List of Famous people born in Japan

Yumi Iwabuchi is a Japanese softball player who won a bronze medal in the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Masahito Soda is a Japanese manga artist. Soda studied at Nihon University, but left prior to graduating. He worked as an assistant for Taku Kitazaki, and debuted in 1990 with GET ROCK, published in Magazine Special. His most notable series are Firefighter! Daigo of Fire Company M and Subaru.

Masaki Watai is a Japanese football player.

Kiyoshi Hatanaka is a retired Japanese boxer who is the former WBC super bantamweight world champion.

Mami Kingetsu is a Japanese voice actress and singer from Akashi, Hyōgo. She is currently affiliated with Aoni Production. She is best known for her role as Shiori Fujisaki in the Tokimeki Memorial series. Other notable roles include Izumi Himuro in Princess Nine, Nagisa Shiozaki in If I See You In My Dreams, Miss Merry Christmas in One Piece, Rei Kazama in eX-Driver, Maki Kawasaki in Burn Up Excess, Li Xiangfei in Fatal Fury / The King of Fighters; and Da Ji in Warriors Orochi.

Shikishima Katsumori is a former sumo wrestler from Funabashi, Chiba, Japan. He made his professional debut in January 1989, and reached the top division in November 1994. His highest rank was maegashira 1. He defeated Takanohana twice in 1998 to earn his only two kinboshi for a yokozuna upset. His stablemaster, former sekiwake Aonosato retired in November 2000 and he moved from Tatsutagawa stable to Michinoku stable. He retired in May 2001 after being diagnosed with a heart ailment, and has remained in sumo as an elder of the Japan Sumo Association and coach at Michinoku. He has borrowed a succession of elder names since his retirement. Since 2013 he has been known as Urakaze.

Emi Kawabata is a Japanese skier. She competed in Alpine skiing at the 1988, 1992 and the 1994 Winter Olympics. She is the only female Japanese skier to finish on the podium of an Alpine World Cup race, placing third in a downhill race at St. Anton, Austria, on 18 December 1993.

Koi Ikeno is a manga author and illustrator. She was born April 16, 1959, in Hanamaki, Iwate Prefecture, Japan.

Keiko Chiba is the former justice minister of Japan.

Shu Abe is a former Japanese football player.