Japanese & International Celebrities — in English

Shohei Ohtani

大谷 翔平

Japanese professional baseball player (pitcher / designated hitter)

Hayao Miyazaki

宮崎 駿

Japanese anime film director and co-founder of Studio Ghibli

Hikaru Utada

宇多田 光

Japanese singer-songwriter and music producer

Ken Watanabe

渡辺謙

Japanese actor known for stage, television, and Hollywood film roles

Koji Yakusho

橋本広司

Japanese actor and narrator

Haruka Ayase

蓼丸綾

Japanese actress and singer

Yui Aragaki

新垣結衣

Japanese actress, model, and singer

Masaki Suda

菅生大将

Japanese actor and singer

Kenshi Yonezu

米津玄師

Japanese singer-songwriter, music producer, and illustrator

Aimyon

Japanese singer-songwriter

Keisuke Kuwata

桑田佳祐

Japanese singer-songwriter and leader of Southern All Stars

Ryuichi Sakamoto

坂本龍一

Japanese composer, pianist, and music producer

Sanma Akashiya

杉本高文

Japanese comedian, television host, and actor

Takeshi Kitano

北野武

Japanese comedian, film director, actor, and multifaceted artist

Tetsuko Kuroyanagi

黒柳徹子

Japanese actress, television host, essayist, and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador

Yuzuru Hanyu

羽生結弦

Japanese figure skater and two-time Olympic champion

Kei Nishikori

錦織圭

Japanese professional tennis player

Rui Hachimura

八村塁

Japanese professional basketball player in the NBA

Naoya Inoue

井上尚弥

Japanese professional boxer and two-division four-belt unified world champion

Sota Fujii

藤井聡太

Japanese professional shogi player

HIKAKIN

開發光

Japanese YouTuber, human beatboxer, and entrepreneur

Hirokazu Kore-eda

是枝裕和

Japanese film director and screenwriter

Makoto Shinkai

新津誠

Japanese anime film director, screenwriter, and novelist

Ichiro Suzuki

鈴木一朗

Japanese professional baseball player and outfielder

Yu Darvish

ダルビッシュ有

Japanese professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball

Keisuke Honda

本田圭佑

Japanese professional soccer player, entrepreneur, and venture capitalist

Naomi Osaka

大坂なおみ

Japanese professional tennis player and four-time Grand Slam singles champion

Yoshiharu Habu

羽生善治

Japanese professional shogi player and author

Shigeo Nagashima

長嶋茂雄

Japanese professional baseball player and manager, known as "Mr. Baseball"

Sadaharu Oh

王貞治

Japanese professional baseball legend, home run world record holder

Kohei Uchimura

内村航平

Japanese artistic gymnastics legend and six-time consecutive World All-Around champion

Takuya Kimura

木村拓哉

Japanese actor, singer, and television personality

Hiroshi Abe

阿部寛

Japanese actor and model

Masato Sakai

堺雅人

Japanese actor known for stage and television drama

Sayuri Yoshinaga

吉永小百合

Japanese actress, singer, and narrator

Ken Takakura

高倉健

Japanese actor and singer, icon of stoic masculinity in film

Toshiro Mifune

三船敏郎

Japanese actor, film director, and producer

Yuki Amami

中野祐里

Japanese actress and former Takarazuka Revue top star

Yo Oizumi

大泉洋

Japanese actor, entertainer, and comedian

Masaharu Fukuyama

福山雅治

Japanese singer-songwriter, actor, photographer, and radio personality

Eikichi Yazawa

矢沢永吉

Japanese rock singer and pioneer of Japanese rock music

Yumi Matsutoya

松任谷由実

Japanese singer-songwriter known as Yuming

Sheena Ringo

椎名裕美子

Japanese singer-songwriter and rock artist

Gen Hoshino

星野源

Japanese singer-songwriter, actor, and writer

Joe Hisaishi

久石譲

Japanese composer, arranger, conductor, and pianist

YOSHIKI

林 佳樹

Japanese rock musician, composer, and multi-instrumentalist

Hibari Misora

美空ひばり

Japanese enka and kayokyoku singer and actress

Tatsuro Yamashita

山下達郎

Japanese singer-songwriter and music producer

Tamori

森田一義

Japanese comedian, television host, and actor

George Tokoro

所ジョージ

Japanese singer-songwriter, comedian, and television host

Haruki Murakami

村上春樹

Japanese novelist, translator, and essayist

Yayoi Kusama

草間彌生

Japanese contemporary artist renowned for her polka-dot and infinity motifs

Shigeru Miyamoto

宮本茂

Japanese video game designer and producer at Nintendo

Akira Toriyama

鳥山明

Japanese manga artist and character designer

Osamu Tezuka

手塚治虫

Japanese manga artist, animator, and medical doctor

Akira Kurosawa

黒澤明

Japanese film director and screenwriter

Hideaki Anno

庵野秀明

Japanese anime and film director, creator of Neon Genesis Evangelion

Mamoru Hosoda

細田守

Japanese animation film director and founder of Studio Chizu

Mao Asada

浅田真央

Japanese figure skater and three-time World Champion

Kosuke Kitajima

北島康介

Japanese competitive swimmer and four-time Olympic gold medalist

Shinji Kagawa

香川真司

Japanese professional footballer (midfielder)

Masahiro Tanaka

田中将大

Japanese professional baseball pitcher

Shingo Kunieda

国枝慎吾

Japanese professional wheelchair tennis player

Naoko Takahashi

高橋尚子

Japanese Olympic gold medalist marathon runner and sports commentator

Koji Murofushi

室伏広治

Japanese hammer throw Olympic champion, sports scientist, and government administrator

Kiki Kirin

内田啓子

Japanese actress known for her iconic character roles

Kiyoshi Atsumi

田所康雄

Japanese actor and comedian best known as Tora-san

Yujiro Ishihara

石原裕次郎

Japanese actor, singer, and entertainment entrepreneur

Shinobu Otake

大竹しのぶ

Japanese actress, singer, and entertainer

Hidetoshi Nishijima

西島秀俊

Japanese actor, voice actor, and narrator

Yusaku Matsuda

松田優作

Japanese actor and singer, icon of Showa-era film and television

Hideko Takamine

松山秀子

Japanese actress, singer, and essayist — icon of postwar Japanese cinema

Miyuki Nakajima

中島美雪

Japanese singer-songwriter, lyricist, and composer

Kazumasa Oda

小田和正

Japanese singer-songwriter and former leader of Off Course

Koji Tamaki

玉置浩二

Japanese singer-songwriter and frontman of Anzen Chitai

Ken Hirai

平井堅

Japanese singer-songwriter

hide (Hideto Matsumoto)

松本秀人

Japanese rock guitarist, songwriter, and solo artist; lead guitarist of X JAPAN

Haruomi Hosono

細野晴臣

Japanese musician, producer, singer-songwriter, and bassist

Koshi Inaba

稲葉浩志

Japanese rock vocalist, lyricist, and co-founder of B'z

aiko

柳井愛子

Japanese singer-songwriter known for heartfelt love ballads

Ken Shimura

志村康徳

Japanese comedian and entertainer, beloved member of The Drifters

Chosuke Ikariya

碇矢長一

Japanese comedian, actor, musician, and television host

Shofukutei Tsurube

駿河 学

Japanese rakugo performer, television personality, and actor

Keigo Higashino

東野圭吾

Japanese mystery novelist

Ryotaro Shiba

福田定一

Japanese historical novelist and nonfiction writer

Eiichiro Oda

尾田栄一郎

Japanese manga artist and creator of ONE PIECE

Hirohiko Araki

荒木利之

Japanese manga artist, creator of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

Takehiko Inoue

成合雄彦

Japanese manga artist known for SLAM DUNK and Vagabond

Miyuki Miyabe

宮部みゆき

Japanese novelist known for mystery, historical fiction, and fantasy

Masayoshi Son

孫正義

Japanese billionaire entrepreneur, investor, and founder of SoftBank Group

Tadashi Yanai

柳井正

Japanese billionaire businessman and founder of Uniqlo

Tadao Ando

安藤忠雄

Japanese self-taught architect known for exposed concrete and light-driven spaces

Hideo Kojima

小島秀夫

Japanese video game creator, director, and founder of Kojima Productions

Hideki Matsui

松井秀喜

Japanese professional baseball player and MLB World Series MVP

Hideo Nomo

野茂英雄

Japanese professional baseball pitcher and Major League Baseball pioneer

Hiromitsu Ochiai

落合博満

Former Japanese professional baseball player, manager, and author

Yuto Nagatomo

長友佑都

Japanese professional footballer (left back)

Saori Yoshida

吉田沙保里

Japanese former freestyle wrestler and three-time Olympic gold medalist

Kaoru Mitoma

三笘薫

Japanese professional footballer (midfielder) playing in the Premier League

Sara Takanashi

髙梨沙羅

Japanese professional ski jumper

Hiroyuki Sanada

下澤廣之

The first Japanese actor to win a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Rie Miyazawa

宮沢りえ

Japan's most decorated actress across four decades of film

Takako Matsu

佐橋 隆子

Award-winning actress and voice of Elsa from Japan's kabuki royalty

Toshiaki Karasawa

唐沢潔

Veteran Japanese actor known for Shiroi Kyoto and the Japanese voice of Woody

Tatsuya Nakadai

仲代元久

Legendary Japanese actor of stage and screen, star of Kurosawa and Kobayashi classics

Yosuke Eguchi

江口洋介

Veteran actor and musician who defined Japanese drama in the 1990s

Seiko Matsuda

蒲池法子

Japan's Eternal Idol with 24 consecutive Oricon number-one singles

Momoe Yamaguchi

三浦百恵

Showa-era idol who walked away at the peak of her fame

Kenji Sawada

澤田研二

Showa-era pop legend and Japan's ultimate stage star

Akina Nakamori

中森明菜

Japan's iconic diva of 1980s pop and ballads

Yosui Inoue

井上陽水

Pioneering Japanese singer-songwriter who reshaped folk and pop music

Mariya Takeuchi

山下まりや

Singer-songwriter and composer who has charted across three Japanese eras

Akiko Yano

鈴木顕子

Japanese singer-songwriter and pianist spanning five decades

Kinichi Hagimoto

萩本欽一

Legendary Japanese comedian and television host nicknamed "Mr. 100% Ratings"

Teruyoshi Uchimura

内村光良

Comedian, host, and filmmaker — the warm center of Japanese variety entertainment

Hiroyuki Ariyoshi

有吉弘行

Japan's sharp-tongued king of the comeback

Rumiko Takahashi

高橋留美子

Legendary manga artist behind Urusei Yatsura, Ranma 1/2, and Inuyasha

Gosho Aoyama

青山剛昌

Creator of Detective Conan, Japan's iconic mystery manga

Yoshiyuki Tomino

富野由悠季

Creator of Mobile Suit Gundam and pioneer of the real-robot anime genre

Mamoru Oshii

押井守

Visionary anime director behind Ghost in the Shell