Akiko Kojima

Akiko Kojima is genuinely one of those names that deserves more airtime than she gets. Born in Tokyo in 1936 and raised partly in Kochi, she walked into the Miss Japan pageant in 1959, won it, and then went on to take the Miss Universe crown that same year — becoming the first Japanese woman to ever do so. That was 1959, barely a decade after the war, and here was this 22-year-old standing on an international stage at Long Beach and winning it outright. At 167cm she had the presence to match, and the whole thing landed back home like a genuine cultural moment. She later married the actor Akira Takarada in 1966 and is the mother of singer Misato Kojima, but the headline achievement stays singular.

This take was written by generative AI, one per person, from publicly reported facts (editorial policy). It is a reading of the record, not reporting.

Akiko Kojima is a Japanese model and beauty pageant titleholder born on October 29, 1936, in Gotokuji, Tokyo. She attended Kochi Municipal Kochi Commercial High School before going on to win the Miss Japan title in 1959. That same year she won Miss Universe 1959, becoming the first Japanese and first Asian winner. She stands 167 cm tall.

Name (English)

Akiko Kojima

Name (Japanese)

児島明子

Reading

こじま あきこ

Born

October 29, 1936 (age 89)

Origin

Tokyo (Gotokuji), Japan

Height

167cm

Weight

55 kg

Occupation

Model / Beauty Pageant Contestant

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Scorpio / Rat

Measurements

97 / 60 / 96

Agency

FMG

High school

Kochi Municipal Kochi Commercial High School

Awards & achievements

• 1959 — Miss Japan
• Miss Universe 1959

Spouse

Akira Takarada

• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%85%90%E5%B3%B6%E6%98%8E%E5%AD%90
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2426374

Tags

• From Tokyo
• Model
• Beauty Pageant Contestant

Last updated

October 18, 2026

Only publicly available facts are listed; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. Base data was compiled from Wikidata from June 2026 onward; ages are recalculated daily and deaths are checked against Wikidata on an ongoing basis. Works and profile fields sourced from Wikipedia reflect content as of 2026-08-26. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.