Apart from being a keyboardist and songwriter for the Yellow Magic Orchestra, Japanese pianist and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto has also been a solo artist and composed tracks for films such as The Last Emperor and The Revenant. He now has a Grammy and an Academy Award in his kitty.
A multi-talented personality, Hiroyuki Sawano is a Japanese composer, arranger, musician, and lyricist. He is best known for his work on anime TV series, films, and TV dramas. He has composed music for films and series like Attack on Titan and Blue Exorcist. He started a new vocal project under the name ''SawanoHiroyuki[nZk] in 2014 and has released many albums.
Japanese pop icon Ayumi Hamasaki had started a TV career after moving to Tokyo at 14. She later gained fame with her dance hits and ballads. Also known for her dramatic costumes and videos, The Empress of J-pop has been rendered totally deaf in one ear, owing to a ear infection.
Nobuo Uematsu is a Japanese composer and musician. A self-taught musician, Uematsu is best known for his work in the Final Fantasy video game series. A prolific composer for several video games, Nobuo Uematsu is sometimes called the Beethoven of video game music. In 2006, he founded his own record label, Dog Ear Records.
Joe Hisaishi is a Japanese composer and musical director who has composed over 100 film scores and solo albums. Active since the 1970s, he has explored and incorporated numerous genres in his work. He often collaborates with animator Hayao Miyazaki and has composed music for most of his films. He has received a Medal of Honour with a purple ribbon.
Takahiro Moriuchi, better known to fans a Taka, soared to fame as the lead singer of the Japanese rock band One Ok Rock. He was previously part of the boy band News. The eldest son of popular singers Shinichi and Masako Mori, he now owns a lavish home in Hollywood Hills.
Misia is a Japanese record producer, singer, and songwriter. She is best known for her album Mother Father Brother Sister which went on to become the seventh best-selling debut album of all time in Japan. Widely regarded as Japan's first R&B superstar, Misia is also credited with releasing one of the best-selling Japanese singles of all time, Everything.
Kimiko Douglass-Ishizaka is a German Japanese pianist, composer, and former powerlifter and Olympic weightlifter. She achieved popularity in 1998 when she won a national music competition known as Deutscher Musikwettbewerb, along with her brothers Danjulo and Kiyondo Ishizaka. As a Olympic weightlifter, Kimiko competed at the 2008 German championships where she won three medals.