17 Notable alumni of Kobe University
Updated: June 08, 2026 EliteDegrees
Kobe University is ranked #360 in the world and #13 in Japan by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 17 notable alumni from Kobe University sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with Kobe University won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. Masao Miyazaki
1963-. (aged 63)
politician
Masao Miyazaki is a Japanese politician who is a former member of the House of Councillors of Japan.
2. Ryosuke Nunoi
1909-1945 (aged 36)
tennis player
Ryosuke Nunoi was a tennis player from Japan.
3. Tomoko Sasaki
1955-. (aged 71)
prosecutor
lawyer
politician
Tomoko Sasaki is a Japanese lawyer, politician, novelist and former prosecutor.
4. Keiji Uematsu
1947-. (aged 79)
performance artist
conceptual artist
illustrator
sculptor
photographer
Keiji Uematsu is a Japanese sculptor and contemporary artist.
5. Hiroyuki Noritake
1964-. (aged 62)
composer
university teacher
drummer
musician
Hiroyuki Noritake is a Japanese jazz fusion drummer and a lecturer at the Showa Academia Musicae.
6. Kumi
1974-. (aged 52)
composer
pianist
Kumi Tanioka is a Japanese composer and pianist. Born in Hiroshima, Japan, she graduated from Kobe University with a degree in musical performance, and began working as a video game composer in 1998. She joined video game developer and publisher Square that same year, and worked on over 15 games for them before leaving to work as an independent composer...
+ show more
7. Yoshifumi Hamano
1960-. (aged 66)
politician
Yoshifumi Hamano is a Japanese politician who is a member of the House of Councillors of Japan.
8. Masayuki Naoshima
1945-. (aged 81)
trade unionist
politician
Masayuki Naoshima is a Japanese politician of the Democratic Party of Japan, a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Ikeda, Osaka and graduate of Kobe University, he was elected for the first time in 1992 and served until the 2016 Japanese House of Councillors election. Before becoming a politician, he worked for...
+ show more
9. Haruko Wakita
1934-2016 (aged 82)
historian
Haruko Wakita was a Japanese academic, editor and expert in medieval Japanese women's history.
10. Sazō Idemitsu
1885-1981 (aged 96)
art collector
businessperson
politician
Sazō Idemitsu was a Japanese businessman and founder of the petroleum company Idemitsu Kosan. He graduated from Kobe University (then Kobe Koto Shogyo Gakko). He was also an art collector, especially fond of Sengai Gibon. He is the father of the Japanese experimental video artist, Mako Idemitsu.
+ show more
11. Hidekazu Tanaka
1987-. (aged 39)
composer
music arranger
Hidekazu Tanaka is a Japanese composer and arranger best known for his work for anime and video games. He was affiliated with the music production company MONACA, but left in 2021 to be freelance.
+ show more
12. Masahito Moriyama
1953-. (aged 73)
politician
Masahito Moriyama is a Japanese politician. He is a member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and a former member of the House of Representatives in the National Diet (national legislature). A native of Nishinomiya, Hyogo, and an alumnus of the University of Tokyo, he joined the Ministry of Transport in 1977. He was first elected to the House of...
+ show more
13. Mitsujirō Ishii
1889-1981 (aged 92)
politician
Mitsujirō Ishii was a Japanese politician, cabinet minister, and Speaker of the House of Representatives. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1946 to 1947 and from 1952 to 1972. In 1955, he played a major role in the merger of Japan's conservative parties into the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and, in 1956, led a delegation to...
+ show more
14. Rizaburō Toyoda
1884-1952 (aged 68)
entrepreneur
industrialist
Risaburo Toyoda was a Japanese entrepreneur. He was the son-in-law of Toyota Industries Co., Ltd founder Sakichi Toyoda, and brother-in-law of Toyota Motor Corporation founder, Kiichiro Toyoda (豊田 喜一郎, Toyoda Kiichirō; June 11, 1894 – March 27, 1952) His original surname was Kodama (児玉).
+ show more
15. Shinya Yamanaka
1962-. (aged 64)
biologist
physicist
university teacher
researcher
surgeon
Shinya Yamanaka is a Japanese stem cell researcher and a Nobel Prize laureate. He is a professor and the director emeritus of Center for iPS Cell (induced Pluripotent Stem Cell) Research and Application, Kyoto University; as well as a senior investigator at the UCSF-affiliated Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco, California and a professor of anatomy at University of California, San...
+ show more
16. Masato Sagawa
1943-. (aged 83)
physicist
researcher
Masato Sagawa is a Japanese scientist and entrepreneur, and the inventor of the sintered permanent neodymium magnet (NdFeB). Sagawa was awarded the Japan Prize and IEEE Medal for Environmental and Safety Technologies for his efforts.
+ show more
17. Kuranosuke Sasaki
1968-. (aged 58)
actor
television actor
Kuranosuke Sasaki is a Japanese actor, known primarily for his roles in Japanese television drama.