Koshi Inaba

Okay, let me just gush about that voice for a second, because Koshi Inaba's pipes are genuinely one of the wonders of Japanese rock. The man fronts B'z, which is basically a national institution, and he's been belting it out since 1988 with zero signs of slowing down. What gets me is the contrast: this is a guy who graduated from Yokohama National University and was set to be a math teacher, and instead he's out here doing actual backflips on stadium stages while hitting these scorching, sky-tearing high notes. His motto, roughly "stay loose, never cut corners," basically explains the whole career. And for all the rock-god swagger, he still feels weirdly grounded, like an Okayama hometown guy who'd rather walk his dog than play the diva. Total legend, and I'm here for all of it.

Koshi Inaba was born on September 23, 1964, in Tsuyama, Okayama, Japan, and graduated from Yokohama National University's Faculty of Education in 1987. He co-founded the rock duo B'z with guitarist Takahiro Matsumoto in 1988, going on to become the only artist to achieve consecutive number-one singles across all 50 of their Oricon chart entries. In 2007, B'z became the first Japanese and Asian act inducted into the Hollywood RockWalk, and in 2008 the duo was certified by Guinness World Records as the best-selling album artist in Japan. Inaba has also released multiple solo albums, beginning with the million-selling debut solo record Magma in 1997.

Name (English)

Koshi Inaba

Name (Japanese)

稲葉浩志

Reading

いなばこうし

Born

September 23, 1964 (age 61)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Libra / Dragon

Origin

Tsuyama, Okayama, Japan

Blood type

AB

Height

173 cm

Agency

VERMILLION

Active years

1988–present

Occupation

Musician / Vocalist / Singer-songwriter / Lyricist

Elementary school

Tsuyama Municipal Hayashida Elementary School

Junior high

Tsuyama Municipal Tsuyama Higashi Junior High School

High school

Okayama Prefectural Tsuyama High School

University

Yokohama National University, Faculty of Education, Junior High School Teacher Training Program (Mathematics), graduated 1987

Debut

September 21, 1988 — debuted simultaneously as B'z with the single "Dakara Sono Te wo Hanashite" and the album B'z

Awards & achievements

• 1990 Japan Cable Broadcast Grand Prix — Most-Requested Artist Award (B'z)
• 1991 Japan Cable Broadcast Grand Prix — Most-Requested Artist Award (B'z)
• 1998 12th Japan Gold Disc Award — Rock Album of the Year (Koshi Inaba solo)
• 1999 World Music Awards — World's Best Selling Japanese Artist of the Year (B'z)
• 2000 Tsuyama City Citizen Honor Award No. 1
• 2007 Hollywood RockWalk Induction (B'z — first Japanese/Asian act)
• 2008 Guinness World Records — Best-Selling Album Artist in Japan (B'z)

Timeline

1. 1964Born on September 23 in Tsuyama, Okayama, Japan
2. 1983Graduated from Okayama Prefectural Tsuyama High School
3. 1987Graduated from Yokohama National University, Faculty of Education
4. 1988Founded B'z with Takahiro Matsumoto and debuted on September 21
5. 1990B'z achieved their first Oricon number one with the single Taiyou no Komachi Angel
6. 1994B'z cumulative single and album sales surpassed 10 million copies
7. 1997Released solo debut album Magma, achieving million-seller status; remarried Minako Yomogida in December
8. 1998B'z best album B'z The Best "Pleasure" became the first in Japan to surpass 5 million copies
9. 2007B'z inducted into the Hollywood RockWalk — the first Japanese and Asian act to receive the honor
10. 2008B'z certified by Guinness World Records as the best-selling album artist in Japan

Spouse

Minako Yomogida (remarried December 1997)

Children

One son — Shmon Inaba, born 2002

Parents

Private

Siblings

One older brother (runs a Japanese confectionery shop in Tsuyama, Okayama)

Hobbies

• Motorcycling (Harley-Davidson)
• Surfing
• Watching combat sports
• Watching professional wrestling
• Reading
• Walking his dog

Specialties

• Cartwheel into back flip
• Lyric writing
• Vocal training

Motto

Relax your strength, but never cut corners.

• Official sitehttps://en-zine.jp/
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%A8%B2%E8%91%89%E6%B5%A9%E5%BF%97

Tags

• B'z
• Rock
• Vocalist
• Tsuyama, Okayama
• Yokohama National University
• VERMILLION
• Hollywood RockWalk
• Lyricist

Last updated

2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.