also directed by Iwai, Kimiko Tanigawa in the hula dancing film Hula Girls and Hagumi Hanamoto in the 2006 live-action adaptation of the Honey and Clover manga series.
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Kotaro Koizumi
- Occupations
- tarentoactor
- Biography
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Kotaro Koizumi is a Japanese actor and the eldest son of the 56th Japanese Prime Minister, Junichirō Koizumi, and Kayoko Miyamoto.
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Shiori Kutsuna
- Occupations
- actormodel
- Biography
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Shioli Kutsuna is an Australian and Japanese actress, known for her role as Ran Mori in Shinichi Kudo's Written Challenge!, Minami Maho in Beck, Haru/Harumi in 125 Years Memory, and Yukio in Deadpool 2 (2018) and Deadpool & Wolverine (2024). She plays Mitsuki in the Apple TV+ series Invasion (2021). In 2014, she won the Japan Academy Film Prize for Newcomer of the Year.
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Kanata Hongō
- Occupations
- seiyūmodelchild actoractor
- Biography
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Kanata Hongō is a Japanese actor. He is part of Stardust Promotion and has appeared several times in music videos, movies, TV series, and magazines. His major breakthrough role was as Ryoma Echizen in the live-action film adaptation of The Prince of Tennis and became even more widely known when he was cast as Shin in Nana 2. In television, his most notable role was as Hinata in Himitsu no Hanazono and he starred in Seigi no Mikata. For the live-action feature film adaptation of Attack on Titan, he portrayed Armin Arlert. He has also been involved in anime voice acting as the lead character Ryōta Sakamoto in Btooom!.
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Rio Uchida
- Occupations
- fashion modelmodeltarentoactor
- Biography
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Rio Uchida is a Japanese actress and gravure idol who is affiliated with LesPros Entertainment. She is best known for her role as Kiriko Shijima, the main heroine of the Kamen Rider series Kamen Rider Drive.
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Megumi Han
- Occupations
- singeractorseiyū
- Biography
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Megumi Han is a Japanese actress and voice actress employed by Atomic Monkey. She is the daughter of the voice actress Keiko Han.
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Sosuke Ikematsu
- Occupations
- actorchild actor
- Biography
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Sōsuke Ikematsu is a Japanese actor, television, and theatre actor best known for his role as Higen, the young nephew of samurai leader Katsumoto, in the 2003 film The Last Samurai.
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Gosho Aoyama
- Occupations
- animatorcomics artistmangaka
- Biography
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Gosho Aoyama is a Japanese manga artist best known for his manga series Case Closed (Detective Conan, 1994–present). As of 2017, his various manga series had a combined 250 million copies in print worldwide.
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Kōki Mitani
- Occupations
- impresariofilm producerplaywrightscreenwriteressayist
- Biography
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Kōki Mitani is a Japanese playwright, screenwriter, actor and film director and was previously married to Japanese actress Satomi Kobayashi. He was named after Taihō Kōki, the youngest sumo wrestler to become yokozuna. He studied dramatics at Nihon University.
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Ayumu Hirano
- Occupations
- skateboardersnowboarder
- Biography
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Ayumu Hirano is a Japanese Olympic champion and three-time Olympic medalist snowboarder and Olympic skateboarder. He won the silver medal in the superpipe in 2013 Winter X Games XVII at the age of 14, becoming the youngest medalist in X Games history, and won silver medals in the half-pipe at both the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang and the gold medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. He also competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo as a skateboarder, becoming one of the two athletes, the other being Jaqueline Mourão, who participated in all of the three consecutive Olympic Games in East Asia between 2018 and 2022.
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Hisayoshi Chōno
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Hisayoshi Chōno is a Japanese professional baseball outfielder for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He previously played in NPB for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp.
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Nakamura Shidō II
- Occupations
- seiyūtelevision actorkabuki actoractor
- Biography
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Mikihiro Ogawa, better known by the stage name Nakamura Shidō II (二代目 中村 獅童, Nidaime Nakamura Shidō), is a Japanese kabuki and film actor.
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Toshiaki Kasuga
- Occupations
- owarai tarentobodybuilderradio personalitytelevision presenter
- Biography
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Toshiaki Kasuga is a Japanese comedian best known as the boke half of the comedy duo Audrey alongside Masayasu Wakabayashi. On stage, he usually wears a pink vest and white pants. Aside from comedy, he is also known for his participation in sporting events such as kickboxing, bodybuilding, and finswimming. He was also a YouTuber under the name Hideo Furui.
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Toshio Furukawa
- Occupations
- actorseiyūguitarist
- Biography
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Toshio Furukawa is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator affiliated with Aoni Production. He is married to fellow voice actor Shino Kakinuma.
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Ichirō Ozawa
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Ichirō Ozawa is a Japanese politician and has been a member of the House of Representatives since 1969, representing the Iwate 3rd district (Iwate 2nd district prior to the 1996 general election and Iwate 4th district prior to the 2017 general election). He is often dubbed the "Shadow Shōgun" due to his back-room influence.
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Chūya Nakahara
- Occupations
- poettranslatorwriterwaka poet
- Biography
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Chūya Nakahara, born Chūya Kashimura (柏村 中也, Kashimura Chūya), was a Japanese poet active during the early Shōwa period. Originally shaped by Dada and other forms of European (mainly French) experimental poetry, he was one of the leading renovators of Japanese poetry. Although he died at the young age of 30, he wrote more than 350 poems throughout his life. Many called him the "Japanese Rimbaud" for his affinities with the French poet whose poems he translated in 1934.
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Yoshiyuki Tomino
- Occupations
- film directornovelistmusicianscreenwriteranimator
- Biography
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Yoshiyuki Tomino is a Japanese anime director, screenwriter, songwriter and novelist best known for creating the Gundam anime franchise.
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Momoka Ariyasu
- Occupations
- singer-songwritermodelphotographeractorchild actor
- Biography
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Momoka Ariyasu is a Japanese singer and photographer, as well as a former idol and child actress. She is best known as a former member of the all-girl musical group Momoiro Clover Z, in which her signature color was green.
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Ami Suzuki
- Occupations
- lyricistdancercomposerrecording artistactor
- Biography
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Ami Suzuki is a Japanese recording artist, DJ, and actress from Zama, Kanagawa, Japan. Having been discovered at the talent TV show Asayan, she was one of the most popular female teen idols in the late 1990s. However, in 2000, Suzuki faced legal problems with her management company resulting in a controversial blacklisting from the entertainment industry. Suzuki attempted to resurrect her career under her own steam with two indie singles before signing to Avex Trax in 2005. She released "Delightful", a dance song that reached No. 3 on the Japanese Oricon charts with a style similar to electronic club music, significantly different from her pop idol days. Since her appearance in the 2006 film Rainbow Song, Suzuki has gradually made a name for herself in the acting field, starring in various movies, television series, and musicals.
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Shuichi Murata
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Shuichi Murata is a third baseman for the Tochigi Golden Braves of Baseball Challenge League. Murata led the Central League in home runs in both 2007 and 2008 and is one of the few pure home run hitters in Japanese professional baseball today. He played in the 2008 Beijing Olympics as well as the 2009 World Baseball Classic as a member of the Japanese national team and hit cleanup for much of the latter tournament.
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Yakkun Sakurazuka
- Occupations
- seiyūowarai tarentosingeractor
- Biography
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Yasuo Saitō, also known by the stage name Yakkun Sakurazuka (桜塚 やっくん, Sakurazuka Yakkun), was a Japanese comedian, singer, and voice actor.
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Asuka Cambridge
- Occupations
- sprinterathletics competitor
- Biography
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Asuka Antonio "Aska" Cambridge is a Jamaican-born Japanese track and field sprinter who competes in the 100 metres and 200 metres. His personal best of 10.03 in the 100m gives him Japan's 6th fastest time. He is a two-time East Asian Games gold medallist and a relay bronze medallist at the World Junior Championships in Athletics. His mother is Japanese and his father is Jamaican.
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Kenzō Tange
- Occupations
- urban planneruniversity teacherarchitect
- Biography
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Kenzō Tange was a Japanese architect, and winner of the 1987 Pritzker Prize for Architecture. He was one of the most significant architects of the 20th century, combining traditional Japanese styles with modernism, and designed major buildings on five continents. His career spanned the entire second half of the twentieth century, producing numerous distinctive buildings in Tokyo, other Japanese cities and cities around the world, as well as ambitious physical plans for Tokyo and its environments.
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Tochinoshin Tsuyoshi
- Occupations
- rikishi
- Biography
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Tochinoshin Tsuyoshi is a former Georgian professional sumo wrestler from Mtskheta. He was a member of the Kasugano stable and made his professional debut in March 2006. He reached the top makuuchi division just two years later in May 2008. After a long hiatus due to injury, he began his comeback from the rank of makushita 55 in March 2014, logging four championships in a row in lower divisions on his way back to the top division in November 2014. In January 2018 he took his first and only top-division championship. In May 2018, after finishing as runner-up with a 13–2 record and a total of 37 wins in his last three tournaments, he was promoted to ōzeki. He received eleven special prizes, six for Fighting Spirit, three for Technique, and two for Outstanding Performance, as well as two kinboshi for defeating yokozuna. Tochinoshin was demoted to sekiwake after posting losing records in the first two tournaments of 2019, but returned to ōzeki after winning ten matches at the May 2019 tournament. He lost the ōzeki rank again after the September 2019 tournament, and lost his top division status after he was sidelined with a shoulder injury during the January 2023 tournament. He retired from sumo on 19 May 2023.
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Hiroki Tōchi
- Occupations
- seiyūactor
- Biography
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Hiroki Tōchi is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator affiliated with Office Osawa. He has frequently appeared in many anime and video games mainly created by tri-Ace. He won a Male Character Voice Prize in the 2011 Famitsu Awards. Some of his major characters include Abel Nightroad in Trinity Blood, Baldroy in Black Butler, Kokopelli in Bokurano, Tesshin Kataoka in Ace of Diamond, Cross Marian in D.Gray-man, Panther Lily in Fairy Tail, Kugo Ginjo in Bleach and Lasse Aeon in Mobile Suit Gundam 00. In anime film series, he voices Daisuke Akimi in The Garden of Sinners and Dr. Easter in Mardock Scramble. In live-action shows, he provides the Japanese voice for Dean Winchester in Supernatural and its animated adaptation. In video games, he voices the Japanese dub voice for Nathan Drake in Uncharted series, Chris Redfield in Resident Evil and Project X Zone, Aluze in Valkyrie Profile and Desmond Miles in Assassin's Creed. He did Japanese dubbing roles for Wentworth Miller, Sam Worthington, Liev Schreiber, and Will Smith.
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Kansai Yamamoto
- Enrolled in Nihon University
- Studied in 1962-1964
- Occupations
- fashion designer
- Biography
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Kansai Yamamoto was a Japanese fashion designer, most influential during the 1970s and 1980s.
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Hideki Takahashi
- Occupations
- actorsingertarento
- Biography
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Hideki Takahashi is a Japanese actor. Born in Kisarazu, Chiba near Tokyo, he attended Ichikawa Gakuen and later Nihon University.
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Kinji Fukasaku
- Occupations
- film directordirectorscreenwriteractorfilm producer
- Biography
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Kinji Fukasaku was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Known for his "broad range and innovative filmmaking", Fukasaku worked in many different genres and styles, but was best known for his gritty yakuza films, typified by the Battles Without Honor and Humanity series (1973–1976). According to the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, "his turbulent energy and at times extreme violence express a cynical critique of social conditions and genuine sympathy for those left out of Japan's postwar prosperity." He used a cinema verite-inspired shaky camera technique in many of his films from the early 1970s.
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Kazuhiro Fujita
- Occupations
- mangaka
- Biography
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Kazuhiro Fujita is a Japanese manga artist. He graduated from Nihon University. He made his professional manga debut in Weekly Shōnen Sunday in 1989. He is most famous for the manga Ushio & Tora, for which he won Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen in 1992 and the Seiun Award in 1997, and the long-running Karakuri Circus.
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Shinya Tsukamoto
- Occupations
- film editorfilm directorfilm producerscreenwriterdirector
- Biography
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Shinya Tsukamoto is a Japanese filmmaker and actor. With a considerable cult following both domestically and abroad, Tsukamoto is best known for his body horror/cyberpunk film Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989), which is considered the defining film of the Japanese Cyberpunk movement, as well as for its companion pieces Tetsuo II: Body Hammer (1992) and Tetsuo: The Bullet Man (2009).
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Yota Kyoda
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Yōta Kyōda is a Japanese professional baseball infielder for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has previously played in NPB for the Chunichi Dragons.
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Ichikawa Danjūrō XII
- Occupations
- actorkabuki actorplaywright
- Biography
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Ichikawa Danjūrō XII was a Japanese actor. He was the twelfth kabuki actor to hold the illustrious name Ichikawa Danjūrō.
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Riko Higashio
- Occupations
- professional golfergolfer
- Biography
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Riko Higashio is a Japanese professional golfer and former member of the LPGA Tour.
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Joe Shishido
- Occupations
- television actoractor
- Biography
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Joe Shishido was a Japanese actor most recognizable for his intense, eccentric yakuza film roles and his artificially enlarged cheekbones. He appeared in some 300 films but is best known in the West for his performance in the cult film Branded to Kill (1967). In Japan, he is also known by the nickname Joe the Ace (エースのジョー, Ēsu no Jō) for his popular role in the Western Quick Draw Joe (1961).
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Endō Shōta
- Occupations
- rikishi
- Biography
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Endō Shōta is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Anamizu, Ishikawa. After a successful amateur career, he turned professional in March 2013, making the top makuuchi division that September. His highest rank has been komusubi. He has been awarded one special prize for Fighting Spirit, one for Outstanding Performance and four for Technique, as well as seven gold stars for defeating yokozuna. He was runner-up in the September 2016 and September 2021 tournaments. He wrestles for Oitekaze stable. He is extremely popular with sumo fans and has been regarded as one of the most promising home-grown wrestlers in sumo.
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Mieko Kawakami
- Occupations
- writerpoetsingermusicianblogger
- Biography
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Mieko Kawakami is a Japanese writer and poet from Osaka. Her work has won prestigious Japanese literary awards in several genres, including the 138th Akutagawa Prize for her novella Chichi to Ran (乳と卵), the 2013 Tanizaki Prize for her short story collection Ai no yume to ka (愛の夢とか) (Dreams of Love, etc.), and the 2008 Nakahara Chūya Prize for Contemporary Poetry for Sentan de, sasuwa sasareruwa soraeewa (先端で さすわ さされるわ そらええわ). Her 2019 novel Natsu Monogatari, an expanded version of Chichi to Ran, became a bestseller and was translated into English under the title Breasts and Eggs. Kawakami's works have been translated into several languages and distributed throughout the world.
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Mainoumi Shuhei
- Occupations
- rikishi
- Biography
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Mainoumi Shūhei is a former sumo wrestler from Aomori, Japan. His highest rank was komusubi. During the 1990s he was one of the most popular wrestlers in sumo due to his wide variety of techniques and great fighting spirit in battling opponents nearly twice his size.
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Kazuya Tatekabe
- Occupations
- seiyūactor
- Biography
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Kazuya Tatekabe was a Japanese actor and voice actor. He was born in Kimobetsu, Hokkaidō. He was represented by Kenyu Horiuchi's Kenyu Office at the time of his death.
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Hidekatsu Shibata
- Occupations
- actorseiyūimpresario
- Biography
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Hidekatsu Shibata is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator from Asakusa, Tokyo who is affiliated with Aoni Production. He was a classmate of former prime minister Yasuo Fukuda at Azabu High School. Shibata is married to fellow voice actor Akiko Sekine.
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Mitsuru Manaka
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Mitsuru Manaka is a former Nippon Professional Baseball outfielder. On October 8, 2014, he was named manager of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, replacing Junji Ogawa. Manaka had previously been managing the Swallows' farm team.
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Hiroyasu Shimizu
- Occupations
- speed skater
- Biography
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Hiroyasu Shimizu is a Japanese speed skater. He has an Olympic gold medal from 1998 in the 500 m, and held the 500 m record (34.32).
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Sandayū Dokumamushi
- Occupations
- seiyūtarentoradio personalityactor
- Biography
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Sandayū Dokumamushi born Iyoshi Ishii (石井 伊吉, Ishii Iyoshi) on 31 March 1936 in Osaka, Japan) is a Japanese actor. He portrayed the role of Daisuke Arashi in the original Ultraman series (1966-1967) and Shigeru Furuhashi in Ultra Seven. He has been a radio personality on the Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) since 1969. His radio program is famous for vulgar language and is popular with an older audience.
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Hiroyuki Amano
- Occupations
- film criticfilm directoractorowarai tarentoseiyū
- Biography
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Hiroyuki Amano is a Japanese comedian, actor, voice actor, television presenter, film director and film critic. He is nicknamed Amanocchi (天野っち). He performs tsukkomi and make stories in the comedy duo Kyaeen. His partner is Udo Suzuki.
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Yasuaki Kurata
- Occupations
- aikidokajudokakaratekaactor
- Biography
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Yasuaki Kurata is a Japanese martial artist and actor, best known for his work in Hong Kong action films. He holds dan ranks in karate (7th degree), judo (3rd degree), and aikido (2nd degree).
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Kishin Shinoyama
- Occupations
- photographer
- Biography
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Kishin Shinoyama was a Japanese photographer. He is well-known for having photographed the covers for John Lennon and Yoko Ono's albums, Double Fantasy and Milk and Honey. Before his marriage to Saori Minami in 1979, he took majority of the photographs for her album covers with CBS/Sony.
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Shinkun Haku
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Shinkun Haku is a Japanese politician of the Constitutional Democratic Party and a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Shinjuku, Tokyo and graduate of Nihon University, he was elected for the first time in 2004.
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Kō Nishimura
- Occupations
- actorkamikazeseiyū
- Biography
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Kō Nishimura was a Japanese actor.
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Terry Ito
- Occupations
- writertarentocriticfilm directorimpresario
- Biography
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Teruo Ito, better known as Terry Ito (テリー 伊藤, Terī Itō), is a Japanese director, television producer, critic, and writer. His name "Terry" comes from his first name, "Teruo". His ancestral home is in Yokoshibahikari, Sanbu District, Chiba Prefecture.
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Ishirō Honda
- Occupations
- film directordirectorscreenwriterimpresarioactor
- Biography
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Ishirō Honda was a Japanese filmmaker who directed 46 feature films in a career spanning five decades. He is acknowledged as the most internationally successful Japanese filmmaker prior to Hayao Miyazaki and one of the founders of modern disaster film, with his films having a significant influence on the film industry. Despite directing many drama, war, documentary, and comedy films, Honda is best remembered for directing and co-creating the kaiju genre with special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya.
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Jun'ya Koizumi
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Junya Koizumi was a Japanese politician who served as Director General of the Japan Defense Agency during the 1960s.
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Toshinao Nakagawa
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Toshinao Nakagawa 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.
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Kundō Koyama
- Occupations
- songwriterwriterbroadcast writerscreenwriter
- Biography
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Kundō Koyama is a Japanese writer. He is best known for scripting the television series Iron Chef and the 2009 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film recipient Departures. Koyama has also worked under the pen name Udon Kumayakko, an anagram of his real name read backwards in Japanese.
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Kazuyuki Fujita
- Occupations
- mixed martial arts fighterprofessional wrestleramateur wrestler
- Biography
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Kazuyuki Fujita is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and a former amateur wrestler, currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is a one-time GHC Heavyweight Champion. He has most recently fought in Road FC, but is also known for his work in the PRIDE Fighting Championships, K-1, Rizin Fighting Federation, and World Victory Road.
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C. W. Nicol
- Occupations
- novelistwriter
- Biography
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Clive William Nicol, MBE was a Welsh-born Japanese writer. He was a long-time resident and citizen of Japan.
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Keito Tsuna
- Occupations
- actor
- Biography
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Keito Tsuna is a Japanese actor working for Watanabe Entertainment.
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Takamisakari Seiken
- Occupations
- rikishi
- Biography
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Takamisakari Seiken is a former sumo wrestler from Aomori Prefecture, Japan. A former amateur champion, he turned professional in 1999 and established himself in the top division in 2002 after a brief appearance in 2000. He received five special prizes for his achievements in tournaments and earned two gold stars for defeating yokozuna. The highest rank he reached was komusubi, which he held on two occasions. He was one of the most popular wrestlers in sumo in his time, largely due to his eccentric warm-ups before his matches. He retired in January 2013 to become a coach at Azumazeki stable, having taken the toshiyori-kabu Furiwake-oyakata. In January 2020 he became head coach of Azumazeki stable, following the death of the former Ushiomaru.
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Yukari Miyake
- Occupations
- Maritime Self-defense Officialsinger
- Biography
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Yukari Miyake is a Japanese petty officer of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) and vocalist of the Tokyo SDF Band. The first and only official vocalist for the Music Corp to join the JMSDF, Miyake has released a number of CDs she sang with the SDF Band.
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Haruka Kitaguchi
- Occupations
- athletejavelin throwerathletics competitor
- Biography
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Haruka Kitaguchi is a Japanese female javelin thrower who is the reigning world champion in women's javelin throw.
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Toru Yano
- Occupations
- professional wrestler
- Biography
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Toru Yano, is a Japanese professional wrestler, trained by and currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was the KOPW 2020 and the KOPW 2021. He is a four time NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion. He is also a three-time IWGP Tag Team Champion and two-time GHC Tag Team Champion.
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Jūkichi Uno
- Occupations
- actorfilm directorimpresario
- Biography
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Jūkichi Uno was a Japanese actor. In 1950, he formed the Gekidan Mingei (劇団民藝) with Osamu Takizawa and others.
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Keiju Kobayashi
- Occupations
- actorvoice actor
- Biography
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Keiju Kobayashi was a Japanese actor who appeared in 253 films in a career spanning 67 years.
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Kishirō Nakamura
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Kishirō Nakamura is a Japanese politician serving in the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature) as an independent. A native of Sakai, Sashima District, Ibaraki Prefecture and a graduate of Nihon University, he was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time as an independent in 1976.
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Yutaka Wada
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Yutaka Wada is a retired Japanese baseball player for the Hanshin Tigers. He previously worked as a hitting coach for the Hanshin Tigers prior to the 2012 season. After the team failed to make the 2011 play-offs, team manager Akinobu Mayumi was fired, and Yutaka Wada was giving the position to replace him less than a week later. He is notable for various accomplishments, which include the following:
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Yamamotoyama Ryūta
- Occupations
- rikishi
- Biography
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Ryūichi Yamamoto, known by his shikona Yamamotoyama Ryūta (山本山 龍太), or simply Yama, is a Japanese retired sumo wrestler from the city of Saitama in Saitama Prefecture. He made his professional debut in January 2007, and reached the top makuuchi division in January 2009. His highest rank was maegashira 9. At 265 kg (584 lb), Yamamotoyama is the heaviest Japanese-born sumo wrestler in history, and is also thought to be the heaviest Japanese person ever. In April 2011, he was told to retire by the Japan Sumo Association after he and several other wrestlers were found to be involved in match-fixing. He currently resides in Los Angeles and participates in sumo exhibitions and amateur tournaments, and has made a number of appearances in television shows, commercials and music videos.
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Allen Coage
- Occupations
- professional wrestlerjudoka
- Biography
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Allen James Coage was an American judoka and professional wrestler. He won medals for the United States at several international judo competitions, including the heavyweight bronze medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics, and later appeared in professional wrestling promotions such as the World Wrestling Federation, New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Stampede Wrestling under the ring names Bad News Brown, Buffalo Allen, and Bad News Allen.
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Chua Lam
- Occupations
- film producertelevision presenterfood critic
- Biography
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Chua Lam is a Singaporean columnist, food critic, and occasional television host based in Hong Kong. He was also a movie producer for the Hong Kong movie studio Golden Harvest.
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Kotomitsuki Keiji
- Occupations
- rikishi
- Biography
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Kotomitsuki Keiji is a Japanese former professional sumo wrestler from Okazaki City. A former amateur champion, he turned professional in 1999. He reached the top makuuchi division in November 2000 and won one yūshō or tournament championship, in September 2001. He was a runner-up in eight other tournaments, and earned thirteen sanshō or special prizes. He is one of five wrestlers in the history of sumo to receive all three sanshō in the same tournament, accomplishing the feat in the November 2000 honbasho. After a record 22 tournaments at sekiwake, he achieved promotion to sumo's second highest rank of ōzeki in July 2007 upon winning 35 out of 45 bouts in three consecutive tournaments. This made him at 31 the oldest man to reach ōzeki in the modern era. He wrestled for Sadogatake stable. On July 4, 2010, he was expelled from professional sumo by the Japan Sumo Association for his involvement in an illegal gambling ring.
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Yoshinori Kitase
- Occupations
- video game producer
- Biography
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Yoshinori Kitase is a Japanese game director and producer working for Square Enix. He is known as the director of Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII and Final Fantasy X, and the producer of the Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy XIII series.
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Yoshinori Sato
- Occupations
- baseball coachprofessional baseball playerbaseball player
- Biography
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Yoshinori Sato is a former Nippon Professional Baseball pitcher.
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Yui Hasegawa
- Occupations
- association football player
- Biography
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Yui Hasegawa is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Women's Super League club Manchester City and the Japan national team. A versatile midfielder, she is capable of operating all across the midfield either as an attacking midfielder or as a defensive midfielder.
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Shohei Tateyama
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Shohei Tateyama is a former Japanese professional baseball pitcher and currently pitting coach for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He played for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of the NPB.
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Dong Biwu
- Occupations
- judgepolitician
- Biography
-
Dong Biwu was a Chinese communist revolutionary and politician, who served as acting Chairman of the People's Republic of China between 1972 and 1975.
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Sunao Katabuchi
- Occupations
- film directoranimatorscreenwriter
- Biography
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Sunao Katabuchi is a Japanese animation director, screenwriter, and storyboard artist. He is director of Contrail Co. Ltd. He has been a part-time lecturer at Nihon University College of Art since 2006, and a Project Professor at the college of Art of at the same university since 2018. He has also served as a part-time lecturer at the Graduate School of Tokyo University of the Arts since 2013. He is married to a fellow director of anime Chie Uratani.
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Mitsuo Hamada
- Occupations
- film actoractor
- Biography
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Mitsuo Hamada is a Japanese actor. He co-starred with Sayuri Yoshinaga in many Nikkatsu films. In 1960, Hamada joined Nikkatsu Company. He won his first major award at the Elan d'or Awards in 1961. In 1966, Hamada was involved in the quarrel at the bar in Nagoya and came close to losing an eye. The incident hindered his acting career.
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Eito Suzuki
- Occupations
- journalist
- Biography
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Eito Suzuki is a pseudonymous Japanese investigative journalist who covers new religious movements in the country. His primary area of editorial coverage is fraudulent missionary activities and the relationship between religious organizations and major political parties, primarily the Unification Church (UC) and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
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Chiaki Tone
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
-
Chiaki Tone is a professional Japanese baseball player. He plays pitcher for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp.
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Makoto Koga
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Makoto Koga is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature) and formerly Minister of Transport. A native of Setaka, Fukuoka and graduate of Nihon University, he was elected for the first time in 1980 after an unsuccessful run in 1979.
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Seiroku Kajiyama
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Seiroku Kajiyama was a Japanese politician who served in the House of Representatives from 1969 to 1976 and from 1979 to 2000, as Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party from 1992 to 1993, and as Chief Cabinet Secretary from 1996 to 1998.
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Mikako Kotani
- Occupations
- synchronized swimmer
- Biography
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Mikako Kotani is a Japanese former synchronized swimmer who competed in the 1988 Summer Olympics, where she gained a bronze medal each for the solo and duet events, and the 1992 Summer Olympics. She was the first woman to be Japan's flag-bearer for the 1988 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony.
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Hiroshi Kajiyama
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Hiroshi Kajiyama is a Japanese politician who served as Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry from October 2019 to October 2021. He is a member of the House of Representative since 2000, representing the Ibaraki 4th District.
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Hirotoshi Kitagawa
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
-
Hirotoshi Kitagawa is a former Nippon Professional Baseball infielder.
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Tadashi Sawamura
- Years
- 1943-2021 (aged 78)
- Occupations
- kickboxer
- Biography
-
Tadashi Sawamura was a Japanese kickboxer whose real name was Hideki Shiraha (白羽 秀樹, Shiraha Hideki). He is often credited with sparking the "Shōwa era kickboxing boom", being one of the era's most popular Japanese fighters, and enjoying great fame throughout his career.
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Great-O-Khan
- Occupations
- professional wrestler
- Biography
-
Tomoyuki Oka, better known by his ring name Great-O-Khan (グレート-O-カーン, Gurēto-Ō-Kān), is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of the United Empire stable. He also wrestles for NJPW's United Kingdom based partner promotion Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro), where he is the former Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion. In NJPW, he is a two-time IWGP Tag Team Champion (with Jeff Cobb).
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Hisayoshi Harasawa
- Occupations
- judoka
- Biography
-
Hisayoshi Harasawa is a Japanese judoka. Harasawa was considered a staple of Japanese heavyweight judo throughout the 2010s decade.
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Shigeki Maruyama
- Occupations
- golfer
- Biography
-
Shigeki Maruyama is a Japanese professional golfer.
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Katsuya Ogawa
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
-
Katsuya Ogawa is a Japanese politician of the Democratic Party of Japan, a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Kamikawa, Hokkaidō and graduate of Nihon University, he was elected to the House of Councillors for the first time in 1995 as a member of the New Frontier Party.
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Hideaki Kikuchi
- Occupations
- guitarist
- Biography
-
Hideaki Kikuchi is a Japanese musician. Born in Hino, Tokyo, he was raised in Hachiōji. He is best known as lead guitarist of the rock band The Yellow Monkey.
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Motoo Hayashi
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Motoo Hayashi is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). He has been a member of the House of Representatives in the national Diet since 1993 and currently represents the Chiba 10th district; he has previously represented the Southern Kanto proportional representation block and the pre-1996 Chiba 2nd district.
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Takehiko Bessho
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
-
Takehiko Bessho, born Akira Bessho (別所 昭, Bessho Akira), was a Japanese baseball player whose professional career as a player lasted from 1942 until 1960. Bessho first achieved fame as a pitcher in Japanese professional baseball; later, he served as a Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) manager.
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Naoyuki Shimizu
- Occupations
- baseball playerbaseball manager
- Biography
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Naoyuki Shimizu, nicknamed "Nao", is a former professional baseball player from Kyoto, Japan. He is a starting pitcher for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars.
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Shingo Katayama
- Occupations
- golfer
- Biography
-
Shingo Katayama is a Japanese golfer.
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Kyuichi Tokuda
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
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Kyuichi Tokuda was a Japanese politician and first chairman of the Japanese Communist Party from 1945 until his death in 1953.
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Kenshiro Matsunami
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Kenshiro Matsunami is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a former member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Izumisano, Osaka, he attended Nippon Sport Science University, Eastern Michigan University and Nihon University. He was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in 1996 as a member of the New Frontier Party. After losing his seat in 2003, he was re-elected in 2005 and served until 2009 as a member of the LDP.
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Eiji Ochiai
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
-
Eiji Ochiai is a former Nippon Professional Baseball pitcher.
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Ken Togame
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
-
Ken Togame is a professional Japanese baseball player. He plays pitcher for the Saitama Seibu Lions.
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Makoto Kozuru
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Makoto Kozuru was a Japanese professional baseball player who played in both the Japanese Baseball League and Nippon Professional Baseball. He was the MVP of the Central League in 1950, and was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980. His nickname was "The Japanese DiMaggio."
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Michiko Kihara
- Occupations
- actorswimmer
- Biography
-
Michiko Kihara was a Japanese swimmer and TV actress. She competed at the 1964 Olympics in the 100 m backstroke, 4 × 100 m freestyle relay and 4 × 100 m medley relay and finished fourth in the medley relay. After retiring from swimming, Kihara became a model, businesswoman and TV actress, playing in several Japanese TV series in the 1970s–80s. In 2005, she was appointed as director of the Japan Swimming Federation. She died of subarachnoid hemorrhage at age 59.
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Tai Chi-tao
- Occupations
- journalistwriterpolitician
- Biography
-
Dai Jitao or Tai Chi-t'ao was a Chinese journalist, an early Kuomintang member, and the first head of the Examination Yuan of the Republic of China. He is often referred to as Dai Chuanxian (Chinese: 戴傳賢; Wade–Giles: Tai Ch'uan-hsien) or by his other courtesy name, Dai Xuantang (Chinese: 戴選堂; Wade–Giles: Tai Hsüan-t'ang).
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Michiyo Kogure
- Occupations
- actor
- Biography
-
Michiyo Kogure was a Japanese film actress. She appeared in nearly 200 films in a career which spanned 45 years, starring in works by Akira Kurosawa, Kenji Mizoguchi, Yasujirō Ozu, Mikio Naruse, and others. Film historian Donald Richie once called her "ne of Japan's most versatile actresses, and perhaps the most intellectual of all in her approach to acting."
