List of Famous people born in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan

Shoko Ota is a Paralympic biathlete and cross-country skier. She is expected to compete for Japan at the 2014 Winter Paralympics.

Koichi Kishi was a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet. A native of Kaneyama, Yamagata and graduate of Waseda University, he served in the town assembly of Kaneyama from 1967. He then served as mayor of the town for seven terms from 1971 until 1998 when he was elected to the House of Councillors for the first time.

Mutsuo Minagawa was a Japanese professional baseball pitcher. Listed at 5' 10" [1.82 m], 162 lb. [73 k.], Minagawa batted and threw right handed. He was born in Yonezawa, Yamagata.

Masaru Maeta , known by his shikona Maeta (前田), was a Japanese sumo wrestler from the city of Tsuruoka in Yamagata Prefecture. He was a former amateur sumo competitor for Nihon University and made his professional debut in 2005. His sumo stable was Shibatayama and previously he belonged to Hanaregoma. His height was 180 cm and his peak weight was 213 kg (470 lbs). His highest rank was makushita 3. He retired in 2018.

Saiichi Maruya was a Japanese author and literary critic.

Yoshio Hattori was a Japanese businessman.