List of Japanese people
Encyclopedia
This is a list of Japanese people
who are notable.
NOTE: This list I found wasn't complete. Please contribute to it, its missing a lot of important people. One example of a person it missed is Katsushika Hokusai.
If a sub-list is indicated, names should be placed in the sub-list instead of this list.
See: List of Japanese Emperors
Saint Olga (Russian and Ukrainian: Ольга, also called Olga Prekrasna (Ольга Прекрасна), or Olga the Beauty, hypothetically Old Norse: Helga In some Scandinavian sources she was called other name.[1] born c. 890 died 11 July 969, Kiev) was a ruler of Kievan Rus' as regent (945–c. 963) for her son, Svyatoslav.
See Kamakura shogunate
, Ashikaga shogunate
, and Tokugawa shogunate
for list of those who became shogun.
Hafu
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
who are notable.
NOTE: This list I found wasn't complete. Please contribute to it, its missing a lot of important people. One example of a person it missed is Katsushika Hokusai.
If a sub-list is indicated, names should be placed in the sub-list instead of this list.
Athletes
- Ai FukuharaAi Fukuharais a Japanese table tennis player sponsored by All Nippon Airways.-Table tennis career:Fukuhara began playing at the age of 3 and became a professional at age 10. The following year, she became the youngest player ever to become a member of the Japanese national team. Because of her age, she has...
- Hideki MatsuiHideki Matsuiis a Japanese Major League Baseball designated hitter and outfielder. He bats left-handed and throws right-handed.After playing the first ten seasons of his career for the Yomiuri Giants of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball, he played the next seven seasons, from 2003–2009, for the New York...
- Homare SawaHomare Sawais a female football player from Japan. She currently plays for INAC Kobe Leonessa in the Nadeshiko League Division 1.- Career :Long considered Japan's finest female footballer, she made her debut in Japan's highest domestic league at age 12. On December 6, 1993, at age 15, she made her Japanese...
- Ichiro SuzukiIchiro Suzuki, usually known simply as is a Major League Baseball right fielder for the Seattle Mariners. Ichiro has established a number of batting records, including the sport's single-season record for hits with 262...
- Kei NishikoriKei Nishikoriis a Japanese tennis player, currently ranked 25th in the world, as of 10 October 2011. He began playing tennis at the age of five, and on 17 July 2007 he qualified for his first ATP main draw event at the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles, California at the age of 17.-Junior career:Nishikori won...
- Kōhei UchimuraKohei UchimuraKōhei Uchimura is a Japanese artistic gymnast. He is a two-time Olympic silver medalist and a nine-time World medalist . He is famous for winning three consecutive world all around titles and for delivering difficult and accurately executed routines...
- Kosuke KitajimaKosuke Kitajimais a Japanese multiple Olympic gold medalist breaststroke swimmer. He won gold medals for the men's 100 m and 200 m breaststroke at both the Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 Olympics.-Major achievements:...
- Mao AsadaMao Asadais a Japanese figure skater.She is the 2010 Winter Olympic silver medalist, the 2008 & 2010 World champion, the 2008 & 2010 Four Continents champion, a two-time Grand Prix Final champion, the 2005 World Junior champion, the 2004–2005 Junior Grand Prix Final champion and a four-time Japanese...
- Miki AndoMiki Andois a Japanese figure skater. She is the 2007 and 2011 World Champion, 2011 Four Continents Champion, 2004 World Junior Champion, and a three-time Japanese National Champion....
- Mitsuo TsukaharaMitsuo TsukaharaMitsuo Tsukahara is a Japanese artistic gymnast. He was five times an Olympic Gold Medalist. His remained active in the sport after his retirement from competition...
- Naoya TsukaharaNaoya TsukaharaNaoya Tsukahara is a Japanese artistic gymnast and Olympic Gold Medalist. He is the son of the former Japanese gymnast, Mitsuo Tsukahara, who was also a multi Gold Medalist in Olympic Games...
- Ryoko TaniRyoko Taniis one of the world's most famous and successful judoka. She was born in Fukuoka, Fukuoka. She was an employee at Toyota Motor Corporation, but is now entering politics.-Career:...
- Shizuka ArakawaShizuka Arakawais a Japanese figure skater.She is the 2006 Olympic Champion in Ladies Singles 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...
- robert maurer
Educators
- Fukuzawa YukichiFukuzawa Yukichiwas a Japanese author, writer, teacher, translator, entrepreneur and political theorist who founded Keio University. His ideas about government and social institutions made a lasting impression on a rapidly changing Japan during the Meiji Era...
- Iida Yoshiaki
- Mori ArinoriMori ArinoriViscount was a Meiji period Japanese statesman, diplomat and founder of Japan's modern educational system.-Early life:Mori was born in the Satsuma domain from a samurai family, and educated in the Kaisenjo School for Western Learning run by the Satsuma domain...
- Nakamura Shūichi
- Tsuda YukioYukio Tsudais Professor in the Doctoral Program in Modern Cultures and Public Policies of the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Tsukuba in Japan...
- Wada Shigeho
- Midori SuzukiMidori Suzukiwas a Japanese media educator, feminist and media researcher. She was professor of Media Studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences of Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto from 1994 until her death....
Emperors
File: C:\Users\Public\Public Pictures\Sample Pictures\Koala.jpgSee: List of Japanese Emperors
Historians
- Ienaga SaburōSaburo Ienagawas a Japanese historian famous for controversies regarding school history textbooks. In 1953, the Japanese Ministry of Education published a textbook by Ienaga, but censored what they said were factual errors and matters of opinion, regarding Japanese war crimes. Ienaga undertook a series of law...
- Kanda NobuoKanda NobuoProfessor was a Japanese historian who specialized in early Manchu history.He was born in Kyoto. He spent his early life in Taipei until he entered Tokyo Imperial University in 1941. He was appointed to an assistant professor in 1949 at Meiji University and taught there until 1992. He led various...
- Maruyama Masao
- Naitō TorajirōNaito TorajiroNaitō Torajirō , commonly known as Naitō Konan , was a Japanese historian and Sinologist. He was the founder of the Kyoto School of historiography, and along with Shiratori Kurakichi , was one of the leading Japanese historians of East Asia in the early twentieth century...
Saint Olga (Russian and Ukrainian: Ольга, also called Olga Prekrasna (Ольга Прекрасна), or Olga the Beauty, hypothetically Old Norse: Helga In some Scandinavian sources she was called other name.[1] born c. 890 died 11 July 969, Kiev) was a ruler of Kievan Rus' as regent (945–c. 963) for her son, Svyatoslav.
Pre-modern
See List of samurai for all leaders with samurai status.See Kamakura shogunate
Kamakura shogunate
The Kamakura shogunate was a military dictatorship in Japan headed by the shoguns from 1185 to 1333. It was based in Kamakura. The Kamakura period draws its name from the capital of the shogunate...
, Ashikaga shogunate
Ashikaga shogunate
The , also known as the , was a Japanese feudal military regime, ruled by the shoguns of the Ashikaga clan.This period is also known as the Muromachi period and gets its name from Muromachi Street of Kyoto where the third shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu established his residence...
, and Tokugawa shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
for list of those who became shogun.
- Emperor Go-TobaEmperor Go-Tobawas the 82nd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1183 through 1198....
- Kusunoki MasashigeKusunoki Masashigewas a 14th century samurai who fought for Emperor Go-Daigo in his attempt to wrest rulership of Japan away from the Kamakura shogunate and is remembered as the ideal of samurai loyalty.-Tactician:...
- Taira no KiyomoriTaira no Kiyomoriwas a general of the late Heian period of Japan. He established the first samurai-dominated administrative government in the history of Japan.After the death of his father Taira no Tadamori in 1153, Kiyomori assumed control of the Taira clan and ambitiously entered the political realm in which he...
- Taira no MasakadoTaira no Masakadowas a samurai in the Heian period of Japan, who led one of the largest insurgent forces in the period against the central government of Kyoto.-History:...
- Fujiwara no HidesatoFujiwara no Hidesatowas a kuge of tenth century Heian Japan. He is famous for his military exploits and courage, and is regarded the common ancestor of the Ōshū branch of the Fujiwara clan, the Yūki, Oyama, and Shimokōbe families....
(Tawara no Tōda)
Modern
- Anami Korechika
- Doihara KenjiKenji Doiharawas a general in the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. He was instrumental in the Japanese invasion of Manchuria for which he earned fame taking the nickname 'Lawrence of Manchuria', a reference to the Lawrence of Arabia....
- Enomoto TakeakiEnomoto TakeakiViscount was a samurai and admiral of the Tokugawa navy of Bakumatsu period Japan, who remained faithful to the Tokugawa shogunate who fought against the new Meiji government until the end of the Boshin War...
- Kuroki Itei (Kuroki Tamemoto)
- Matsui IwaneIwane Matsuiwas a general in the Imperial Japanese Army and the commander of the expeditionary forces sent to China in World War II. He was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to death by hanging by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East for responsibility over the Nanking Massacre.-Early life...
- Ōta MinoruMinoru Otawas an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II, and the final commander of the Japanese naval forces defending the Oroku Peninsula during the Battle of Okinawa.-Biography:...
- Suzuki KantarōKantaro SuzukiBaron was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy, member and final leader of the Taisei Yokusankai and 42nd Prime Minister of Japan from 7 April-17 August 1945.-Early life:...
- Tōgō HeihachirōTogo HeihachiroFleet Admiral Marquis was a Fleet Admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy and one of Japan's greatest naval heroes. He was termed by Western journalists as "the Nelson of the East".-Early life:...
- Tōjō HidekiHideki TōjōHideki Tōjō was a general of the Imperial Japanese Army , the leader of the Taisei Yokusankai, and the 40th Prime Minister of Japan during most of World War II, from 17 October 1941 to 22 July 1944...
- Yamamoto IsorokuIsoroku Yamamotowas a Japanese Naval Marshal General and the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet during World War II, a graduate of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy and a student of Harvard University ....
- Ishiwara Kanji
Religious leaders
- DogenDogenDōgen Zenji was a Japanese Zen Buddhist teacher born in Kyōto, and the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan after travelling to China and training under the Chinese Caodong lineage there...
- EisaiEisaiMyōan Eisai was a Japanese Buddhist priest, credited with bringing the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism and green tea from China to Japan. He is often known simply as Eisai Zenji , literally "Zen master Eisai"....
- KūkaiKukaiKūkai , also known posthumously as , 774–835, was a Japanese monk, civil servant, scholar, poet, and artist, founder of the Shingon or "True Word" school of Buddhism. Shingon followers usually refer to him by the honorific titles of and ....
- Miki NakayamaNakayama Mikiwas the Japanese foundress of Tenrikyo who is worshiped by that religion as the Shrine of God the Parent. Tenrikyo is, arguably, the largest current religion to have a woman founder. The official Tenrikyo biography states she was a holy woman born to a wealthy farming family in what is now Nara...
- NichirenNichirenNichiren was a Buddhist monk who lived during the Kamakura period in Japan. Nichiren taught devotion to the Lotus Sutra, entitled Myōhō-Renge-Kyō in Japanese, as the exclusive means to attain enlightenment and the chanting of Nam-Myōhō-Renge-Kyō as the essential practice of the teaching...
- NikkōNikko (priest)Nikkō , also known as Nikkō Shōnin, is the founder of a major branch of Nichiren Buddhism that includes the present-day Nichiren Shoshu school of Japanese Buddhism. His full Buddhist name was Hawaki-bō Byakuren Ajari Nikkō ....
- RyōkanRyokanwas a quiet and eccentric Sōtō Zen Buddhist monk who lived much of his life as a hermit. Ryōkan is remembered for his poetry and calligraphy, which present the essence of Zen life.-Early life:...
- SaigyoSaigyowas a famous Japanese poet of the late Heian and early Kamakura period.-Biography:Born Satō Norikiyo in Kyoto to a noble family, he lived during the traumatic transition of power between the old court nobles and the new samurai warriors. After the start of the Age of Mappō , Buddhism was...
- ShinranShinranwas a Japanese Buddhist monk, who was born in Hino at the turbulent close of the Heian Period and lived during the Kamakura Period...
- Asahara ShōkoShoko Asahara, born on March 2, 1955, is a founder of the controversial Japanese new religious group Aum Shinrikyo. He was convicted of masterminding the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway and several other crimes, for which he was sentenced to death...
- Takuan SōhōTakuan Sohowas a major figure in the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism.Takuan Sōhō was born into a family of farmers in the town of Izushi, located in what was at that time called Tajima province . At the age of 8 in 1581 young Takuan began his religious studies and 2 years later he entered a Buddhist monastery...
- Teshima IkurōIkuro Teshima' was the founder of the Makuya religious movement. A native of Kumamoto, Japan, he was baptized as a Protestant at the age of fifteen, and soon afterwards joined the Nonchurch Movement started by Uchimura Kanzō. Teshima was influenced by Uchimura's writings, studying under his disciple Tsukamoto...
- Uchimura KanzoUchimura Kanzowas a Japanese author, Christian evangelist, and the founder of the Nonchurch Movement of Christianity in the Meiji and Taishō period Japan.-Early life:...
- Yoshihiko KikuchiYoshihiko KikuchiYoshihiko Kikuchi 義彥菊池 is an emeritus general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and was the first native Asian to be called as a general authority of the LDS Church....
- Daisetz Teitaro SuzukiDaisetz Teitaro SuzukiDaisetsu Teitaro Suzuki was a Japanese author of books and essays on Buddhism, Zen and Shin that were instrumental in spreading interest in both Zen and Shin to the West. Suzuki was also a prolific translator of Chinese, Japanese, and Sanskrit literature...
Scientists
- Esaki LeoLeo EsakiReona 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 discovery of the phenomenon of electron tunneling. He is known for his invention of the Esaki diode, which exploited that phenomenon...
- Honda KōtarōKotaro HondaKotaro Honda was a Japanese scientist and inventor. He invented KS steel , which is a type of magnetic resistant steel that is three times more resistant than tungsten steel. He later improved upon the steel, creating NKS steel...
- Ikeda KikunaeKikunae Ikedawas a Japanese chemist and Tokyo Imperial University professor in Chemistry who, in 1908, uncovered the chemical root behind a taste he named umami. He discovered the common component that produced the flavor of meat, seaweed and tomatoes was glutamate, which produces the sensation of umami.He also...
- Kitasato ShibasaburōKitasato ShibasaburōBaron was a Japanese physician and bacteriologist. He is remembered as the co-discoverer of the infectious agent of bubonic plague in Hong Kong in 1894, almost simultaneously with Alexandre Yersin.-Biography:...
- Mikimoto Kōkichi
- Mishima TokuhichiTokuhichi Mishimawas a Japanese metallurgist. He discovered that aluminum restored magnetism to non-magnetic nickel steel. He invented MKM steel, which was an extremely inexpensive magnetic substance that has been used in many applications. It is also closely related to the modern Alnico magnets. He later...
- Nakaya UkichirōUkichiro Nakayawas a Japanese physicist and science essayist known for his work in glaciology and low-temperature sciences. He is credited with making the first artificial snowflakes.-Life and research:...
- Niwa YasujirōYasujiro Niwawas a Japanese electrical scientist. In the 1920s, he invented a simple device for phototelegraphic transmission through cable and later via radio, a precursor to mechanical television. He later became the Director of the Department of Electronic Engineering of University of Tokyo. He was awarded...
- Sugimoto KyōtaKyota Sugimotowas a Japanese inventor who developed the first practical Japanese typewriter. He received the Blue Ribbon Award and the Small Asahi Ribbon. Out of the thousands of kanji characters, Kyota's typewriter used 2,400 of them.-External links:...
- Tago AkihikoAkihiko Tagois a Japanese amateur astronomer.He co-discovered several comets, including C/1968 H1 , C/1969 T1 , C/1987 B1 .He also discovered several novas, including , is a Japanese amateur astronomer.He co-discovered several comets, including C/1968 H1 (Tago-Honda-Yamamoto), C/1969 T1 (Tago-Sato-Kosaka),...
- Takamine JōkichiJokichi Takaminewas a Japanese chemist.-Early life and education:Takamine was born in Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture, in November 1854. His father was a doctor; his mother a member of a family of sake brewers. He spent his childhood in Kanazawa, capital of present-day Ishikawa Prefecture in central Honshū, and was...
- Tanaka KōichiKoichi Tanakais a Japanese scientist who shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2002 for developing a novel method for mass spectrometric analyses of biological macromolecules with John Bennett Fenn and Kurt Wuthrich ....
- Tonegawa SusumuSusumu TonegawaSusumu Tonegawa is a Japanese scientist who won the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1987 for his discovery of the genetic mechanism that produces antibody diversity. Although he won the Nobel Prize for his work in immunology, Tonegawa is a molecular biologist by training...
- Fujita TetsuyaTed Fujitawas a prominent severe storms researcher. His research at the University of Chicago on severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes and typhoons revolutionized knowledge of each.- Biography :Fujita was born in Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan...
- Tomonaga Shin'ichirōSin-Itiro Tomonagawas a Japanese physicist, influential in the development of quantum electrodynamics, work for which he was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965 along with Richard Feynman and Julian Schwinger.-Biography:...
- Toyoda SakichiSakichi Toyodawas a Japanese inventor and industrialist. He was born in Kosai, Shizuoka. The son of a poor carpenter, Toyoda is referred to as the "King of Japanese Inventors".- Career :...
- Yagi HidetsuguHidetsugu YagiHidetsugu Yagi was a Japanese electrical engineer. When working at Tohoku University, he wrote several important articles that introduced a new antenna design by his colleague Shintaro Uda to the English-speaking world.The Yagi antenna, patented in 1926, allows directional communication using...
- Yai Senzo
- Yukawa HidekiHideki Yukawané , was a Japanese theoretical physicist and the first Japanese Nobel laureate.-Biography:Yukawa was born in Tokyo and grew up in Kyoto. In 1929, after receiving his degree from Kyoto Imperial University, he stayed on as a lecturer for four years. After graduation, he was interested in...
Mathematicians
- Hironaka HeisukeHeisuke Hironakais a Japanese mathematician. After completing his undergraduate studies at Kyoto University, he received his Ph.D. from Harvard while under the direction of Oscar Zariski. He won the Fields Medal in 1970....
- Iwasawa KenkichiKenkichi IwasawaKenkichi Iwasawa was a Japanese mathematician who is known for his influence on algebraic number theory.Iwasawa was born in Shinshuku-mura, a town near Kiryū, in Gunma Prefecture...
- Kodaira Kunihiko
- Mori ShigefumiShigefumi Mori-References:*Heisuke Hironaka, Fields Medallists Lectures, Michael F. Atiyah , Daniel Iagolnitzer ; World Scientific Publishing, 2007. ISBN 9810231172...
- Satō MikioMikio Satois a Japanese mathematician, who started the field of algebraic analysis. He studied at the University of Tokyo, and then did graduate study in physics as a student of Shin'ichiro Tomonaga...
- Seki Kōwa
- Shimura GorōGoro Shimurais a Japanese mathematician, and currently a professor emeritus of mathematics at Princeton University.Shimura was a colleague and a friend of Yutaka Taniyama...
- Takagi TeijiTeiji TakagiTeiji Takagi was a Japanese mathematician, best known for proving the Takagi existence theorem in class field theory....
- Taniyama YutakaYutaka TaniyamaYutaka Taniyama was a Japanese mathematician known for the Taniyama-Shimura conjecture.-Contribution:...
- Yoneda NobuoNobuo Yonedawas a Japanese mathematician and computer scientist. The Yoneda lemma in category theory is named after him. In computer science, he is known for his work on ALGOL dialects.-References:...
Economists
- Takeshi AmemiyaTakeshi Amemiyais an economist specializing in econometrics and the economy of ancient Greece.Amemiya is the Edward Ames Edmonds Professor of Economics and a Professor of Classics at Stanford University...
- Masahiko Aoki
- Masanao Aoki
- Masahisa FujitaMasahisa Fujitais a Japanese economist and professor at Kyoto university, who has studied regional science and Urban Economics and International Trade, Spatial Economy .Fujita majored in urban planning as an undergraduate at Kyoto University...
- Koichi Hamada
- Masanori Hashimoto
- Fumio HayashiFumio Hayashiis a Japanese economist. As of October 2009, he is a professor at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo. One of the most influential Japanese economists, Hayashi was awarded the inaugural Nakahara Prize in 1995....
- Yoshio Higuchi
- Charles HoriokaCharles HoriokaCharles Yuji Horioka is an American economist residing in Japan. Horioka received his B.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University and is currently professor of economics at the Institute of Social and Economic Research at Osaka University...
- Nobuhiro KiyotakiNobuhiro Kiyotakiis a Japanese economist and professor at Princeton University especially known for proposing several models that provide deeper microeconomic foundations for macroeconomics, some of which play a prominent role in New Keynesian macroeconomics.-Career:...
- Hajime Miyazaki
- Chiaki Moriguchi
- Takuro Morinaga
- Michio MorishimaMichio Morishimawas a Japanese economist, mathematician and econometrician, who was a faculty member at the London School of Economics from 1970-88 as the Sir John Hicks Professor of Economics...
- Shuichi Nakamura
- Takamitsu Sawa
- Yasuma TakadaYasuma Takadawas an influential sociologist and economist and is most widely known for his power theory of economics.Takada was born in the village of Toutoumi, Ogi District, Saga Prefecture, Japan, part of what is now the City of Ogi. In July 1910 he graduated from Kyoto Imperial University. He started...
- Heizō TakenakaHeizo Takenakais a Japanese economist and retired politician, last serving as Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications and Minister of State for Privatization of the Postal Services in the cabinet of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi...
- Shigeto Tsuru
- Yoshihiro TsurumiYoshihiro Tsurumiis an economist and professor of international business at Baruch College of the City University of New York and serves as President of the Pacific Basin Center Foundation in New York....
- Yukihiro TorikaiYukihiro Torikaiis a Japanese economist of Department of Human Development, School of Humanities & Culture, Tokai University , which Shyonan campus is located in Hiratuka, Kanagawa , and is a university with seven faculties...
- Kazuhide UekusaKazuhide Uekusais a Japanese economist, economic analyst, former senior economist at Nomura Research Institute, and chairman of the Three-Nations Research Institute Co., Ltd.. He gained notoriety for his sex offense arrests.-Career:He was born and raised in Edogawa, Tokyo...
- Hirofumi Uzawa
Other notables
- Masao MiyamotoMasao Miyamotowas a Japanese psychiatrist, cultural critic, and one-time deputy director for Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare .Miyamoto graduated from Nihon University Medical College in Tokyo in 1973 :ja:宮本政於...
- Motoki Hiromatsu
- Kenneth Nakazawa
- Aneha HidetsuguHidetsugu Anehais a former Japanese architect and builder accused of falsifying structural data regarding the earthquake resistance of various condominiums and hotels....
- Hiramatsu Takashi
- Horie KenichiKenichi Horieis a Japanese solo yachtsman. Horie first rose to prominence when he became the first person to sail solo across the Pacific Ocean in 1962. He has made other significant solo voyages, usually involving boats exhibiting some sort of environmentally friendly theme, including his 2008 voyage across...
- Jake Kajiyama
- Kawakami KiyoshiKiyoshi Kawakamiwas a Japanese Christian journalist who published several books in the United States and the United Kingdom. He was born in Yonezawa, educated in the law in Japan, and was for a short time engaged in newspaper work in that country....
- Matsugane YōkoYoko Matsuganeis a Japanese gravure idol from Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. She is famous for her voluptuous figure. She has released several DVDs and photobooks and has appeared on several TV shows in Japan...
- Nitobe InazoInazo Nitobewas a Japanese agricultural economist, author, educator, diplomat, politician, and Christian during Meiji and Taishō period Japan.-Early Life:Nitobe was born in Morioka, Mutsu Province . His father was a retainer to the local daimyō of the Nambu clan. His infant name was Inanosuke...
- Onoda HirōHiroo Onodais a former Japanese army intelligence officer who fought in World War II and did not surrender until 1974, having spent almost 30 years holding out in the Philippines. He held the rank of Second Lieutenant in the Imperial Japanese Army.-Early life:...
- Takabori Yoshiya
- Sakae Osugi
- Sakai ToshihikoSakai Toshihikowas a Japanese socialist, writer, historian. He is also known under the pen name Kosen Sakai .He is known for his translation with Shūsui Kōtoku.- External links :* at Aozora bunko...
- Sam Kent
- Sakamura KenKen Sakamurais a Japanese professor in Information science at the University of Tokyo. He is the creator of the real-time operating system architecture TRON.In 2001, he shared the Takeda Award for Social/Economic Well-Being with Richard Stallman and Linus Torvalds....
- Sanyutei EnchoSanyutei EnchoSanyutei Encho was a Japanese author / rakugo performer of the late Edo and early Meiji eras. Notable works include Japanese horror classics, Kaidan botan dōrō , and Kaidan Kasane ga Fuchi .-External links:* at Aozora bunko....
- Satoshi TajiriSatoshi Tajiriis a Japanese video game designer best known as the creator of Pokémon and the founder of development company Game Freak, Inc. An avid fan of arcade games, Tajiri wrote for and edited his own video gaming fanzine Game Freak with Ken Sugimori, before evolving it into a development company of the...
- Shigeru MiyamotoShigeru Miyamotois a Japanese video game designer and producer. Miyamoto was born and raised in Kyoto Prefecture; the natural surroundings of Kyoto inspired much of Miyamoto's later work....
- Gunpei Yokoi (deceased)
- Soeda Azenbo
- Sonoda TenkokoSonoda Tenkokois a Japanese female politician; the Japanese Diet member in 1946-1952, the first woman in history to have a baby while in office, in 1950. The next woman to do so is Hashimoto Seiko . She was born in Tokyo....
- Sugihara ChiuneChiune Sugiharawas a Japanese diplomat who served as Vice-Consul for the Japanese Empire in Lithuania. During World War II, he helped several thousand Jews leave the country by issuing transit visas to Jewish refugees so that they could travel to Japan. Most of the Jews who escaped were refugees from...
- Tamiya Maya
- Hattori Hanzo
- Tanaka Shozo
- Terada TorahikoTerada Torahikowas a Japanese physicist and author who was born in Tokyo. He was a professor at Tokyo Imperial University, a researcher at RIKEN, and worked on a wide range of topics in physics. Also, he was a professor at the Earthquake Research Institute....
- Uchimura KanzoUchimura Kanzowas a Japanese author, Christian evangelist, and the founder of the Nonchurch Movement of Christianity in the Meiji and Taishō period Japan.-Early life:...
- Yoshikawa TakeoTakeo Yoshikawawas a Japanese spy in Hawaii before the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.-Early career:A 1933 graduate of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy at Etajima , Yoshikawa served briefly at sea aboard the armored cruiser Asama as well as submarines and had begun training as a naval pilot near...
- Yuasa TakashiTakashi YuasaTakashi Yuasa is a Japanese lawyer and television personality...
- Daiki Ishikawa
- Masumi Watanabe
- Hirofumi YamashitaHirofumi YamashitaHirofumi Yamashita was a Japanese ichthyologist and environmentalist.He was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 1998 for his efforts on marine protection.-References:...
- Hatta YoichiYoichi Hattawas 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, served as a technician of the government...
- Sakae MendaSakae Mendais a Japanese man who was convicted of a double homicide, but was exonerated by retrial in 1983. This was the first time anyone was ever released from death row by retrial in Japan...
- Nui OnoueNui Onoueis the former owner of the Japanese restaurant „Egawa“ in Osaka, Japan. At the end of the 1980s, Onoue for a short time handled astronomical sums of investment capital, becoming one of the people symbolizing the Japanese bubble economy...
- Takeru KobayashiTakeru Kobayashiis a Japanese competitive eater. He held the world record for hot dog eating for nearly six years, and holds several other eating records, including four Guinness Records for hot dogs, meatballs, hamburgers, and pasta....
- Zarah Rae Shwartz
HafuHafuThe word ' is used in Japanese to refer to somebody who is biracial, i.e. ethnically half Japanese. The label emerged in the 1970s in Japan and is now the most commonly used label and preferred term of self-definition...
s (biracial Japanese)
- Reika HashimotoReika Hashimotois a model and actress. She is of Japanese-Spanish heritage. Her father is an American citizen of Spanish descent. She has been working as a model since she was 10, and her acting debut was in the 1999 movie Hakuchi , and has performed in several movies...
- Anna TsuchiyaAnna Tsuchiyais a Japanese singer, lyricist, actress and semi-retired model.Tsuchiya was born to a Japanese mother and an American father of Polish-Irish descent from Buffalo, New York. In her earliest years, she spoke English and Japanese...
- Anna UmemiyaAnna Umemiyais a Japanese television personality and model. Born in Tokyo, she is the daughter of a Japanese father and an American mother, herself a former model...
- Linda YamamotoLinda Yamamotois a Japanese singer and actress whose greatest hit song was in 1973.-Biography :Yamamoto was born March 4, 1951 in Kitakyushu to a Japanese mother and an American father. Her father was a U.S. serviceman who died in the Korean War when she was only two years old. Yamamoto moved to Yokohama as a...
- Beni ArashiroBeni ArashiroBeni Daniels , is a Japanese pop and R&B singer-songwriter, who debuted in 2004 under the Avex Trax label under the name...
- Tadanobu AsanoTadanobu Asano, born is a Japanese actor. He is known for his roles as Dragon Eye Morrison in Electric Dragon 80.000 V, Kakihara in Ichi the Killer, Mamoru Arita in Bright Future, Hattori Genosuke in Zatoichi, Kenji in Last Life in the Universe, Aman in Survive Style 5+, Ayano in The Taste of Tea, and Temudjin...
- Meisa KurokiMeisa Kuroki, better known by her stage name , is a Japanese actress, model and singer born in Nago, Okinawa, Japan. She is represented by the agency Sweet Power and is signed to Sony Music Japan. She made her acting debut in 2004. She has modeled for the popular Japanese fashion magazine JJ, among others, and...
- Angela AkiAngela Aki, born Kiyomi Angela Aki on September 15, 1977, is a Japanese pop singer-songwriter, guitarist and pianist from Itano, Tokushima, Japan.-Early life:...
- Chieko KawabeChieko Kawabeis a female Japanese pop singer, model, radio host and actress. She was born on February 24, 1987 in Tokyo. She is a graduate of Toshima, Tokyo. As of her marriage to producer Masato Ochi on August 8, 2008, her legal name is .- Career :...
- Megumi NakajimaMegumi Nakajimais a seiyū and singer under the Stardust Promotion talent agency. Born of a Japanese father and a Filipina mother, she was brought up in a "house filled with music" and grew up with the desire to sing. In 2003, she participated in the "Self Stardust Promotion" contest and passed, thereby...
- Emi WatanabeEmi Watanabeis a Japanese figure skater of Filipino ancestry. Her father is Japanese, and mother is Filipino. She won eight consecutive Japanese championships and earned the first World Championship medal in ladies' singles for Japan in 1979...
- Keisuke OgiharaKeisuke Ogiharais one of the founding members of the hip hop group Rip Slyme. He was born on June 17, 1975 in Helsinki, Finland to a Japanese father and a Finnish mother. He is best known by his stage name Ilmari , which is considered to be his middle name in Finland....
- Masayoshi "Mabo" Kabe
- Minami HinaseMinami HinaseMinami Hinase , more popularly known in Japan as Minami , is a half-Japanese, half-French model and actress.-Biography:Hinase was born in Tokyo, Japan on 22 September 1986...
- SoweluSowelubetter known by her stage name, Sowelu, is a Japanese pop/R&B singer signed onto Avex Group's label Rhythm Zone.- History :Her career started in 2002 with the release of her first single Beautiful Dreamer, a soft love ballad which did very well in the charts, and was later featured on the Relaxin’...
- Marcus Tulio TanakaMarcus Tulio Tanaka, formerly name ; Marcus Túlio Lyuji Murzani Tanaka is a Brazilian-born Japanese footballer who plays for the J. League Division 1 club Nagoya Grampus.-Career:...
- Lisa (musician)LISA (musician)is a Japanese-Colombian singer and producer better known as LISA. In 1999 she formed the Japanese urban contemporary group M-Flo with Verbal and Taku Takahashi. Daughter of a Japanese father and Afro-Colombian mother, LISA met her fellow band members while attending international school in Tokyo...
- Koji MurofushiKoji Murofushiis a Japanese hammer thrower. He has been among the world elite since the 2001 World Championships, where he won the silver medal. He was olympic champion during the Athens Olympics. In 2011, He was crowned world champion.-Career:...
- Yuka MurofushiYuka Murofushiis a Japanese discus and hammer thrower.Murofushi comes from a hammer throwing family, as her father Shigenobu Murofushi is a former Olympian and held the Japanese record for decades, and her brother Koji Murofushi, is the 2004 Olympic champion in the event. Her mother is Serafina Moritz, a former...
- Masumi OkadaMasumi Okadawas a professional actor, singer, stand-up comedian, and film producer. Also known by his nickname, "Fanfan", he was born in Nice, France, to a Japanese father, Minoru Okada, who was an artist, and a Danish mother, Ingeborg Sevaldsen, who was the sister of Eline Eriksen, the model for the "Mermaid...
- Takeshi KaneshiroTakeshi KaneshiroTakeshi Kaneshiro , born October 11, 1973, is a Taiwan-born Japanese actor and singer.-Name:...
- Yuu Shirota
- Koji OtaKoji Otais a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball, and belongs to Mainichi Broadcasting System, Inc. as a commentator in baseball live on radio and TV...
- Hiromi HayakawaHiromi HayakawaHiromi Hayakawa is a Mexican singer who began her music career as a contestant in the reality show La Academia...
- Asstha Asstha