Manabu Horii

Here's a guy who grew up in Muroran — one of those cold, industrial Hokkaido port towns where winters are serious business — and apparently decided that racing across a sheet of ice at full speed was the logical thing to do with his life. Speed skating to politician is not a career path you see every day, but honestly it tracks: both demand insane stamina, a thick skin, and the ability to stay upright when everything around you is slippery. Born in 1972, Senshu University-educated, he's the kind of person who seems to quietly get on with it rather than making noise about himself. There's something I respect about that — the athlete who doesn't coast on old trophies but just pivots, finds a new arena, and starts grinding again. Hokkaido produces a certain brand of no-nonsense toughness, and Horii feels like a textbook example.

Manabu Horii is a Japanese former speed skater turned politician, born on February 19, 1972, in Muroran, Hokkaido, Japan. He graduated from Senshu University and built an athletic career on the ice before transitioning to public service. He maintains an official website at horiimanabu.jp and is active in Japanese politics as of 2024.

Name (English)

Manabu Horii

Name (Japanese)

堀井学

Reading

ほりい まなぶ

Born

February 19, 1972 (age 54)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Pisces / Rat

Origin

Muroran, Hokkaido, Japan

Occupation

Speed skater / Politician

University

Senshu University

• Official sitehttp://horiimanabu.jp/
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A0%80%E4%BA%95%E5%AD%A6
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1131407

Tags

• From Hokkaido
• Speed skater
• Politician

Last updated

2026-06-02

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