Famous Japanese Media Personalities

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 1 
Takeshi Kitano
(Japanese Comedian, Actor and Filmmaker)
Takeshi Kitano
4
Birthdate: January 18, 1947
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Adachi, Tokyo

Takeshi Kitano is a Japanese comedian, TV presenter, author, actor, and filmmaker. He gained international fame in the 1970s as one half of the comedy duo Two Beat. He later pursued a solo act and became one of the top comedians in Japan. He then ventured into acting and direction as well. He won the Golden Lion award in 1997.   

 2 
Takuya Kimura
(Japanese Actor, Singer and Member of Boy Bands ‘SMAP’)
Takuya Kimura
4
Birthdate: November 13, 1972
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Tokyo, Japan

Takuya Kimura is a Japanese actor, radio personality, and singer. He is best known for his association with SMAP, one of East Asia's best-selling boy bands. After starting his career as a singer, Kimura found considerable success as an actor, which catapulted him to stardom and turned him into a Japanese icon. His acting skills have earned him several awards.

 3 
Takahiro Sakurai
(Voice Actor)
Takahiro Sakurai
3
Birthdate: June 13, 1974
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Okazaki, Japan
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 4 
Tomohisa Yamashita
(Singer, Actor)
Tomohisa Yamashita
5
Birthdate: April 9, 1985
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Funabashi, Chiba

Tomohisa Yamashita is a Japanese singer, TV host, and actor. After joining talent agency Johnny & Associates at the age of 11, Yamashita has been active on TV ever since. He is best known for his portrayal of Kusano Akira in the 2005 TV drama Nobuta Wo Produce. Over the years, he has won several Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix awards.

 5 
Kyu Sakamoto
(Singer)
Kyu Sakamoto
3
Birthdate: December 10, 1941
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Kawasaki Ward, Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan
Died: August 12, 1985

With his Billboard number one track Sukiyaki, Kyu Sakamoto became the first to score a pop number one with a song entirely sung in Japanese. Born to a restaurateur, he had started his career singing in jazz clubs. He died in a 1985 plane crash that killed over 500 people.

 6 
Naoki Urasawa
(Artist)
Naoki Urasawa
3
Birthdate: January 2, 1960
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Fuchu, Tokyo, Japan

Award-winning Japanese manga artist Naoki Urasawa is best known for his thriller Monster and the sci-fi 20th Century Boys. Fans love his intricate and psychologically complicated plots. He also teaches at the Nagoya Zokei University and is a skilled rock musician who once performed as Bob Lennon.

 7 
Fujiko F. Fujio
(Cartoonist)
Fujiko F. Fujio
4
Birthdate: December 1, 1933
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Takaoka, Toyama, Japan
Died: September 23, 1996
 8 
Kiyoshi Kurosawa
(Japanese Film Director, Screenwriter and Film Critic)
Kiyoshi Kurosawa
3
Birthdate: July 19, 1955
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Kobe, Hyogo, Japan

Kiyoshi Kurosawa is a Japanese film director and film critic. He is also a professor at Tokyo University of the Arts. Interested in filmmaking from a young age,he received his training under prominent film critic Shigehiko Hasumi before beginning his career. He has worked in numerous genres and is best known for his many contributions to the Japanese horror genre. 

 9 
Mie Hama
(Japanese Actress, Television and Radio Presenter and Author)
Mie Hama
3
Birthdate: November 20, 1943
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Tokyo, Japan
Height: 5'5" (165 cm)
 10 
Fukuzawa Yukichi
(Writer, Teacher, Educationist, Philosopher, University teacher, Critic, Journalist)
Fukuzawa Yukichi
2
Birthdate: January 10, 1835
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Ōsaka
Died: February 3, 1901
 11 
Masaharu Morimoto
(Japanese Chef and TV Personality)
Masaharu Morimoto
2
Birthdate: May 26, 1955
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Hiroshima, Japan
 12 
Ai Iijima
(Japanese Media Personality, Writer and Actress)
Ai Iijima
2
Birthdate: October 31, 1972
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Kameido, Tokyo, Japan
Died: December 17, 2008

Ai Iijima was a Japanese writer, media personality, actress, and activist. She is best remembered for appearing in a softcore porn variety TV show titled Gilgamesh Night. After ending her career as a softcore porn actress, Iijima became associated with campaigns that aimed at educating people about HIV/AIDS.

 13 
Joi Ito
(Japanese Activist, Entrepreneur and Venture capitalist)
Joi Ito
2
Birthdate: June 19, 1966
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan

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. 

 14 
Peter Barakan
(DJ, Broadcaster, author best known as the presenter for Begin Japanology and Japanology Plus on NHK World)
Peter Barakan
2
Birthdate: August 20, 1951
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: London, England
Height: 5'7" (170 cm)
 15 
Michelle Ferre
(Actress and former CNN correspondent in Japan)
Michelle Ferre
2
Birthdate: June 13, 1973
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Kobe, Japan
Height: 5'4" (163 cm)
 16 
Renhō
(Politician and Former Journalist who is a current member of House of Councillors)
Renhō
2
Birthdate: November 28, 1967
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Tokyo, Japan
 17 
Kumiko Okae
(Actress)
Kumiko Okae
4
Birthdate: August 23, 1956
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Setagaya City, Tokyo, Japan
Died: April 23, 2020
 18 
Bobby Ologun
(Japanese Television Personality and Mixed Martial Artist)
Bobby Ologun
2
Birthdate: April 8, 1966
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Ibadan, Nigeria
Height: 6'1" (185 cm)
 19 
Christel Takigawa
(Television presenter, News presenter)
Christel Takigawa
2
Birthdate: October 1, 1977
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Paris, France
Height: 5'3" (160 cm)
 20 
Masaoka Shiki
(Poet)
Masaoka Shiki
2
Birthdate: October 14, 1867
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Matsuyama, Ehime, Japan
Died: September 19, 1902
 21 
Aya Sugimoto
(Actress, TV personality)
Aya Sugimoto
2
Birthdate: July 19, 1968
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Kyoto, Japan
Height: 5'6" (168 cm)
 22 
Toyohiro Akiyama
(Journalist)
Toyohiro Akiyama
1
Birthdate: June 22, 1942
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Tokyo, Japan
 23 
Loveli
(Model and Television personality)
Loveli
1
Birthdate: November 27, 1989
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Matsuyama, Ehime, Japan
 24 
Hotsumi Ozaki
(Journalist, Spy)
Hotsumi Ozaki
0
Birthdate: April 29, 1901
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Shirakawa, Gifu, Japan
Died: November 7, 1944
 25 
Tatsuo Yoshida
(Animator)
Tatsuo Yoshida
0
Birthdate: March 6, 1933
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Kyoto, Japan
Died: September 5, 1977
 26 
Kanno Sugako
(Journalist)
Kanno Sugako
0
Birthdate: 1881 AD
Birthplace: Osaka, Japan
Died: January 25, 1911
 27 
Sanzō Nosaka
(Politician and Writer)
Sanzō Nosaka
1
Birthdate: March 30, 1892
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Yamaguchi, Japan
Died: November 14, 1993

One of the co-founders of the Japanese Communist Party, Sanzō Nosaka had stepped into politics as a university student and had later traveled to the U.S. to work on plans such as smuggling Communists into Japan. He also campaigned against the Japanese occupation of China.

 28 
Chris Peppler
(Radio Personality)
Chris Peppler
1
Birthdate: October 22, 1957
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Tokyo, Japan
 29 
Tsuyoshi Kitazawa
(Former Japanese Football Player)
Tsuyoshi Kitazawa
1
Birthdate: August 10, 1968
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Machida, Tokyo, Japan
Height: 5'7" (170 cm)
 30 
Rokusuke Ei
(Television presenter, Lyricist, Essayists)
Rokusuke Ei
1
Birthdate: April 10, 1933
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan
Died: July 7, 2016
 31 
Nakae Chōmin
(Journalist)
Nakae Chōmin
1
Birthdate: December 8, 1847
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Kōchi, Japan
Died: December 13, 1901
 32 
Rumiko Tani
(Television personality and a former idol singer associated with Hello! Project)
Rumiko Tani
1
Birthdate: August 12, 1979
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Tokyo, Japan
 33 
Francis Brinkley
(Newspaper owner, Editor and Scholar who resided in Meiji period)
Francis Brinkley
0
Birthdate: December 30, 1841
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Leinster, Ireland
Died: October 12, 1912
 34 
Tokutomi Sohō
(Journalist)
Tokutomi Sohō
0
Birthdate: March 14, 1863
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Mashiki, Kumamoto, Japan
Died: November 2, 1957
 35 
Kanagaki Robun
(Author)
Kanagaki Robun
0
Birthdate: January 6, 1829
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Tokyo, Japan
Died: October 8, 1894
 36 
Yōji Kuri
(Japanese Cartoonist and Independent Filmmaker)
Yōji Kuri
0
Birthdate: April 9, 1928
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Sabae, Japan
 37 
Chiyo Uno
(Author)
Chiyo Uno
0
Birthdate: November 28, 1897
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Iwakuni, Yamaguchi, Japan
Died: June 10, 1996
 38 
Jōsei Toda
(Educator, Publisher)
Jōsei Toda
1
Birthdate: February 11, 1900
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Ishikawa Prefecture
Died: April 2, 1958
 39 
Sakai Toshihiko
(Writer)
Sakai Toshihiko
0
Birthdate: January 15, 1871
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Toyotsu, Japan
Died: January 23, 1933
 40 
Toba Sōjō
(Artist)
Toba Sōjō
0
Birthdate: 1053 AD
Birthplace: Japan
Died: 1140 AD