100 Notable alumni of
Waseda University
Updated:
Waseda University is 9th in the world, 2nd in Asia, and 2nd in Japan by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 100 notable alumni from Waseda 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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Haruki Murakami
- Occupations
- university teachernovelistwriterscience fiction writertranslator
- Biography
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Haruki Murakami is a Japanese writer. His novels, essays, and short stories have been best-sellers in Japan and internationally, with his work translated into 50 languages and having sold millions of copies outside Japan. He has received numerous awards for his work, including the Gunzo Prize for New Writers, the World Fantasy Award, the Tanizaki Prize, Yomiuri Prize for Literature, the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award, the Noma Literary Prize, the Franz Kafka Prize, the Kiriyama Prize for Fiction, the Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Fiction, the Jerusalem Prize, and the Princess of Asturias Awards.
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Yuzuru Hanyū
- Occupations
- directorfigure skaterproducer
- Biography
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Yuzuru Hanyu is a Japanese figure skater and ice show producer. Universally regarded as one of the greatest figure skaters in history for his well-rounded skills, achievements, innovations, longevity, popularity, and impact on the sport, he started skating at four years old and competed in the men's singles discipline from 2004 to 2022. Hanyu is the first male single skater in 66 years since Dick Button to win back-to-back Olympic titles (2014, 2018), and also the youngest and first Asian Olympic champion in that discipline. He is a two-time World champion (2014, 2017), six-time Japanese national champion (2012–2015, 2020–2021), and the first single skater to win four consecutive Grand Prix Finals (2014–2017). With his win at the 2020 Four Continents Championships, he became the first skater in men's singles to complete the Super Slam, having won all major international junior and senior titles in the course of his career. He is also the first and only single skater to be ranked first in the ISU World Standings for five consecutive seasons (2014–2018). Hanyu broke world records 19 times, the most in singles since the introduction of the ISU Judging System in 2003, and was the first skater to land a quadruple loop jump in international competition among other achievements.
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Saori Hayami
- Occupations
- television produceractorradio personalitysingerseiyū
- Biography
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Saori Hayami is a Japanese voice actress and singer affiliated with I'm Enterprise. As a singer, she is signed to Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. Hayami won the 10th Seiyu Awards for Best Supporting Actress. Her most notable roles include Pramanix in Arknights, Himawari Uzumaki in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Shinobu Kochō in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Leona in Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai, Kamisato Ayaka in Genshin Impact, Miyuki Shiba in The Irregular at Magic High School, Ryuu Lion in Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Yumeko Jabami in Kakegurui, Rui Komada in Komada: A Whisky Family, Yotsugi Ononoki in Monogatari, Yukino Yukinoshita in My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected, Yamato in One Piece, Ruby Rose in RWBY: Ice Queendom, Shōko Nishimiya in A Silent Voice, and Yor Forger in Spy × Family.
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Fumio Kishida
- Enrolled in Waseda University
- In 1982 studied jurisprudence
- Occupations
- diplomatpolitician
- Biography
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Fumio Kishida is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2021 to 2024. He has been a member of the House of Representatives in the National Diet since 1993. Kishida previously served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2012 to 2017 and as acting Minister of Defense in 2017. From 2017 to 2020, he also chaired the LDP Policy Research Council.
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Ryōko Hirosue
- Occupations
- singeractorchild actor
- Biography
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Ryōko Hirosue is a Japanese actress and singer, best known to international audiences for her roles in the Luc Besson-produced Wasabi and the Academy Award-winning Japanese film Departures. She also starred in the 2008 comedy series Yasuko to Kenji.
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Zhou Enlai
- Occupations
- foreign ministerpoliticianminister
- Biography
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Zhou Enlai was a Chinese statesman, diplomat, and revolutionary who served as the inaugural premier of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from 1949 until his death in 1976, and concurrently as the inaugural Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1949 to 1958. Zhou was a key figure in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and ally of Mao Zedong during the Chinese Civil War, later helping consolidate its control, form its foreign policy, and develop the economy.
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Tasuku Emoto
- Occupations
- actor
- Biography
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Tasuku Emoto is a Japanese actor represented by Alpha Agency. His father is actor Akira Emoto, his mother is actress Kazue Tsunogae, his brother is actor Tokio Emoto, and his wife is actress Sakura Ando.
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Nao Tōyama
- Occupations
- seiyūsingertelevision producer
- Biography
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Nao Tōyama is a Japanese voice actress and singer affiliated with the agency Intention. She was a member of Arts Vision. She debuted as a voice actress in 2010, and played her first leading role as Kanon Nakagawa in The World God Only Knows. She is also known for her roles as Chitoge Kirisaki in Nisekoi, Yui Yuigahama in My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected, Tomoe Koga in Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai, Karen Kujō in Kin-iro Mosaic, Ruka Sarashina in Rent-A-Girlfriend and Rin Shima in Laid-Back Camp. In 2019, she won the Best Supporting Actress Award with Yū Serizawa and the Game Award in the 13th Seiyu Awards.
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Masato Sakai
- Occupations
- actorseiyū
- Biography
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Masato Sakai is a Japanese actor. Since the success of Naoki Hanzawa (2013), he has become one of the most famous actors in Japan.
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Chiune Sugihara
- Enrolled in Waseda University
- In 1918 studied English
- Occupations
- diplomat
- Biography
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Chiune Sugihara was a Japanese diplomat who served as vice-consul for the Japanese Empire in Kaunas, Lithuania. During the Second World War, Sugihara helped thousands of Jews flee Europe by issuing transit visas to them so that they could travel through Japanese territory, risking his career and the lives of his family. The fleeing Jews were refugees from German-occupied Western Poland and Soviet-occupied Eastern Poland, as well as residents of Lithuania.
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Ai Fukuhara
- Occupations
- table tennis player
- Biography
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Ai Fukuhara is a retired Japanese table tennis player and Olympic medalist, winning silver at the 2012 Summer Olympics and bronze at the 2016 Summer Olympics with the Japanese women's team. She is sponsored by All Nippon Airways.
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Hirokazu Koreeda
- Occupations
- film directorfilm producerfilm screenwriterscreenwriterdirector
- Biography
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Hirokazu Kore-eda is a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor. He began his career in television and has since directed more than a dozen feature films, including Nobody Knows (2004), Still Walking (2008), and After the Storm (2016). He won the Jury Prize at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival for Like Father, Like Son, and won the Palme d'Or at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival for Shoplifters.
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Sayuri Yoshinaga
- Occupations
- singeractorchild actor
- Biography
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Sayuri Yoshinaga is a Japanese actress and activist. She has won four Japan Academy Best Actress awards, more than any other actress, and has been called "one of the foremost stars in the postwar world of film."
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Tetsuya Komuro
- Enrolled in Waseda University
- Studied in 1977
- Occupations
- record producerkeyboardistmusic arrangercomposersinger-songwriter
- Biography
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Tetsuya Komuro is a Japanese musician, songwriter and record producer. He is recognized as the most successful producer in Japanese music history and has introduced contemporary electronic dance music to the Japanese mainstream. He was also a former owner of the disco Velfarre located in Roppongi, Tokyo.
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Mamiko Tanaka
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Mamiko Tanaka is a Japanese former professional basketball player. She played four seasons for the Fujitsu Red Wave of the Women's Japan Basketball League from 2019 to 2023. She represented Japan at the international youth and collegiate level. She is the wife of baseball player Shohei Ohtani.
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Tomokazu Harimoto
- Occupations
- table tennis player
- Biography
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Tomokazu Harimoto is a Japanese professional table tennis player who is currently world rank number 3 in ITTF. Born to Chinese parents, he became a naturalized Japanese citizen in 2014. He won the world junior singles and team title at the 2016 World Junior Table Tennis Championships for Japan.
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Tomomi Inada
- Occupations
- tax advisorpoliticianlawyer
- Biography
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Tomomi Inada is a Japanese lawyer and politician serving as a member of the House of Representatives, representing the 1st Fukui Prefecture since September 2005. She previously served as Minister of Defense from August 2016 to July 2017, resigning in response to a cover up scandal within the Japanese Ministry of Defense. She spent time as the Chairwoman of the Policy Research Council of the Liberal Democratic Party in her fourth term as a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). She is a native of Fukui Prefecture.
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Yuki Saito
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Yuki Saito is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. He played 11 seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.
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Tōru Hashimoto
- Occupations
- politiciantarentolawyer
- Biography
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Tōru Hashimoto is a Japanese television personality, politician, and lawyer. He is a former governor of Osaka Prefecture and mayor of City of Osaka. He is a founder of Nippon Ishin no Kai and the Osaka Restoration Association. He is one of Japan's leading right-wing conservative-populist politicians.
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Yoshirō Mori
- Occupations
- journalistpolitician
- Biography
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Yoshirō Mori is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party from 2000 to 2001. He was unpopular in opinion polls during his time in office, and is known for making controversial statements, both during and after his premiership.
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Naohito Fujiki
- Occupations
- actorsinger
- Biography
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Naohito Fujiki is a Japanese actor and singer.
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Masumi Kuwata
- Occupations
- baseball commentatorbaseball coachprofessional baseball playerbaseball playerBaseball Critics
- Biography
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Masumi Kuwata is a former Japanese right-handed pitcher who played the bulk of his career with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball. He pitched 21 seasons with the Giants, beginning in 1986. Near the end of his career, he played part of one season with the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball. He is the son of professional golfer Izumi Kuwata.
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Edogawa Ranpo
- Occupations
- literary criticscreenwriternovelistwriterscience fiction writer
- Biography
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Tarō Hirai, better known by the pen name Edogawa Ranpo (江戸川 乱歩), was a Japanese author and critic who played a major role in the development of Japanese mystery and thriller fiction. Many of his novels involve the detective hero Kogoro Akechi, who in later books was the leader of a group of boy detectives known as the "Boy Detectives Club" (少年探偵団, Shōnen tantei dan).
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Sun Myung Moon
- Occupations
- businesspersonreligious leaderwriter
- Biography
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Sun Myung Moon was a Korean religious leader, also known for his business ventures and support for conservative political causes. A messiah claimant, he was the founder of the Unification Church, whose members consider him and his wife Hak Ja Han to be their "True Parents", and of its widely noted "Blessing" or mass wedding ceremonies. The author of the Unification Church's religious scripture, the Divine Principle, was an anti-communist and an advocate for Korean reunification, for which he was recognized by the governments of both North and South Korea. Businesses he promoted included News World Communications, an international news media corporation known for its American subsidiary The Washington Times, and Tongil Group, a South Korean business group (chaebol), as well as other related organizations.
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Ayumu Goromaru
- Occupations
- rugby union player
- Biography
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Ayumu Goromaru is a former Japanese rugby union player who played at fullback for Yamaha Júbilo as well as the Japan national rugby union team.
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Maki Okazoe
- Occupations
- modeltelevision presenter
- Biography
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Maki Okazoe is a Japanese TV announcer, news presenter and tarento. She is represented by her agency cent. Force.
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Lee Kun-hee
- Occupations
- industrialistsports officialbusinesspersonentrepreneur
- Biography
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Lee Kun-hee was a South Korean businessman who served as the chairman of Samsung from 1987 to 2008 and from 2010 to his death in 2020. He is also credited with the transformation of Samsung to one of the world's largest business entities that engages in semiconductors, smartphones, electronics, shipbuilding, construction, and other businesses. Since Lee became the chairman of Samsung, the company became the world's largest manufacturer of smartphones, memory chips, and appliances. He was the third son of Samsung founder Lee Byung-chul. With an estimated net worth of US$21 billion at the time of his death, he was the richest person in South Korea, a position that he had held since 2007.
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Yasujirō Ozu
- Occupations
- screenwriterfilm directorproduction designer
- Biography
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Yasujirō Ozu was a Japanese filmmaker. He began his career during the era of silent films, and his last films were made in colour in the early 1960s. Ozu first made a number of short comedies, before turning to more serious themes in the 1930s. The most prominent themes of Ozu's work are family and marriage, and especially the relationships between generations. His most widely beloved films include Late Spring (1949), Tokyo Story (1953) and An Autumn Afternoon (1962).
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Megumi Kaneko
- Occupations
- tarentopolitician
- Biography
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Megumi Kaneko is a Japanese politician. She served as a member of the House of Representatives for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) between 2012 and 2017, when she represented the 4th District of Niigata prefecture. She was defeated in the 2017 general election.
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Norichika Aoki
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Norichika "Nori" Aoki is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, Houston Astros, Toronto Blue Jays, and New York Mets, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows.
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Takashi Toritani
- Occupations
- baseball playerbaseball commentator
- Biography
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Takashi Toritani is a Japanese former professional baseball shortstop, commentator, critic, and coach.
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Mas Oyama
- Occupations
- writermixed martial arts fighterkarateka
- Biography
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Masutatsu Ōyama, more commonly known as Mas Oyama, was a Zainichi Korean karate master who founded Kyokushin Karate, considered the first and most influential style of full contact karate.
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Yoko Kanno
- Occupations
- keyboardistDJ producermusic arrangerfilm score composercomposer
- Biography
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Yoko Kanno is a Japanese composer, arranger and music producer of soundtracks for anime series, video games, television dramas and movies. She has written scores for Cowboy Bebop, Terror in Resonance, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Wolf's Rain, Turn A Gundam and Darker than Black. Kanno is a keyboardist and the frontwoman for Seatbelts, who perform many of her compositions.
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Lee Byung-chul
- Occupations
- entrepreneur
- Biography
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Lee Byung-chul was a South Korean businessman who founded the Samsung Group, the country's largest chaebol (conglomerate). Lee founded Samsung in 1938, at the age of 28. He is recognized as the most successful business magnate in South Korea's history.
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Yoshihiko Noda
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Yoshihiko Noda is a Japanese politician. He is the current leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP), and has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2000. From 2011 to 2012, he was the Prime Minister of Japan.
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Norio Wakamoto
- Occupations
- seiyū
- Biography
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Norio Wakamoto is a Japanese voice actor affiliated with the Sigma Seven talent agency. He was born in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, and was raised in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture. He graduated from Waseda University.
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Akinobu Okada
- Occupations
- baseball manager
- Biography
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Akinobu Okada is a Japanese former professional baseball infielder and manager. He played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) from 1980 to 1995 for the Hanshin Tigers and Orix BlueWave.
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Yasuko Namba
- Occupations
- mountaineer
- Biography
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Yasuko Namba was the second Japanese woman (after Junko Tabei) to climb the Seven Summits. Namba worked as a businesswoman for Federal Express in Japan, but her hobby of mountaineering took her all over the world. She first summited Kilimanjaro on New Year's Day in 1982, and summited Aconcagua exactly two years later. She reached the summit of Denali on July 1, 1985, and the summit of Mount Elbrus on August 1, 1992. After summiting Vinson Massif on December 29, 1993, and Carstensz Pyramid on November 12, 1994, Namba's final summit to reach was Mount Everest. She signed on with Rob Hall's guiding company, Adventure Consultants, and reached the summit in May 1996, but died during her descent in the 1996 Mount Everest disaster.
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Noboru Takeshita
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Noboru Takeshita was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1987 to 1989.
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Demon Kakka
- Occupations
- record producerfilm directoractorwritercomposer
- Biography
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Demon Kakka, previously known as Demon Kogure (デーモン小暮, Dēmon Kogure), is a Japanese musician, songwriter, entertainer, journalist, sumo commentator, actor and voice actor. He first gained fame in the 1980s as vocalist of the heavy metal band Seikima-II, before starting a solo career in 1990 and branching out into other forms of entertainment. His real name is not publicly known and he is noted for always working entirely in character, which includes wearing face paint.
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Shinya Aoki
- Occupations
- judokamixed martial arts fighter
- Biography
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Shinya Aoki is a Japanese mixed martial artist, professional wrestler and grappler competing in ONE Championship's Welterweight division. He also competes in DDT Pro-Wrestling where he is a former three-time DDT Extreme Champion. A professional competitor since 2003, he is noted for being the DREAM Lightweight Champion, former two time ONE Lightweight World Champion, former WAMMA Lightweight Champion and former Shooto Welterweight Champion. Aoki is an A-class Shootist and BJJ black belt, both under his long-term mentor Yuki Nakai, as well as a black belt Judoka. As of 2008, Aoki, along with DEEP champion Masakazu Imanari, and Sengoku champion Satoru Kitaoka have founded the "Nippon Top Team" as a group of elite Japanese grapplers competing in MMA. As well as his MMA credentials, Aoki has garnered several submission grappling accolades including two All Japan Jiu-Jitsu Championships, a Japan Open Jiu-Jitsu Championship, a Budo Open Championship, and an ADCC Japan Championship.
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Tsuyoshi Wada
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Tsuyoshi Wada is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) from 2003 to 2011, and 2016 to 2024 for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. He also played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2014 to 2015 for the Chicago Cubs.
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Takuma Sato
- Occupations
- racing automobile driverFormula One driver
- Biography
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Takuma "Taku" Sato is a Japanese racing driver, who competes part-time in the IndyCar Series for RLL. Sato competed in Formula One from 2002 to 2008. In American open-wheel racing, Sato is a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 in 2017 and 2020, remaining the only Asian driver to win the event.
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Yasuo Fukuda
- Occupations
- politicianeconomist
- Biography
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Yasuo Fukuda is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2007 to 2008. He was previously the longest-serving Chief Cabinet Secretary in Japanese history, serving in that role from 2000 to 2004 under Prime Ministers Yoshirō Mori and Junichiro Koizumi. His record was surpassed by Yoshihide Suga, who served almost twice as long.
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Kin'ya Kitaōji
- Occupations
- actortelevision actor
- Biography
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Kin'ya Kitaōji is a Japanese actor.
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Hideo Higashikokubaru
- Occupations
- tarentofilm actorpoliticiantelevision actorcomedian
- Biography
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Hideo Higashikokubaru is a Japanese politician. He originally rose to fame as a comedian and actor under the stage name Sonomanma Higashi (そのまんま東, literally "Higashi without change" or "simply Higashi"), and was known for his role in the popular game show Takeshi's Castle.
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Junichi Ishida
- Occupations
- actortarento
- Biography
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Junichi Ishida is a Japanese actor and television personality from Tokyo. He is married to professional golfer Riko Higashio.
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Kiyomi Tsujimoto
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Kiyomi Tsujimoto is a Japanese politician from the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, and previous incarnations of Japanese center-left and social democratic parties. She is currenctly serving as a member of the House of Councillors, having previously served as a member of the House of Representatives from the 10th District of Osaka. Tsujimoto is also the current policy chief of the CDP.
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Daiya Seto
- Occupations
- swimmer
- Biography
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Daiya Seto is a Japanese professional swimmer who specializes in individual medley, butterfly, breaststroke, and freestyle events. He holds the world record in the short course 400-metre individual medley and formerly held the world record in the short course 200-metre butterfly. He won the gold medal in the 400-metre individual medley at the 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2021, and 2022 world short course championships, as well as at the 2013, 2015, and 2019 world long course championships.
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Suguru Osako
- Occupations
- marathon runnerlong-distance runnerathletics competitorathlete
- Biography
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Suguru Osako is a Japanese long-distance runner. He won the 10,000 metres gold medal at the 2011 Summer Universiade in Shenzhen and holds the Asian junior record for the half marathon. He held the Japanese National Record for the marathon of 2:05:29 set at the 2020 Tokyo Marathon, where he finished fourth.
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Nakamura Kichiemon II
- Occupations
- film actorcostume designerkabuki actoractor
- Biography
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Nakamura Kichiemon II was a Japanese actor, kabuki performer and costume designer. He was a so-called Living National Treasure.
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Akiyuki Nosaka
- Occupations
- politicianbroadcast writerscreenwriterlyricistwriter
- Biography
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Akiyuki Nosaka was a Japanese novelist, journalist, singer, lyricist, and member of the House of Councillors. As a broadcasting writer he used the name Yukio Aki (阿木 由紀夫, Aki Yukio) and his alias as a chanson singer was Claude Nosaka (クロード 野坂, Kurōdo Nosaka). He wrote the short story "Grave of the Fireflies" based on his experiences in the wake of American bombing during the Second World War; the short story has been adapted into both an animated film and a live-action film.
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Princess Tsuguko of Takamado
- Enrolled in Waseda University
- In 2013 graduated with bachelor's degree
- Occupations
- aristocrat
- Biography
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Princess Tsuguko of Takamado is a member of the Imperial House of Japan and the eldest daughter of Norihito, Prince Takamado, and his wife Hisako, Princess Takamado.
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Yōhei Kōno
- Occupations
- diplomatpolitician
- Biography
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Yōhei Kōno is a Japanese politician and a former President of the Liberal Democratic Party. He served as Speaker of the House of Representatives from November 2003 until August 2009, when the LDP lost its majority in the 2009 election. Kōno served as speaker for the longest length since the set up of House of Representatives in 1890.
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Makiko Tanaka
- Occupations
- diplomatpolitician
- Biography
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Makiko Tanaka is a Japanese politician. She is the daughter of former Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka and his official wife Hana.
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Heita Kawakatsu
- Occupations
- university teacherpoliticianhistorianeconomist
- Biography
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Heita Kawakatsu was the governor of Shizuoka Prefecture from 2009 to 2024.
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Chen Duxiu
- Occupations
- professorpoliticianwriterjournalistphilosopher
- Biography
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Chen Duxiu was a Chinese revolutionary socialist, educator, philosopher and author, who co-founded the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) with Li Dazhao in 1921. From 1921 to 1927, he served as the Communist Party's first general secretary. Chen was a leading figure in both the Xinhai Revolution that overthrew the Qing dynasty and the May Fourth Movement for scientific and democratic developments in the early Republic of China. After his expulsion from the CCP in 1929, Chen was for a time the leader of China's Trotskyist movement.
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Yoshiaki Tsutsumi
- Occupations
- entrepreneur
- Biography
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Yoshiaki Tsutsumi is a Japanese businessman. During the Japanese economic bubble, Forbes listed Tsutsumi as the wealthiest person in the world during 1987–94 due to his extensive real estate investments through the Seibu Corporation, which he controlled. In 1987, he had a net worth of $20 billion (approximately $46 billion in today's value). However, as a result of a series of scandals and his 2005 arrest, his net worth has fallen to such an extent that he was taken off the Forbes list of billionaires in 2007.
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Hiroshige Seko
- Enrolled in Waseda University
- Studied in 1986
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Hiroshige Seko is a Japanese politician serving as a Member of the House of Councillors since 1998. He previously served as Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party in the House of Councillors, and was the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry from August 2016 to September 2019 under Shinzo Abe. As Minister, he played a crucial role for announcing the export restrictions against South Korea in 2019. A native of Wakayama Prefecture, he graduated from Waseda University and received a master's degree in corporate communications from Boston University.
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Matsumoto Hakuō II
- Occupations
- kabuki actorsinger-songwritersingeractor
- Biography
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Matsumoto Hakuō II is a Japanese kabuki actor, one of the most popular tachiyaku (specialist in male roles) currently performing.
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Shizuka Arakawa
- Occupations
- figure skaterfigure skating choreographer
- Biography
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Shizuka Arakawa is a retired Japanese figure skater. She is the 2006 Olympic champion and the 2004 World champion. Arakawa is the first Japanese skater to win an Olympic gold medal in figure skating and the second Japanese skater to win any Olympic medal in figure skating, after Midori Ito, who won silver in 1992. She is also the second Japanese woman to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics, following skier Tae Satoya. She was the only Japanese medalist at the 2006 Winter Olympics.
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Shūji Terayama
- Occupations
- photographerplaywrightpoetdirectorlyricist
- Biography
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Shūji Terayama was a Japanese avant-garde poet, artist, dramatist, writer, film director, and photographer. His works range from radio drama, experimental television, underground (Angura) theatre, countercultural essays, to Japanese New Wave and "expanded" cinema.
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Shin Kyuk-ho
- Occupations
- entrepreneurautobiographer
- Biography
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Shin Kyuk-ho, known in Japan as Shigemitsu Takeo (重光 武雄), was a Zainichi Korean businessman known for being the founder of the South Korean-Japanese conglomerate Lotte Corporation (Group), now one of the largest chaebols in South Korea.
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Mariko Tsutsui
- Occupations
- actor
- Biography
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Mariko Tsutsui is a Japanese actress.
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Kyosen Ōhashi
- Occupations
- businesspersonpoliticiantelevision presentertarentobroadcast writer
- Biography
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Kyosen Ōhashi was a Japanese television host and writer. He also served briefly as a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet of Japan. His real name was Ōhashi Katsumi (大橋 克巳).
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Beni Takemata
- Occupations
- announcerfemale shogi playertarento
- Biography
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Beni Takemata is a female announcer for Fuji TV. She is a former Japanese women's professional shogi player who was ranked 1-dan.
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Yoshio Kojima
- Occupations
- actorowarai tarento
- Biography
-
Yoshio Kojima is a Japanese comedian famous for appearing only in a small bathing suit, during both performances and interviews. Among his well-known catchphrases are Sonna no kankei nee (そんなの関係ねぇ or "that has nothing to do with it", usually as a reaction to an intentional mistake in his routine) and Oppapī (おっぱっぴー), an abbreviation of "Ocean Pacific Peace", (オーシャン・パシフィック・ピース). All of his catchphrases are typically said followed by a signature dance, which has him hunched over, making a punching motion towards the ground while his hind leg is kneed upward simultaneously. A soundbite such as Oppapī, or something similarly random, is commonly used by Japanese comedians as an easy to remember and easy to repeat hook that can help popularise them and their comedy.
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Gō Katō
- Occupations
- actor
- Biography
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Gō Katō was a Japanese entertainer and actor.
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Shin'ya Kote
- Occupations
- actorseiyū
- Biography
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Shinya Kote is a Japanese actor, voice actor, writer, and director. He is represented with Office PSC.
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Toshiki Kaifu
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Toshiki Kaifu was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1989 to 1991.
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Shigeharu Aoyama
- Occupations
- politiciannovelist
- Biography
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Shigeharu Aoyama is a Japanese politician who has served as a member of the House of Councillors of Japan, since 2016.
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Kohei Arihara
- Occupations
- professional baseball player
- Biography
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Kohei Arihara is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers and in NPB for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.
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Akira Nishino
- Occupations
- association football playerassociation football manager
- Biography
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Akira Nishino is a Japanese football manager and former player.
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Shun'ichi Suzuki
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Shun'ichi Suzuki is a Japanese politician who served as minister of finance from 2021 to October 2024. He sits in the House of Representatives as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party.
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Jeong Ju-yung
- Occupations
- politicianautobiographerindustrialistentrepreneur
- Biography
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Chung Ju-yung or Jung Joo-young, was a South Korean entrepreneur and the founder of Hyundai Groups, one of the largest chaebols in South Korea. Raised as the eldest son of a poor Korean farmer, he became the richest man in South Korea. Chung was an integral part of the rapid development of Korea's economy, growing Hyundai Heavy Industries to be the largest shipbuilder in the world, as well as growing Hyundai Motor Group into the largest automobile manufacturer in Korea, and the third largest in the world. Chung was also a vital contributor to the development of South Korea's infrastructure after the Korean War's destruction of infrastructure, such as constructing the Gyeongbu Expressway in 1970, connecting the capital, Seoul, to the port city of Busan, in alliance with President Park Chung Hee.
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Inejirō Asanuma
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Inejiro Asanuma was a Japanese politician and leader of the Japan Socialist Party. During World War II, Asanuma was aligned with the Imperial Rule Assistance Association and advocated for war in Asia. Asanuma later became a forceful advocate of socialism in post-war Japan. He was noted for his support of the newly established People's Republic of China (PRC) as well as the criticism of United States–Japanese relations, making him a polarizing figure.
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Hisaya Morishige
- Occupations
- singerentrepreneurcomedianannouncercomposer
- Biography
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Hisaya Morishige was a Japanese actor and comedian. Born in Hirakata, Osaka, he graduated from Kitano Middle School (now Kitano High School), and attended Waseda University. He began his career as a stage actor, then became an announcer for NHK, working in Manchukuo. He became famous in films first for comedy roles, appearing in series such as the "Company President" (Shacho) and "Station Front" (Ekimae) series, produced by Toho. He appeared in nearly 250 films, both contemporary and jidaigeki. He was also famous on stage playing Tevye in the Japanese version of Fiddler on the Roof. He also appeared in television series and specials, and was the first guest on the television talk show Tetsuko's Room in 1975. He was long-time head of the Japan Actors Union. Among many honors, Morishige received the Order of Culture from the Emperor of Japan in 1991.
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Masaru Ibuka
- Enrolled in Waseda University
- Studied engineering
- Occupations
- entrepreneurengineerwriter
- Biography
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Masaru Ibuka was a Japanese electronics industrialist and co-founder of Sony, along with Akio Morita.
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Kazuyo Katsuma
- Occupations
- businesspersonaccountantblogger
- Biography
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Kazuyo Katsuma is a Japanese businesswoman and author of several best selling books, with sales numbers in the tens of millions. She writes mostly about self management, work–life balance, gender equality and how women can become more successful. She concentrates especially on optimizing thought processes and increasing productivity.
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Maiko Itō
- Occupations
- businesspersonactorsingernon-executive directortarento
- Biography
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Maiko Itō is a Japanese actress.
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Rokusuke Ei
- Years
- 1933-2016 (aged 83)
- Occupations
- broadcast writerlyricisttarentotelevision presenter
- Biography
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Rokusuke Ei was a Japanese lyricist, composer, author, essayist, and television personality of Chinese descent.
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Keiji Sada
- Occupations
- actor
- Biography
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Keiji Sada is the stage name for a Japanese cinema actor active from the late-1940s to the early 1960s. His real name was Kanichi Nakai. He won the award for best actor at the 7th Blue Ribbon Awards for Anata Kaimasu (I Will Buy You) and Taifū Sōdōki. He was the father of the actor Kiichi Nakai and actress Kie Nakai.
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Ken Utsui
- Occupations
- actor
- Biography
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Ken Utsui was a Japanese actor who worked on stage, film, and television from the 1950s to the 2010s.
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Tatsuro Hirooka
- Occupations
- baseball playerbaseball coachBaseball Criticsprofessional baseball player
- Biography
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Tatsuro Hirooka is a Japanese retired professional baseball player and manager.
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Kunishige Kamamoto
- Occupations
- politicianassociation football playerassociation football manager
- Biography
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Kunishige Kamamoto is a former Japanese football player, manager, and politician. He won the bronze medal with the Japan national team at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, finishing as the tournament's top scorer with seven goals, and is the all-time leading goalscorer for Japan.
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Kazuo Kitamura
- Occupations
- actorseiyū
- Biography
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Kazuo Kitamura was a Japanese actor. His son is actor Yukiya Kitamura. Kitamura met Shōhei Imamura when he was a student of Waseda University and became a close friend so often worked with Imamura. Kitamura joined Bungakuza theatre company and started his acting career in 1950. In 1953, he made his film debut with An Inlet of Muddy Water directed by Tadashi Imai.
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Soichiro Tahara
- Occupations
- impresarionews presenterjournalistcritic
- Biography
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Soichiro Tahara is a Japanese political journalist, best known for hosting TV Asahi's Sunday Project program.
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Fumie Suguri
- Occupations
- figure skaterfigure skating choreographer
- Biography
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Fumie Suguri is a Japanese former competitive figure skater. She is a three-time World medalist, a three-time Four Continents champion, the 2003 Grand Prix Final champion, and a five-time Japanese national champion.
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Toshihisa Nishi
- Occupations
- baseball playerbaseball coach
- Biography
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Toshihisa Nishi is a Japanese former professional baseball player.
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Tow Ubukata
- Occupations
- writerscience fiction writerscreenwriter
- Biography
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Tow Ubukata is the pen name of Mineo Fujino (藤野峰男), a Japanese novelist, mangaka and anime screenwriter who primarily writes fantasy and science fiction. His major works include Mardock Scramble, Le Chevalier D'Eon and Heroic Age. He also did series composition for the Fafner in the Azure series, Ghost in the Shell: Arise, Psycho-Pass 2 and Psycho-Pass 3.
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Yūko Obuchi
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Yuko Obuchi is a Japanese politician. She is a member of the House of Representatives for the Liberal Democratic Party. She briefly served as Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry during the Abe government, but was forced to resign. She is the second daughter of Keizo Obuchi, who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1998 to 2000.
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Hiroo Ishii
- Occupations
- baseball playerpolitician
- Biography
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Hiroo Ishii is a Japanese retired baseball player and politician from the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan. He currently serves as member of the House of Councillors for Akita at-large district.
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Hirokazu Matsuno
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
-
Hirokazu Matsuno is a Japanese politician who served as the Chief Cabinet Secretary from October 2021 until December 2023. He is serving in the House of Representatives as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party.
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Makoto Kaneko
- Occupations
- businessperson
- Biography
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Makoto Kaneko is the Founder, President, CEO and Representative Director of Zuken Inc., a public listed multinational corporation in the Tokyo Stock Exchange. He also owns the exclusive golf club, The King Kamehameha Golf Club in Hawaii.
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Yukio Aoshima
- Occupations
- broadcast writernovelistpoliticianfilm directortarento
- Biography
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Yukio Aoshima was a Japanese politician who served as Governor of Tokyo from 1995 to 1999. He is also well known as a TV actor, novelist, film director, screenwriter and songwriter.
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Ikki Kita
- Occupations
- Esperantistwriterprose writerphilosopher
- Biography
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Ikki Kita was a Japanese author, intellectual and political philosopher who was active in early Shōwa period Japan. Drawing from an eclectic range of influences, Kita was a self-described socialist who has also been described by some as the "ideological father of Japanese fascism", though this has been highly contested, as his writings touched equally upon pan-Asianism, Nichiren Buddhism, fundamental human rights and egalitarianism and he was involved with Chinese revolutionary circles. While his publications were invariably censored and he ceased writing after 1923, Kita was an inspiration for elements on the far-right of Japanese politics into the 1930s, particularly his advocacy for territorial expansion and a military coup. The government saw Kita's ideas as disruptive and dangerous; in 1936 he was arrested for allegedly joining the failed coup attempt of 26 February 1936 and executed in 1937.
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Yuya Fukui
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
-
Yuya Fukui is a professional Japanese baseball player. He plays pitcher for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.
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Ichirō Kōno
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Ichirō Kōno was a Japanese politician during the postwar period who served as Deputy Prime Minister and a member of the National Diet. As Deputy Prime Minister, he was in charge of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. In the 1950s and 1960s, he was the head of the powerful "Kōno Faction" within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Kōno aspired to become prime minister, but although he held a large number of important party and cabinet positions, reflecting his power and influence, he was not able to rise to the premiership before his death in 1965.
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Hakushū Kitahara
- Occupations
- children's writerpoetwaka poetwriterlyricist
- Biography
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Hakushū Kitahara is the pen-name of Kitahara Ryūkichi (北原 隆吉), a Japanese tanka poet active during the Taishō and Shōwa periods of Japan. He is regarded as one of the most popular and important poets in modern Japanese literature.
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Yuji Horii
- Occupations
- screenwritergame designervideo game directorvideo game developer
- Biography
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Yuji Horii is a Japanese author, video game designer, writer and director best known as the creator of the Dragon Quest franchise, supervising and writing the scenario for Chrono Trigger, and The Portopia Serial Murder Case, released in 1983 as one of the first visual novel adventure games.
