100 Notable alumni of
University of Tokyo
Updated:
The University of Tokyo is 4th in the world, 1st in Asia, and 1st in Japan by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 100 notable alumni from the University of Tokyo sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. 2 individuals affiliated with the University of Tokyo won Nobel Prizes in Physics.
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Osamu Dazai
- Occupations
- novelistwriter
- Biography
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Shūji Tsushima, known by his pen name Osamu Dazai (太宰 治, Dazai Osamu), was a Japanese novelist and author. A number of his most popular works, such as The Setting Sun (Shayō) and No Longer Human (Ningen Shikkaku), are considered modern-day classics.
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Teruyuki Kagawa
- Occupations
- kabuki actorcolor commentatoractortelevision presentertarento
- Biography
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Teruyuki Kagawa is a Japanese actor, kabuki actor (as Ichikawa Chusha IX (九代目 市川中車, Kyūdaime Ichikawa Chūsha)), and boxing commentator.
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Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
- Enrolled in the University of Tokyo
- In 1913 studied English literature
- Occupations
- novelistwritershort story writerscreenwriterliterary critic
- Biography
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Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, art name Chōkōdō Shujin (澄江堂主人), was a Japanese writer active in the Taishō period in Japan. He is regarded as the "father of the Japanese short story", and Japan's premier literary award, the Akutagawa Prize, is named after him. He took his own life at the age of 35 through an overdose of barbital.
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Natsume Sōseki
- Occupations
- novelistpoetwriteruniversity teacher
- Biography
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Natsume Sōseki, pen name Sōseki, born Natsume Kin'nosuke (夏目 金之助), was a Japanese novelist. He is best known for his novels Kokoro, Botchan, I Am a Cat, Kusamakura and his unfinished work Light and Darkness. He was also a scholar of British literature and writer of haiku and kanshi poetry and fairy tales.
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Lully Miura
- Occupations
- political scientistbusinessperson
- Biography
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Ruri Lully Miura is a Japanese essayist and academic in the field of International Politics.
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Nobusuke Kishi
- Occupations
- spypoliticianbureaucratdiplomat
- Biography
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Nobusuke Kishi was a Japanese bureaucrat and politician who was prime minister of Japan from 1957 to 1960.
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Yasunari Kawabata
- Occupations
- novelistpoetwriterscreenwriter
- Biography
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Yasunari Kawabata was a Japanese novelist and short story writer whose spare, lyrical, subtly shaded prose works won him the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1968, the first Japanese author to receive the award. His works have enjoyed broad international appeal and are still widely read.
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Isao Takahata
- Occupations
- screenwriterdirectorimpresariofilm directortranslator
- Biography
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Isao Takahata was a Japanese director, screenwriter and producer. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he earned international critical acclaim for his work as a director of Japanese animated feature films. Born in Ujiyamada, Mie Prefecture, Takahata joined Toei Animation after graduating from the University of Tokyo in 1959. He worked as an assistant director, holding various positions over the years and collaborating with colleague Hayao Miyazaki, eventually directing his own film, The Great Adventure of Horus, Prince of the Sun (1968). He continued his partnership with Miyazaki, and under Nippon Animation directed the television series Heidi, Girl of the Alps (1974), 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother (1976), and Anne of Green Gables (1979). Takahata, Miyazaki and others formed Studio Ghibli in 1985, where he would direct Grave of the Fireflies (1988), Only Yesterday (1991), Pom Poko (1994), and My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999). His last film as director was The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013), which was nominated for an Academy Award in the category of Best Animated Feature Film at the 87th Academy Awards.
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Empress Masako
- Enrolled in the University of Tokyo
- 1986-1986 studied law
- Occupations
- consortdiplomataristocrat
- Biography
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Masako is Empress of Japan (皇后, kōgō) as the wife of Emperor Naruhito, who ascended to the Chrysanthemum Throne following his father's abdication in 2019.
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Takafumi Horie
- Enrolled in the University of Tokyo
- Studied in 1991-1996
- Occupations
- criticsocialitetarentobusinesspersoninternational forum participant
- Biography
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Takafumi Horie is a Japanese entrepreneur who founded Livedoor, a website design operation that grew into a popular internet portal. After being arrested and charged with securities fraud in 2006, he severed all connections with the company. His trial began on September 4, 2006. On March 16, 2007, Horie was sentenced to imprisonment of 2 years and 6 months.
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Mayuko Wakuda
- Occupations
- announcer
- Biography
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Mayuko Wakuda is a Japanese announcer and news anchor for NHK. Wakuda previously is one of the anchors hosting NHK General TV's primetime news program News Watch 9.
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Tomitarô Makino
- Occupations
- professorbotanist
- Biography
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Tomitaro Makino was a pioneer Japanese botanist noted for his taxonomic work. He has been called "Father of Japanese Botany", having been one of the first Japanese botanists to work extensively on classifying Japanese plants using the system developed by Linnaeus. His research resulted in documenting 50,000 specimens, many of which are represented in his Makino's Illustrated Flora of Japan. Despite having dropped out of grammar school, he eventually attained a Doctor of Science degree, and his birthday is remembered as Botany Day in Japan.
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Jiro Horikoshi
- Occupations
- aerospace engineerengineer
- Biography
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Jiro Horikoshi was the chief engineer of many Japanese fighter designs of World War II, including the Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter.
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Yoichi Ochiai
- Occupations
- university teacherbusinesspersonnew media artist
- Biography
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Yoichi Ochiai is a Japanese academic and media artist. He has a doctorate from the University of Tokyo. He is also an associate professor at the University of Tsukuba Library, as well as an Information and Media Associate Professor and Director of the Centre for Digital Nature Development and Research. Specially-appointed professor at Digital Hollywood University, visiting professor at Osaka University of Arts and Kyoto City University of Arts, Visiting Professor at Kanazawa College of Art.
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Shintarō Abe
- Years
- 1924-1991 (aged 67)
- Occupations
- journalistpoliticianpolitical scientistdiplomat
- Biography
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Shintaro Abe was a Japanese politician from Yamaguchi Prefecture. He was a leading member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). He served as foreign minister from 1982 to 1986. He was the father of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
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Kenzaburō Ōe
- Occupations
- university teacherwriterscreenwriterscience fiction writeressayist
- Biography
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Kenzaburō Ōe was a Japanese writer and a major figure in contemporary Japanese literature. His novels, short stories and essays, strongly influenced by French and American literature and literary theory, deal with political, social and philosophical issues, including nuclear weapons, nuclear power, social non-conformism, and existentialism. Ōe was awarded the 1994 Nobel Prize in Literature for creating "an imagined world, where life and myth condense to form a disconcerting picture of the human predicament today".
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Ryūhō Ōkawa
- Enrolled in the University of Tokyo
- Graduated with bachelor's degree in political science and jurisprudence
- Occupations
- scholar of Englishintellectualsociologistfather of faithpolitical philosopher
- Biography
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Ryuho Okawa was a Japanese religious and political leader who was the CEO and founder of the Happy Science and the Happiness Realization Party. He was also chairman of two companies affiliated with the organization, New Star Production and ARI Production.
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Yukio Hatoyama
- Occupations
- university teacherpoliticianengineer
- Biography
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Yukio Hatoyama is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and Leader of the Democratic Party of Japan from 2009 to 2010. He was the first Prime Minister from the modern Democratic Party of Japan. Hatoyama is currently the founder and leader of Kyowa Party, a minor political party established in 2020 after he announced his return to politics.
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Yōichi Masuzoe
- Occupations
- tarentolyricistpoliticianpolitical scientist
- Biography
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Yōichi Masuzoe is a Japanese politician who was elected to the position of governor of Tokyo in 2014 and resigned in June 2016 due to the misuse of public funds. He was previously a member of the Japanese House of Councillors and the Japanese Minister of Health, Labor, and Welfare. Before entering politics, he became well known in Japan as a television commentator on political issues.
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Jun'ichirō Tanizaki
- Occupations
- novelistwriterscreenwriter
- Biography
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Jun'ichirō Tanizaki was a Japanese author who is considered to be one of the most prominent figures in modern Japanese literature. The tone and subject matter of his work ranges from shocking depictions of sexuality and destructive erotic obsessions to subtle portrayals of the dynamics of family life within the context of the rapid changes in 20th-century Japanese society. Frequently, his stories are narrated in the context of a search for cultural identity in which constructions of the West and Japanese tradition are juxtaposed.
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Mayuko Toyota
- Occupations
- politicianpundit
- Biography
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Mayuko Toyota is a Japanese politician and former bureaucrat at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. She served two terms in the House of Representatives. She was a member of the Liberal Democratic Party until August 2017, when she left after being accused of assault by her secretary. Since then she has been politically independent.
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Masahito, Prince Hitachi
- Occupations
- aristocratphysician
- Biography
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Masahito, Prince Hitachi is a member of the Imperial House of Japan, the younger brother of Emperor emeritus Akihito and the paternal uncle of Emperor Naruhito. He is the second son and sixth born child of Emperor Shōwa and Empress Kōjun and is third and last in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne. He is mainly known for philanthropic activities and his research on the causes of cancer.
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Yasutoshi Nishimura
- Occupations
- international forum participantpolitician
- Biography
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Yasutoshi Nishimura is a Japanese politician who served as the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry from August 2022 until December 2023. Nishimura previously served as Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Liberal Democratic Party, he has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2003, representing Hyogo's 9th district.
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Masanori Hata
- Occupations
- novelistbusinesspersonscreenwriterdirectoractor
- Biography
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Masanori Hata was a Japanese zoologist, essayist, and filmmaker. A popular essayist under the pen name Mutsugorō, he was awarded the Kikuchi Kan Prize for his writing in 1977. He was perhaps best known in the West as the director and screenwriter of the 1986 film The Adventures of Milo and Otis.
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Ryūichi Yoneyama
- Occupations
- physicianpoliticianlawyer
- Biography
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Ryuichi Yoneyama is a Japanese politician and a former Governor of Niigata Prefecture. Prior to entering politics, Yoneyama worked as a radiology researcher at the University of Tokyo Hospital and was also trained as a lawyer.
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Koichi Sugiyama
- Occupations
- conductormusic arrangerpianistcomposer
- Biography
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Koichi Sugiyama was a Japanese composer, conductor, and orchestrator. He was best known for composing the music for the Dragon Quest franchise, along with several other video games, anime, film, television shows, and pop songs. Classically trained, Sugiyama was considered a major inspiration for other Japanese game music composers and was active from the 1960s until his death from septic shock in 2021.
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Kitasato Shibasaburō
- Occupations
- biologistimmunologistprofessorphysicianpolitician
- Biography
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Baron Kitasato Shibasaburō was a Japanese physician and bacteriologist. He is remembered as the co-discoverer of the infectious agent of bubonic plague in Hong Kong during an outbreak in 1894, almost simultaneously with Alexandre Yersin.
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Tsuneo Watanabe
- Occupations
- businesspersonjournalist
- Biography
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Tsuneo Watanabe is a Japanese journalist and newspaper executive. He is the Representative Director and Managing Editor of Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings, which publishes the largest Japanese daily newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun and substantially controls the largest Japanese commercial television network Nippon Television Network. He has served as the Managing Editor of The Yomiuri Shimbun since 1985.
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Katsunobu Kato
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Katsunobu Kato is a Japanese politician who previously serves as the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare three times from 2017 to 2018, from 2019 to 2020, and from 2022 to 2023. He also served as Chief Cabinet Secretary from 2020 to 2021. Belonging to the Liberal Democratic Party, he has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2003.
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Kengo Kuma
- Occupations
- architectuniversity teacher
- Biography
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Kengo Kuma is a Japanese architect and emeritus professor in the Department of Architecture (Graduate School of Engineering) at the University of Tokyo. Frequently compared to contemporaries Shigeru Ban and Kazuyo Sejima, Kuma is also noted for his prolific writings. He is the designer of the Japan National Stadium in Tokyo, which was built for the 2020 Summer Olympics. He is married to architect Satoko Shinohara, and they have one son, Taichi, also an architect. He is an advisor for Kitakyushu-city in Japan.
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Ōsumi Yoshinori
- Enrolled in the University of Tokyo
- Studied in 1963-1972
- Occupations
- biologist
- Biography
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Yoshinori Ohsumi is a Japanese cell biologist specializing in autophagy, the process that cells use to destroy and recycle cellular components. Ohsumi is a professor at Tokyo Institute of Technology's Institute of Innovative Research. He received the Kyoto Prize for Basic Sciences in 2012, the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, and the 2017 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences for his discoveries of mechanisms for autophagy.
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Toshimitsu Motegi
- Occupations
- journalistpoliticianinternational forum participant
- Biography
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Toshimitsu Motegi is a Japanese politician who currently serves as the Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party. He has previously served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2019 to 2021, and as Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry from 2012 to 2014. He is serving in the House of Representatives as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. He leads the Heisei Kenkyūkai faction within the LDP.
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Tamayo Marukawa
- Occupations
- television presenterannouncerpolitician
- Biography
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Tamayo Marukawa is a Japanese politician and former announcer of TV Asahi, who serves as a member of the House of Councillors of the National Diet (parliament of Japan). She is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. She served as the head of the Women's Affairs Office of the LDP in October 2009.
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Kōbō Abe
- Occupations
- writerpoetscience fiction writernovelistfilm director
- Biography
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Kōbō Abe, pen name of Kimifusa Abe (安部 公房, Abe Kimifusa, March 7, 1924 – January 22, 1993), was a Japanese writer, playwright, musician, photographer, and inventor. He is best known for his 1962 novel The Woman in the Dunes that was made into an award-winning film by Hiroshi Teshigahara in 1964. Abe has often been compared to Franz Kafka for his modernist sensibilities and his surreal, often nightmarish explorations of individuals in contemporary society.
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Yoshimasa Hayashi
- Occupations
- international forum participantpolitician
- Biography
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Yoshimasa Hayashi is a Japanese politician who is the Chief Cabinet Secretary since December 2023. Hayashi also served as the Minister for Foreign Affairs from November 2021 to September 2023. A member of the Liberal Democratic Party, he also serves in the House of Representatives for the Yamaguchi 3rd district since 2021.
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Sadakazu Tanigaki
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
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Sadakazu Tanigaki is a Japanese politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives from 1983 to 2016, as Minister of Finance from 2003 to 2006, as President of the Liberal Democratic Party and Leader of the Opposition from 2009 to 2012, as Minister of Justice from 2012 to 2014, and as LDP Secretary-General from 2014 to 2016. He was only the second LDP leader who was not simultaneously Prime Minister of Japan. He retired from politics following a spinal cord injury in 2016 that saw him using a wheelchair.
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Huang Kuo-chang
- Occupations
- researcherpoliticianlawyer
- Biography
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Huang Kuo-chang is a Taiwanese politician, activist, legal scholar, researcher and writer. He is one of the lead figures of the Sunflower Student Movement and joined the New Power Party shortly afterwards. He served as leader of the party from 2015 to 2019, and represented New Taipei City of Xizhi District in the Legislative Yuan on behalf of the NPP between 2016 and 2020. In 2023, he joined the Taiwan People's Party (TPP), and in the 2024 election he was elected to the Legislative Yuan on the TPP party list.
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Nitobe Inazō
- Occupations
- writerlinguisteconomistlexicographerpolitician
- Biography
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Nitobe Inazō was a Japanese educator, diplomat, agronomist and political scientist. He studied at Sapporo Agricultural College under the influence of its first president William S. Clark and later went to the United States to study agricultural policy. After returning to Japan, he served as a professor at Sapporo Agricultural College, Kyoto Imperial University, and Tokyo Imperial University, and the deputy secretary general of the League of Nations. He also devoted himself to women's education, helping to found the Tsuda Eigaku Juku and serving as the first president of Tokyo Woman's Christian University and president of the Tokyo Women's College of Economics.
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Mori Ōgai
- Occupations
- military personnelpoetnovelistphysicianphysician writer
- Biography
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Lieutenant-General Mori Rintarō, known by his pen name Mori Ōgai (森 鷗外), was a Japanese Army Surgeon general officer, translator, novelist, poet and father of famed author Mari Mori. He obtained his medical license at a very young age and introduced translated German language literary works to the Japanese public. Mori Ōgai also was considered the first to successfully express the art of western poetry in Japanese. He wrote many works and created many writing styles. The Wild Geese (1911–1913) is considered his major work. After his death, he was considered one of the leading writers who modernized Japanese literature.
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Yūichirō Tamaki
- Enrolled in the University of Tokyo
- In 1992 studied law school
- Occupations
- politicianbureaucrat
- Biography
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Yuichiro Tamaki is a Japanese politician and the leader of the Democratic Party for the People (DPFP). He is a member of the House of Representatives, and a former leader of Kibō no Tō. Before joining Kibō, Tamaki was a member of the Democratic Party.
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Kunio Hatoyama
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Kunio Hatoyama was a Japanese politician who served as Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications under Prime Ministers Shinzō Abe and Yasuo Fukuda until 12 June 2009.
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Atsushi Nakajima
- Occupations
- novelistwriter
- Biography
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Atsushi Nakajima was a Japanese author known for his unique style and self-introspective themes. His major works include "The Moon Over the Mountain" and "Light, Wind and Dreams" with the former being published in many Japanese textbooks.
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Kazuo Shii
- Enrolled in the University of Tokyo
- In 1979 studied engineering
- Occupations
- officialpolitician
- Biography
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Kazuo Shii is a Japanese politician who has been the chairman of the Central Committee of the Japanese Communist Party (JCP) since 2024. He previously served as the chairman of the Executive Committee of the Central Committee of the JCP from 24 November 2000 to 18 January 2024.
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Sadako Ogata
- Occupations
- professorinternational forum participantpolitical scientistdiplomat
- Biography
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Sadako Ogata, née Nakamura, was a Japanese academic, diplomat, author, administrator, and professor emerita at the Roman Catholic Sophia University. She was widely known as the head of the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) from 1991 to 2000, as well as in her capacities as Chair of the UNICEF Executive Board from 1978 to 1979 and as President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) from 2003 to 2012. She also served as Advisor of the Executive Committee of the Japan Model United Nations (JMUN).
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Chizuko Ueno
- Occupations
- feministsociologistprofessor
- Biography
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Chizuko Ueno is a Japanese sociologist and Japan's "best-known feminist". Her work covers sociological issues including semiotics, capitalism, and feminism in Japan. Ueno is known for the quality, polarizing nature, and accessibility of her work. She was married to historian Daikichi Irokawa.
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Mizuho Fukushima
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
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Mizuho Fukushima is a Japanese politician, attorney. A native of Nobeoka, Miyazaki, she has been a member of the House of Councillors since 1998, was re-elected in 2004 and 2010, and was the head of the Social Democratic Party of Japan (SDP), from 2003 to 2013. She was elected as the leader of the party for a second time in February 2020.
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Rui Matsukawa
- Occupations
- politiciandiplomat
- Biography
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Rui Arai is a Japanese politician and diplomat who serves as a member of the House of Councillors representing the Liberal Democratic Party. She previously served as Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Defense and Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Cabinet Office. She is the wife of diplomat Yūsuke Arai.
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Satsuki Katayama
- Occupations
- politicianadministrative scrivenerinternational forum participant
- Biography
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Satsuki Katayama is a Japanese politician serving in Japan's House of Councillors, having been elected in July 2010 as a candidate for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). She previously represented the Shizuoka 7th district in the House of Representatives for one term from 2005 until 2009.
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Shinji Miyadai
- Occupations
- sociologistcritic
- Biography
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Shinji Miyadai is a Japanese sociologist and professor at Tokyo Metropolitan University.
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Yōko Kamikawa
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Yōko Kamikawa, is a Japanese politician and former think tank researcher who has served as the Minister for Foreign Affairs since September 2023. She served as the Minister of Justice from September 2020 to October 2021, and also served as Minister of State for Gender Equality and Social Affairs in the cabinets of Shinzō Abe and Yasuo Fukuda. She has been a member of the House of Representatives since December 2012.
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Yoshiro Nakamatsu
- Occupations
- politicianinventor
- Biography
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Yoshiro Nakamatsu, also known as Dr. NakaMats (ドクター中松, Dokutā Nakamatsu), is a Japanese inventor. He regularly appears on Japanese talk shows demonstrating his inventions.
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Chulabhorn, Princess Srisavangavadhana
- Occupations
- university teacherinstrumentalistcomposerveterinarianmilitary officer
- Biography
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Princess Chulabhorn of Thailand, the Princess Srisavangavadhana is a princess of Thailand, the youngest daughter of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit, and the younger sister of King Vajiralongkorn. She is officially styled Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn, which corresponds to her full Thai title Somdet Phrachao Nong Nang Thoe Chaofa Chulabhorn Walailak Agrarajakumari (Thai: สมเด็จพระเจ้าน้องนางเธอ เจ้าฟ้าจุฬาภรณวลัยลักษณ์ อัครราชกุมารี). In 2019, she was bestowed the second-highest of royal ranks by appointment – "Krom Phra" by King Vajiralongkorn. She also received a first-class King Rama X Royal Cypher Medal.
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Tokiko Katō
- Occupations
- lyricistcomposersinger-songwritervoice actorsinger
- Biography
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Tokiko Kato is a Japanese singer, composer, lyricist, actress and activist.
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Birendra of Nepal
- Occupations
- monarch
- Biography
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Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, (28 December 1945 – 1 June 2001) was the tenth King of Nepal from 1972 until his assassination in 2001. He was the eldest son of King Mahendra.
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Zhou Youguang
- Years
- 1906-2017 (aged 111)
- Occupations
- Esperantistuniversity teachertranslatoreconomistlinguist
- Biography
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Zhou Youguang, also known as Chou Yu-kuang or Chou Yao-ping, was a Chinese economist, banker, linguist, sinologist, Esperantist, publisher, and supercentenarian, adored as the "father of Pinyin", a system for the writing of Mandarin Chinese in Roman script, or romanization, which was officially adopted by the government of the People's Republic of China in 1958, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 1982, and the United Nations in 1986.
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Haruhiko Kuroda
- Occupations
- bankernational public employeeeconomistprofessorinternational forum participant
- Biography
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Haruhiko Kuroda is a Japanese banker and a former Ministry of Finance government official who served as the 31st Governor of the Bank of Japan (BOJ) from March 2013 to April 2023 and is currently a Professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS). From 2003 Mr Kuroda served as Special Advisor to the Cabinet of Prime Minister Koizumi, while teaching economics and finance as a Professor at the Hitotsubashi University Graduate School of Economics. He was formerly the President of the Asian Development Bank from 1 February 2005 to 18 March 2013.
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Koichi Kato
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Koichi Kato was a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party who held a seat in the House of Representatives in the National Diet for 13 terms between 1972 and 2012. Kato was elected to several districts in Yamagata Prefecture and served as the Director-General of the Japan Defense Agency from 1984 to 1986 and Chief Cabinet Secretary from 1991 to 1992. Kato was a leading member of the Kōchikai faction of the LDP aligned with Prime Ministers Masayoshi Ōhira, Zenkō Suzuki, and Kiichi Miyazawa. Kato lost his seat at the December 2012 general election, and his daughter Ayuko Kato was elected to the seat at the 2014 general election.
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Kisho Kurokawa
- Occupations
- political activistarchitectthinkerbusinessperson
- Biography
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Kisho Kurokawa was a leading Japanese architect and one of the founders of the Metabolist Movement.
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Hideaki Ōmura
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Hideaki Ōmura is a Japanese politician and the current governor of Aichi Prefecture.
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Soichi Noguchi
- Occupations
- engineerastronaut
- Biography
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Soichi Noguchi is a Japanese aeronautical engineer and former JAXA astronaut. His first spaceflight was as a mission specialist aboard STS-114 on 26 July 2005 for NASA's first "return to flight" Space Shuttle mission after the Columbia disaster. He was also in space as part of the Soyuz TMA-17 crew and Expedition 22 to the International Space Station (ISS), returning to Earth on 2 June 2010. He is the sixth Japanese astronaut to fly in space, the fifth to fly on the Space Shuttle, and the first to fly on Crew Dragon.
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Shinichi Hoshi
- Years
- 1926-1997 (aged 71)
- Occupations
- writerscience fiction writernovelistscreenwriterillustrator
- Biography
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Shin’ichi Hoshi was a Japanese novelist and science fiction writer best known for his "short-short" science fiction stories, often no more than three or four pages in length, of which he wrote over 1000. He also wrote mysteries and won the Mystery Writers of Japan Award for Mōsō Ginkō (Delusion Bank) in 1968.
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Shūmei Ōkawa
- Occupations
- university teachertranslatorwriterlinguisthistorian
- Biography
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Shūmei Ōkawa was a Japanese nationalist and Pan-Asianist writer, known for his publications on Japanese history, philosophy of religion, Indian philosophy, and colonialism.
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Katsuya Okada
- Occupations
- politiciandiplomat
- Biography
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Katsuya Okada is a Japanese politician who was Deputy Prime Minister of Japan from January to December 2012. A member of the House of Representatives of Japan, he was the President of the Democratic Party, and previously of the Democratic Party of Japan. He also served as Secretary-General of the DPJ three times. During the DPJ's period in government he was Foreign Minister of Japan.
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Hisashi Owada
- Occupations
- juristuniversity teacherjudgediplomat
- Biography
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Hisashi Owada is a Japanese former jurist, diplomat and law professor. He served as a judge on the International Court of Justice from 2003 until June 7, 2018, and was President of the Court from 2009 to 2012. He is the father of Empress Masako and the father-in-law of the incumbent Emperor of Japan, Naruhito.
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Nam June Paik
- Occupations
- paintercomposermultimedia artistuniversity teachertelevision producer
- Biography
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Nam June Paik was a Korean artist. He worked with a variety of media and is considered to be the founder of video art. He is credited with the first use (1974) of the term "electronic super highway" to describe the future of telecommunications.
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Hayato Sumino
- Occupations
- pianistmusicianYouTuber
- Biography
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Hayato Sumino is a Japanese pianist and composer known for his performances of music by Frédéric Chopin.
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Shizuka Kamei
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Shizuka Kamei is a former Japanese politician and a former chairman of the Parliamentary League for the Abolition of the Death Penalty.
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Takaaki Kajita
- Occupations
- university teacherphysicist
- Biography
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Takaaki Kajita is a Japanese physicist, known for neutrino experiments at the Kamioka Observatory – Kamiokande and its successor, Super-Kamiokande. In 2015, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics jointly with Canadian physicist Arthur B. McDonald. On 1 October 2020, he became the president of the Science Council of Japan.
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Seiji Kihara
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Seiji Kihara is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature).
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Ryusuke Hamaguchi
- Occupations
- screenwriterfilm director
- Biography
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Ryusuke Hamaguchi is a Japanese film director and screenwriter. An alumnus of the University of Tokyo and the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, he started gaining attention in his home country with the graduate film Passion (2008).
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Ken Mogi
- Occupations
- scientistcognitive scientist
- Biography
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Kenichirō "Ken" Mogi is a Japanese scientist. He is a senior researcher at Sony Computer Science Laboratories and a visiting professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. According to the profile posted at his personal blog, his mission is "to solve the so-called mind-brain problem."
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Arata Isozaki
- Occupations
- architectuniversity teacher
- Biography
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Arata Isozaki was a Japanese architect, urban designer, and theorist from Ōita. He was awarded the Royal Gold Medal in 1986 and the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2019. He taught at Columbia University, Harvard University, and Yale University.
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Hiroyuki Hosoda
- Occupations
- politiciansecretary
- Biography
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Hiroyuki Hosoda was a Japanese politician who served as the speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan from November 2021 to October 2023. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1990, and served as Chief Cabinet Secretary in Junichiro Koizumi's cabinet from 2004 to 2005, and as Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party from 2008 to 2009.
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Junnosuke Yoshiyuki
- Occupations
- novelistwriter
- Biography
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Junnosuke Yoshiyuki was a Japanese novelist and short-story writer, and a member of the so-called "Third Generation of Postwar Writers" (第3の新人).
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Natsuo Yamaguchi
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
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Natsuo Yamaguchi is a Japanese politician of the Komeito party and a member of the House of Councillors in the National Diet of Japan.
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Itsunori Onodera
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Itsunori Onodera is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party and a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). He served as the Minister of Defense from 2012 to 2014 and again from 2017 to 2018.
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Itō Toyoo
- Occupations
- architect
- Biography
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Toyo Ito is a Japanese architect known for creating conceptual architecture, in which he seeks to simultaneously express the physical and virtual worlds. He is a leading exponent of architecture that addresses the contemporary notion of a "simulated" city, and has been called "one of the world's most innovative and influential architects."
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Mamoru Shigemitsu
- Occupations
- politiciandiplomat
- Biography
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Mamoru Shigemitsu was a Japanese diplomat who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs three times during and after World War II and as Deputy Prime Minister. As a civilian plenipotentiary representing the Japanese government, Shigemitsu cosigned the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on board the battleship USS Missouri on September 2, 1945.
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Yoichi Hatta
- Occupations
- civil engineerengineer
- Biography
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Yoichi Hatta was a Japanese engineer, known for his contributions in hydraulic engineering in the Japanese-ruled Taiwan. Hatta was born in Kanazawa, Ishikawa. After graduating from Tokyo Imperial University in 1910, he joined the Seat of Governor-General of Taiwan and served as a technician of the government. He was the designer of Chianan Canal and Wusanto Reservoir.
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Matsutarō Shōriki
- Occupations
- judokapoliticianbusinessperson
- Biography
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Matsutarō Shōriki was a Japanese media proprietor and politician. He was the owner of the Yomiuri Shimbun, founder of the Yomiuri Giants and the Nippon Television Network Corporation.
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D. T. Suzuki
- Occupations
- writeruniversity teachertranslatorpsychologistphilosopher
- Biography
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Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki, self-rendered in 1894 as "Daisetz", was a Japanese essayist, philosopher, religious scholar, translator, and writer. He was a scholar and author of books and essays on Buddhism, Zen and Shin that were instrumental in spreading interest in both Zen and Shin (and Far Eastern philosophy in general) to the West. Suzuki was also a prolific translator of Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese and Sanskrit literature. Suzuki spent several lengthy stretches teaching or lecturing at Western universities, and devoted many years to a professorship at Ōtani University, a Japanese Buddhist school.
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Daishiro Yamagiwa
- Occupations
- politicianveterinarian
- Biography
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Daishiro Yamagiwa is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Representatives (2003–2005: Southern Kanto proportional representation block, 2005–2009 and 2012–present: Kanagawa 18th district) in the Diet (national legislature). He served as Minister in charge of Economic Revitalization under the cabinet of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida from October 2021 to October 2022.
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Junya Ogawa
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Junya Ogawa is a Japanese politician of the Democratic Party of Japan, a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Takamatsu, Kagawa and graduate of the University of Tokyo, he joined the Ministry of Home Affairs in 1994. Leaving the ministry in 2003, he ran unsuccessfully for the House of Representatives in the same year. Two years later, he ran again and lost for a second time. He ran for a third time in 2009 and was elected for Kagawa's 1st district.
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Hiroya Masuda
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Hiroya Masuda is a Japanese politician, government official, and business executive. He was Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications from August 2007 to September 2008, and has served as the president and CEO of Japan Post Holdings since January 2020.
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Yukio Ozaki
- Occupations
- politicianjournalist
- Biography
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Yukio Ozaki was a Japanese politician of liberal signature, born in modern-day Sagamihara, Kanagawa. Ozaki served in the House of Representatives of the Japanese Diet for 63 years (1890–1953). He is still revered in Japan as the "God of constitutional politics" and the "father of the Japanese Constitution".
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Hajime Tanabe
- Occupations
- philosopheruniversity teacher
- Biography
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Hajime Tanabe was a Japanese philosopher of science, particularly of mathematics and physics. His work brought together elements of Buddhism, scientific thought, Western philosophy, Christianity, and Marxism. In the postwar years, Tanabe coined the concept of metanoetics, proposing that the limits of speculative philosophy and reason must be surpassed by metanoia.
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Takeru Inukai
- Occupations
- novelistpolitician
- Biography
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Takeru Inukai was a Japanese politician and novelist active in Shōwa period Japan. Also known as "Inukai Ken", he was the third son of Prime Minister of Japan Inukai Tsuyoshi.
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Naoko Yamazaki
- Occupations
- astronautvisiting professordirectorengineerinternational forum participant
- Biography
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Naoko Yamazaki is a Japanese engineer and former astronaut at JAXA. She was the second Japanese woman to fly in space. The first was Chiaki Mukai.
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Kijūrō Shidehara
- Occupations
- politiciandiplomat
- Biography
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Baron Kijūrō Shidehara was a pre–World War II Japanese diplomat and politician. He was prime minister of Japan from 1945 to 1946 and a leading proponent of pacifism in Japan before and after World War II. He was the last Japanese Prime Minister who was a member of the peerage (kazoku). His wife, Masako, was the fourth daughter of Iwasaki Yatarō, founder of the Mitsubishi zaibatsu.
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Isao Inokuma
- Occupations
- judoka
- Biography
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Isao Inokuma was a Japanese judoka. He won a gold medal in the heavyweight division (above 80 kg) at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and a world title in 1965.
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Yoichiro Nambu
- Enrolled in the University of Tokyo
- In 1952 graduated with Doctor of Science in physics
- Occupations
- physicisttheoretical physicistresearcherprofessor
- Biography
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Yoichiro Nambu was a Japanese-American physicist and professor at the University of Chicago.
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Hirotugu Akaike
- Occupations
- statisticianmathematician
- Biography
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Hirotsugu Akaike was a Japanese statistician. In the early 1970s, he formulated the Akaike information criterion (AIC). AIC is now widely used for model selection, which is commonly the most difficult aspect of statistical inference; additionally, AIC is the basis of a paradigm for the foundations of statistics. Akaike also made major contributions to the study of time series. As well, he had a large role in the general development of statistics in Japan.
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Kaoru Yosano
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
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Kaoru Yosano was a Japanese politician. He was a member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the Sunrise Party of Japan and former member of the House of Representatives, serving his ninth term in the Lower House representing Tokyo's first electoral district until his defeat in the 2009 Japanese general election. He was Chief Cabinet Secretary to Prime Minister Shinzō Abe from August 2007 to September 2007, and Minister of Economic and Fiscal Policy in Tarō Asō's administration from February to September 2009.
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Leo Esaki
- Occupations
- physicist
- Biography
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Reona Esaki, also known as Leo Esaki, is a Japanese physicist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1973 with Ivar Giaever and Brian David Josephson for his work in electron tunneling in semiconductor materials which finally led to his invention of the Esaki diode, which exploited that phenomenon. This research was done when he was with Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo (now known as Sony). He has also contributed in being a pioneer of the semiconductor superlattices.
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Masahiro Yasuoka
- Occupations
- philosopher
- Biography
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Masahiro Yasuoka was a Japanese scholar of yangmingism who, through his philosophy, reportedly exerted considerable influence on many Japanese politicians, including postwar prime ministers of Japan. He has been considered a backroom power broker or eminence grise.
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Masahiro Imamura
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Masahiro Imamura is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature).
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Eiji Toyoda
- Enrolled in the University of Tokyo
- 1933-1936 studied mechanical engineering
- Occupations
- business magnatefabricatorentrepreneur
- Biography
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Eiji Toyoda was a Japanese industrialist. He was largely responsible for bringing Toyota Motor Corporation to profitability and worldwide prominence during his tenure as president and later, as chairman. He was succeeded as the president of Toyota by Shoichiro Toyoda.
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Motojirō Kajii
- Occupations
- novelistwriterpoet
- Biography
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Motojirō Kajii was a Japanese writer in the early Shōwa period known for his poetic short stories. Kajii's works included Remon (檸檬, "Lemon"), "Shiro no aru machi nite" (城のある町にて, "In a Castle Town"). Fuyu no hi (冬の日, "Winter Days") and Sakura no ki no shita ni wa (櫻の樹の下には, "Beneath the Cherry Trees"). His poetic works were praised by fellow writers including Yasunari Kawabata and Yukio Mishima. Today his works are admired for their finely tuned self-observation and descriptive power.
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Kenji Utsunomiya
- Occupations
- politicianlawyerjurist
- Biography
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Kenji Utsunomiya is a Japanese lawyer and former chair of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations.
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Hiromu Kurokawa
- Years
- 1957-.. (age 67)
- Occupations
- prosecutor
- Biography
-
Hiromu Kurokawa is a Japanese prosecutor who served as chief of the Tokyo High Public Prosecutors Office from January 2019 to May 2020. The extension of his term of office by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in February 2020, followed by his resignation for misconduct in May 2020, sparked political controversy in Japan.
