List of Famous people born in Akita Prefecture, Japan

Keizo Yamada was a long-distance runner from Japan, who won the 1956 edition of the Fukuoka Marathon, clocking 2:25:15 on December 9, 1956. He represented his native country at the 1952 Summer Olympics, finishing in 26th place (2:38:11) and won the 1953 Boston Marathon. He retired on July 18, 2009. He was born in Odate, Akita.

Rico Sasaki is a Japanese actress, voice actress, and singer from Akita Prefecture who is affiliated with Honeycomb Entertainment. Her entertainment career began in 2008 when she was selected to play Annie in a musical production of Annie in 2008. She started a music career in 2014 under the stage name Rico, before reverting to using her real name in 2016. That same year, she started a voice acting career. As a voice actress, she is known for her roles as Poporon in Dropkick on My Devil!, Daia in Kiratto Pri Chan, and Ayako Yamada in Kageki Shojo!!, while her music has been featured in anime series such as Danchi Tomoo, Duel Masters, and Bofuri.

Hideaki Yanagida is a retired Japanese bantamweight freestyle wrestler. He won his event at the 1970 Asian Games, 1970 and 1971 world championships and 1972 Summer Olympics.