Famous Japanese Activists

Yoko Ono is a Japanese multimedia artist, peace activist, and singer-songwriter. She came into prominence after marrying John Lennon of the Beatles. She is widely criticized for her unquestionable influence over John Lennon and his music. She is also often blamed for the disbandment of The Beatles. Despite all these criticisms, Yoko Ono continues to go on her merry way.

At age 2, Sadako Sasaki survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, being just 2km away from the bombing site. However, years later, she developed leukemia, as an aftermath of the bombing. While in hospital, battling the terminal disease, she folded over 1,000 origami cranes, in the hope of getting better.

Joi Ito is a Japanese venture capitalist and entrepreneur best known for his association with Internet and technology companies. He is credited with founding several companies like Infoseek Japan, Digital Garage, and PSINet Japan. Over the years, Joi Ito has been honored with several prestigious awards like the Golden Plate Award and the IRI Medal. 

Yosano Akiko was a Japanese author, social reformer, poet, pacifist, and feminist. One of the most controversial and popular woman poets of Japan, Yosano was an important exponent of a genre of classical Japanese poetry called Tanka. She also contributed immensely to several publications like Bluestocking.

Initially the commander of the Tosa troops, Itagaki Taisuke participated in the Meiji Restoration. He was the founder of the Liberal Party, which was the first Japanese political party. Itagaki was later stabbed by a right-wing militant, to whom he reacted by saying “Itagaki may die, but liberty, never.”

A Japanese Christian social reformer, Toyohiko Kagawa was educated at the Princeton Theological Seminary in the US and later spearheaded the Friends of Jesus band in Japan, encouraging compassion for the poor and women’s suffrage. His written work is preserved in the 24-volume Kagawa Toyohiko Zenshu.

Japanese socialist leader Kōtoku Shūsui initially worked as a houseboy for Tokyo politician Hayashi Yūzō. He later educated himself and began writing for newspapers, eventually spearheading the Social Democratic Party. Later accused of conspiring against the Emperor, he was executed, spelling the end of the socialist movement in Japan temporarily.

A pioneer of the birth control movement in Japan, Shidzue Katō was a hardcore feminist and also one of Japan’s first female politicians. A founder-member of the Japan Family Planning Association, she advocated the use of oral contraceptive pills. She was once also arrested for opposing the Japanese government.

Ineko Sata was a Japanese writer best remembered for her association with the Proletarian Literature Movement. She is also often linked to the feminist movement as she was a fierce supporter of women's rights in Japan. Over the course of her illustrious career, Ineko Sata won many prestigious awards like the Women's Literature Award, Noma Literary Prize, and Asahi Prize.

Oku Mumeo was a Japanese feminist politician who played an important role in the modern Japanese suffrage movement. Renowned for her activism in the 1920s, Mumeo also played key roles in many other women's rights movements in Japan. Oku Mumeo co-founded the New Women's Association along with Ichikawa Fusae and Hiratsuka Raichō and went on to become an influential politician.

Poverty-stricken since an early age, Suzuki Bunji later became a champion for labor rights and established the labor-oriented organization Yūaikai. He was also one of the early Christian converts of Japan. He also helped develop the Social Democratic Party and was part of the Japanese Diet.

Japanese translator and scholar Komaki Ōmiya was better known by his pseudonym, Ōmi Komaki. Born to a politician in Japan, he quit school to be with his father at a conference in France, and never left. Back in Japan, years later, he promoted communism and translated works of French authors.

Fuki Kushida was a Japanese women's rights activist who served as the first Secretary General of the Women's Democratic Club. She is also known for her association with the Federation of Japanese Women's Organizations where she served as the president. Also a peace activist, Kushida is remembered for leading protests against the establishment of the US military bases in Japan.