List of Famous people born in Japan

Hiroki Maekawa , known professionally as Hiroki (紘毅), is a Japanese singer-songwriter. He dropped out from Shobi University. He is represented by Avex Vanguard.

Masato Sakai is a Japanese swimmer who specializes in the men's 200 metre butterfly. He won the silver medal in the men's 200 metre butterfly event at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Sakai was in 6th position at the 150 mark, and finished 0.04 seconds behind Michael Phelps.

Dai Tamesue is the first Japanese sprinter to win a medal in a track event at a World Competition. Current Japanese record holder for Men’s 400 meter hurdle . Bronze medalist of the 2001 World Championships in Edmonton and 2005 World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki.

Ken Kaneko is a Japanese actor, TV personality and former mixed martial artist. He is currently employed by Platinum Production. His blood type is O.

Kenji Nojima is a Japanese voice actor and singer affiliated with the voice talent agency Aoni Production. His first major role in voice-over was Spark in the Record of Lodoss War: Chronicles of the Heroic Knight series. He voiced Hikaru Ichijyo in a number of Macross-related video games in the 2000s. Other major roles include Yuto Kiba in High School DxD, Jade in Ultimate Muscle, Nobuchika Ginoza in Psycho-Pass, Keisaku Sato in Shakugan no Shana, Taihei Doma in Himouto! Umaru-chan, and Tuxedo Mask in Sailor Moon Crystal. In anime films, he voices Fumito Nanahara in Blood-C, Masaki in Time of Eve. He is the son of Akio Nojima and is the younger brother of Hirofumi Nojima. He married Chie Sawaguchi in 2004 and has two children.

Sho Kosugi is a Japanese martial artist, actor, filmmaker and writer with extensive training in Shindō jinen-ryū Karate, Kendo, Judo, Iaido, Kobudo, Aikido and Ninjutsu. A former All Japan Karate Champion, he gained popularity as an actor during the 1980s, often playing ninjas. He starred in a trilogy of ninja-themed martial arts films produced by Cannon Films, before earning a starring role in the primetime television series The Master.

Tomohito Sakai is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Nippon Professional Baseball. He previously played for the Chiba Lotte Marines.

Jun Maeda is a Japanese writer and co-founder of the visual novel brand Key under Visual Arts. He is considered a pioneer of nakige visual novels, and has mainly contributed as a scenario writer, lyricist, and musical composer for the games the company produces. His style was originally inspired by James Herbert Brennan, and is influenced by Haruki Murakami's novel Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World.

Mariko Koike is a Japanese novelist.

Hisako "Chako" Higuchi is a Japanese professional golfer.