List of Famous people born in Japan

Tasuku Honjo is a Japanese physician-scientist and immunologist. He shared the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine and is best known for his identification of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1). He is also known for his molecular identification of cytokines: IL-4 and IL-5, as well as the discovery of activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) that is essential for class switch recombination and somatic hypermutation.

Yoko Ono Lennon is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art, which she performs in both English and Japanese, and filmmaking. She was married to English singer-songwriter John Lennon of the Beatles from 1969 until his murder in 1980.

Mako Komuro , formerly Princess Mako , is the first child and elder daughter of Prince Fumihito and Princess Kiko, and a former member of the Japanese imperial family. She is the niece of Emperor Naruhito, and is the eldest grandchild of Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko. She married Kei Komuro, a lawyer, on 26 October 2021. As a result of her marriage, she gave up her imperial title and left the imperial family, as required by the Imperial Household Law.

Naomi Osaka is a Japanese professional tennis player. Osaka has been ranked No. 1 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), and is the first Asian player to hold the top ranking in singles. She is a three-time Grand Slam singles champion, and is the reigning champion at the US Open. Her six WTA titles on the WTA Tour also include two at the Premier Mandatory level. At the 2018 US Open and the 2019 Australian Open, Osaka won her first two Grand Slam singles titles in back-to-back Grand Slam tournaments, and is the first player to achieve this feat since Jennifer Capriati in 2001.

Naruhito is the Emperor of Japan. He acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne on 1 May 2019, beginning the Reiwa era, following the abdication of his father, Akihito. He is the 126th monarch according to Japan's traditional order of succession.

Fumihito, Crown Prince Akishino is the younger brother and heir presumptive of Emperor Naruhito of Japan and the younger son of Emperor emeritus Akihito and Empress emerita Michiko. Since his marriage in June 1990, he has had the title Prince Akishino and has headed his own branch of the imperial family. In November 2020, Fumihito was officially declared heir presumptive to the throne, during the Ceremony for Proclamation of Crown Prince (Rikkōshi-Senmei-no-gi) in Tokyo.

Shohei Ohtani , nicknamed "Sho Time", is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher and designated hitter for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) Pacific League.

Nana Komatsu is a Japanese actress and model.

Tsuyoshi Shinjo is a former Japanese professional baseball outfielder. Shinjo is the second Japanese-born position player to play a Major League Baseball game and was the first Japanese-born player to appear in the World Series.

Aiko, Princess Toshi is the only child of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako of Japan.

Robert Lee Griffin III, nicknamed RG3 or RGIII, is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He played college football at Baylor, where he won the 2011 Heisman Trophy. He was drafted in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins, who had traded up to select him.

Taishō Sugō , known professionally as Masaki Suda , is a Japanese actor and singer. He played Philip in Kamen Rider W. He won the Japan Academy Film Prize for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role. His debut song is "Mita Koto mo Nai Keshiki."

Hokuto Matsumura , is a Japanese singer and actor. He is a member of the idol group SixTONES.

Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland was a British-American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her time. She was the last major surviving star from the Golden Age of Hollywood Cinema and the oldest living and earliest surviving Academy Award winner until her death in July 2020. Her younger sister was the actress Joan Fontaine.

Princess Kako of Akishino is the second daughter of Prince Fumihito and Princess Kiko, and a member of the Japanese Imperial Family. She is the niece of Emperor Naruhito and the second-eldest grandchild of Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko.

Ichiro Suzuki , often referred to mononymously as Ichiro , is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder who played 28 seasons combined in top-level professional leagues. He spent the bulk of his career with two teams: nine seasons with the Orix BlueWave of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) in Japan, where he began his career, and 14 with the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States. After playing the first 12 years of his MLB career for the Mariners, Suzuki played two and a half seasons with the New York Yankees before signing with the Miami Marlins. He played three seasons with the Marlins before returning to the Mariners in 2018.

Yosuke Sugino is a Japanese actor and model. He is the winner of the 12th Fine Boys Model Audition Grand Prix.

Nana Seino is a Japanese actress. She has played Sunmi in Tokyo Tribe, Tetsuko Kuroyanagi in the TV Asahi adaptation of Kuroyanagi's autobiography Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window, and Yuko Komiya in the 98th NHK asadora Hanbun, Aoi, among numerous other TV and film roles.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Orix Buffaloes of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

Akira Ishida is a Japanese actor and voice actor. He was a part of Mausu Promotion from 1988 until March 2009, when he moved to Peerless Gerbera. For his portrayal of Saki Abdusha in You're Under Arrest and Athrun Zala in Gundam Seed Destiny, he was chosen as the most popular voice actor in the Animage Anime Grand Prix in 2004, and won the Best Supporting Character (male) award at the first Seiyu Awards in 2007.