100 Notable alumni of Nihon University

Shingo Katayama is a Japanese golfer.

Eiji Ochiai is a former Nippon Professional Baseball pitcher.

Michiko Kihara was a Japanese swimmer and TV actress. She competed at the 1964 Olympics in the 100 m backstroke, 4 × 100 m freestyle relay and 4 × 100 m medley relay and finished fourth in the medley relay. After retiring from swimming, Kihara became a model, businesswoman and TV actress, playing in several Japanese TV series in the...

Shigeki Maruyama is a Japanese professional golfer.

Kodai Naraoka is a Japanese badminton player affiliated with NTT East. Born in Aomori, he started playing badminton at the age of 5 with the influence of his father. He won the silver medal at the 2023 World Championships.

Makoto Kozuru was a Japanese professional baseball player who played in both the Japanese Baseball League and Nippon Professional Baseball. He was the MVP of the Central League in 1950, and was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980. His nickname was "The Japanese DiMaggio."

Motoo Hayashi is a former Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). He served as a member of the House of Representatives in the national Diet from 1993 until 2024, representing the Chiba 10th district; he has previously represented the Southern Kanto proportional representation block and the pre-1996 Chiba 2nd district.

Naoyuki Shimizu, nicknamed "Nao", is a former professional baseball player from Kyoto, Japan. He is a starting pitcher for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars.

Hideaki Kikuchi is a Japanese musician. Born in Hino, Tokyo, he was raised in Hachiōji. He is best known as lead guitarist of the rock band The Yellow Monkey.

Kyuichi Tokuda was a Japanese politician and first chairman of the Japanese Communist Party from 1945 until his death in 1953.

Dai Jitao or Tai Chi-t'ao was a Chinese journalist, an early Kuomintang member, and the first head of the Examination Yuan of the Republic of China. He is often referred to as Dai Chuanxian (Chinese: 戴傳賢; Wade–Giles: Tai Ch'uan-hsien) or by his other courtesy name, Dai Xuantang (Chinese: 戴選堂; Wade–Giles: Tai Hsüan-t'ang).

Takehiko Bessho, born Akira Bessho (別所 昭, Bessho Akira), was a Japanese baseball player whose professional career as a player lasted from 1942 until 1960. Bessho first achieved fame as a pitcher in Japanese professional baseball; later, he served as a Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) manager.

Tadashi Sawamura was a Japanese kickboxer whose real name was Hideki Shiraha (白羽 秀樹, Shiraha Hideki). He is often credited with sparking the "Shōwa era kickboxing boom", being one of the era's most popular Japanese fighters, and enjoying great fame throughout his career.

Hisayoshi Harasawa is a Japanese judoka. Harasawa was considered a staple of Japanese heavyweight judo throughout the 2010s decade.

Thng Tek-chiong, also known as Tokushō Sakai (坂井 德章, Sakai Tokushō), was a Taiwanese lawyer of Japanese descent, born in Tainan Prefecture during Japanese rule. He was killed in the February 28 Incident.

Sunao Katabuchi is a Japanese animation director, screenwriter, and storyboard artist. He is director of Contrail Co. Ltd. He has been a part-time lecturer at Nihon University College of Art since 2006, and a Project Professor at the college of Art of at the same university since 2018. He has also served as a part-time lecturer at the Graduate School...

Seiroku Kajiyama was a Japanese politician who served in the House of Representatives from 1969 to 1976 and from 1979 to 2000, as Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party from 1992 to 1993, and as Chief Cabinet Secretary from 1996 to 1998.

Mikako Kotani is a Japanese former synchronized swimmer who competed in the 1988 Summer Olympics, where she gained a bronze medal each for the solo and duet events, and the 1992 Summer Olympics. She was the first woman to be Japan's flag-bearer for the 1988 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony.

Chiaki Tone is a professional Japanese baseball player. He plays pitcher for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp.

Makoto Koga is a former Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, who served as a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature) and formerly Minister of Transport. A native of Setaka, Fukuoka and graduate of Nihon University, he was elected for the first time in 1980 after an unsuccessful run in 1979.

Eito Suzuki is a pseudonymous Japanese investigative journalist who covers new religious movements in the country. His primary area of editorial coverage is fraudulent missionary activities and the relationship between religious organizations and major political parties, primarily the Unification Church (UC) and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

Tomoyuki Oka, better known by his ring name Great-O-Khan (グレート-O-カーン, Gurēto-Ō-Kān), is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of the United Empire stable, a former NJPW World Television Champion, and the final official KOPW Champion. He also wrestles for NJPW's United Kingdom based partner promotion Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro), where he...

Yoshinori Sato is a former Nippon Professional Baseball pitcher.

Kotomitsuki Keiji is a Japanese former professional sumo wrestler from Okazaki City. A former amateur champion, he turned professional in 1999. He reached the top makuuchi division in November 2000 and won one yūshō or tournament championship, in September 2001. He was a runner-up in eight other tournaments, and earned thirteen sanshō or special prizes. He is one of six...

Yutaka Wada is a retired Japanese baseball player for the Hanshin Tigers. He previously worked as a hitting coach for the Hanshin Tigers prior to the 2012 season. After the team failed to make the 2011 play-offs, team manager Akinobu Mayumi was fired, and Yutaka Wada was giving the position to replace him less than a week later. He is...

Ryūichi Yamamoto, known by his shikona Yamamotoyama Ryūta (山本山 龍太), or simply Yama, is a Japanese retired sumo wrestler from the city of Saitama in Saitama Prefecture. He made his professional debut in January 2007, and reached the top makuuchi division in January 2009. His highest rank was maegashira 9. At 265 kg (584 lb), Yamamotoyama is the heaviest Japanese-born...

Yoshinori Kitase is a Japanese game director and producer working for Square Enix. He is known as the director of Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII and Final Fantasy X, and the producer of the Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy XIII series.

Allen James Coage was an American judoka and professional wrestler. He won medals for the United States at several international judo competitions, including the heavyweight bronze medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics, and later appeared in professional wrestling promotions such as the World Wrestling Federation, New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Stampede Wrestling under the ring names Bad News Brown, Buffalo Allen,...

Mitsuo Hamada is a Japanese actor. He co-starred with Sayuri Yoshinaga in many Nikkatsu films. In 1960, Hamada joined Nikkatsu Company. He won his first major award at the Elan d'or Awards in 1961. In 1966, Hamada was involved in the quarrel at the bar in Nagoya and came close to losing an eye. The incident hindered his acting career.

Clive William Nicol, MBE was a Welsh-Japanese writer. He was a long-time resident and citizen of Japan.

Keiju Kobayashi was a Japanese actor who appeared in 253 films in a career spanning 67 years.

Yukari Miyake is a Japanese singer and naval officer who is the vocalist of the Tokyo SDF Band. The first and only official vocalist for the Music Corp to join the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), Miyake has released a number of CDs she sang with the SDF Band. She holds the rank of petty officer 2nd class in the...

Kishirō Nakamura is a former Japanese politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet. A native of Sakai in Ibaraki Prefecture and a graduate of Nihon University, he was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in 1976.

Toru Yano is a Japanese professional wrestler, signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He was one-third of the inaugural NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions. He is also a three-time IWGP Tag Team Champion and two-time GHC Tag Team Champion, and was the KOPW 2020 and the KOPW 2021 Provisional Champion.

Dong Biwu was a Chinese communist revolutionary, long-time ally of Mao Tse-tung and politician, who served as acting Chairman of the People's Republic of China between 1972 and 1975.

Takamisakari Seiken is a former sumo wrestler from Aomori Prefecture, Japan. A former amateur champion, he turned professional in 1999 and established himself in the top division in 2002 after a brief appearance in 2000. He received five special prizes for his achievements in tournaments and earned two gold stars for defeating yokozuna. The highest rank he reached was komusubi,...

Mitsuru Manaka is a former Nippon Professional Baseball outfielder. On October 8, 2014, he was named manager of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, replacing Junji Ogawa. Manaka had previously been managing the Swallows' farm team.

Kazuyuki Fujita is a Japanese professional wrestler, former mixed martial artist and freestyle wrestler, currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is a one-time GHC Heavyweight Champion. He has most recently fought in Road FC, but is also known for his work in the PRIDE Fighting Championships, K-1, Rizin Fighting Federation, and World Victory Road.

Jūkichi Uno was a Japanese actor. In 1950, he formed the Gekidan Mingei (劇団民藝) with Osamu Takizawa and others.

Toshinao Nakagawa is a former Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party. The scion of an elite political family, Nakagawa resigned in April 2017 following reports of an extramarital affair.

Kundō Koyama is a Japanese writer. He is best known for scripting the television series Iron Chef and the 2009 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film recipient Departures. Koyama has also worked under the pen name Udon Kumayakko, an anagram of his real name read backwards in Japanese.

Ishirō Honda was a Japanese filmmaker who directed 46 feature films in a career spanning five decades. He is acknowledged as the most internationally successful Japanese filmmaker prior to Hayao Miyazaki and one of the founders of modern disaster film, with his films having a significant influence on the film industry. Despite directing many drama, war, documentary, and comedy films,...

Hiroyuki Amano is a Japanese comedian, actor, voice actor, television presenter, film director and film critic. He is nicknamed Amanocchi (天野っち). He performs tsukkomi and make stories in the comedy duo Kyaeen. His partner is Udo Suzuki.

Hiroyasu Shimizu is a Japanese speed skater. A five-time world champion in the 500 meters, Shimizu became the first Japanese speed skater to win a gold medal with his performance at the 1998 Winter Olympics. At the 1998 World Championships, Shimizu set a world record (34.82) and became the first person to break the 35-second barrier in the event. Shimizu...

Teruo Ito, better known as Terry Ito (テリー 伊藤, Terī Itō), is a Japanese director, television producer, critic, and writer. His name "Terry" comes from his first name, "Teruo". His ancestral home is in Yokoshibahikari, Sanbu District, Chiba Prefecture.

Yui Hasegawa is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Women's Super League club Manchester City and captains the Japan national team. Considered as one of the best defensive midfielders in the world, she has the versatility to operate across the midfield in both offensive and defensive positions.

Chua Lam was a Hong Kong columnist, food critic and occasional television host. He was also a film producer for the Hong Kong film studio Golden Harvest.

Shinkun Haku is a Japanese politician of the Constitutional Democratic Party and a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet (national legislature).

Junya Koizumi was a Japanese politician who served as Director General of the Japan Defense Agency during the 1960s. He is the father of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and the grandfather of Japan Defense Minister incumbent Shinjirou Koizumi.

Yasuaki Kurata is a Japanese actor and martial artist. He has worked extensively in Hong Kong action films, as well as in his native country, and is a two-time Hong Kong Film Award nominee.

Sandayū Dokumamushi born Iyoshi Ishii (石井 伊吉, Ishii Iyoshi) on 31 March 1936 in Osaka, Japan) is a Japanese actor. He portrayed the role of Daisuke Arashi in the original Ultraman series (1966-1967) and Shigeru Furuhashi in Ultra Seven. He has been a radio personality on the Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) since 1969. His radio program is famous for vulgar...

Kō Nishimura was a Japanese actor.

Hidekatsu Shibata is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator from Asakusa, Tokyo who is affiliated with Aoni Production. He was a classmate of former prime minister Yasuo Fukuda at Azabu High School. Shibata is married to fellow voice actor Akiko Sekine.

Toshiki Kadomatsu is a Japanese singer-songwriter, musician, and producer best known as one of the pioneers of the city pop genre. He has released many studio albums, as well as several instrumental and live albums. He has been active since 1981.

Mainoumi Shūhei is a former sumo wrestler from Aomori, Japan. His highest rank was komusubi. During the 1990s he was one of the most popular wrestlers in sumo due to his wide variety of techniques and great fighting spirit in battling opponents nearly twice his size.

Kazuya Tatekabe was a Japanese actor, voice actor, and manager. He was born in Kimobetsu, Hokkaidō. He was represented by Kenyu Horiuchi's Kenyu Office until the time of his death.

Joe Shishido was a Japanese actor recognizable for his intense, eccentric yakuza film roles. He appeared in some 300 films but is best known in the West for his performance in the cult film Branded to Kill (1967). In Japan, he is also known by the nickname Joe the Ace (エースのジョー, Ēsu no Jō) for his popular role in the...

Kishin Shinoyama was a Japanese photographer. He is well-known for having photographed the covers for John Lennon and Yoko Ono's albums, Double Fantasy and Milk and Honey. Before his marriage to Saori Minami in 1979, he took a majority of the photographs for her album covers with CBS/Sony.

Shinya Tsukamoto is a Japanese filmmaker and actor. With a considerable cult following both domestically and abroad, Tsukamoto is best known for his body horror/cyberpunk film Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989), which is considered the defining film of the Japanese Cyberpunk movement, as well as for its companion pieces Tetsuo II: Body Hammer (1992) and Tetsuo: The Bullet Man (2009)....

Yōta Kyōda is a Japanese professional baseball infielder for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has previously played in NPB for the Chunichi Dragons.

Endō Shōta is a Japanese former professional sumo wrestler from Anamizu, Ishikawa. After a successful amateur career, he turned professional in March 2013, making the top makuuchi division that September. His highest rank has been komusubi. He has been awarded one special prize for Fighting Spirit, one for Outstanding Performance and four for Technique, as well as seven gold stars...

Ichikawa Danjūrō XII was a Japanese actor. He was the twelfth kabuki actor to hold the illustrious name Ichikawa Danjūrō.

Keito Tsuna is a Japanese actor working for Watanabe Entertainment.

Riko Higashio is a Japanese professional golfer and former member of the LPGA Tour.

Kinji Fukasaku was a Japanese filmmaker. Known for his "broad range and innovative filmmaking", he worked in many different genres and styles, but was best known for his gritty yakuza films, typified by the Battles Without Honor and Humanity series (1973–1976). According to the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, his "turbulent energy and at times extreme violence express...

Kōichi Hamada was a Japanese politician who served in the House of Representatives from 1969 to 1980 and from 1983 to 1993.

Kansai Yamamoto was a Japanese fashion designer, most influential during the 1970s and 1980s.

Haruka Kitaguchi is a Japanese female javelin thrower. She is the reigning Olympic and world champion in women's javelin throw.

Kazuhiro Fujita is a Japanese manga artist. He graduated from Nihon University. Fujita made his professional manga debut in Weekly Shōnen Sunday in 1989. He is known for his manga series Ushio & Tora and Karakuri Circus. For Ushio & Tora, Fujita won the Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōnen category in 1992 and the Seiun Award in 1997.

Banana Yoshimoto is the pen name of Japanese writer Mahoko Yoshimoto (吉本 真秀子, Yoshimoto Mahoko). From 2002 to 2015, she wrote her name in hiragana (よしもと ばなな).

Hideki Takahashi is a Japanese actor. Born in Kisarazu, Chiba near Tokyo, he attended Ichikawa Gakuen and later Nihon University.

Tatsuya Fuji is a Japanese actor. He was born in Beijing and raised in Yokohama. In 1962, Fuji joined Nikkatsu Company and began his acting career with small roles in Nikkatsu film. In 1968, Fuji married actress Izumi Ashikawa. He gained popularity through his role in Jikandesuyo on TBS. He played his first leading role in the 1974 film Ninkyō...

Hiroki Tōchi is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator affiliated with Office Osawa. He has frequently appeared in many anime and video games mainly created by tri-Ace. He won a Male Character Voice Prize in the 2011 Famitsu Awards. Some of his major characters include Abel Nightroad in Trinity Blood, Baldroy in Black Butler, Kokopelli in Bokurano, Tesshin Kataoka...

Tochinoshin Tsuyoshi is a Georgian former professional sumo wrestler from Mtskheta. He was a member of the Kasugano stable and made his professional debut in March 2006. He reached the top makuuchi division just two years later in May 2008. After a long hiatus due to injury, he began his comeback from the rank of makushita 55 in March 2014,...

Asuka Antonio "Aska" Cambridge is a Jamaican-born Japanese track and field sprinter who competes in the 100 metres and 200 metres. His personal best of 10.03 in the 100m gives him Japan's 6th fastest time. He is a two-time East Asian Games gold medallist and a relay bronze medallist at the World Junior Championships in Athletics. His mother is Japanese...

Ami Suzuki is a Japanese recording artist, DJ, and actress from Zama, Kanagawa, Japan. Following her late 90s fame as a popular teen idol, Suzuki went on to become known for her self-penned lyrics and music production.

Eiichiro Funakoshi is a Japanese actor, tarento, and presenter. He is represented with Horipro.

Ayumu Nakajima is a Japanese actor.

Shuichi Murata is a Japanese former professional baseball third baseman. He played 15 seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) from 2003 to 2017 for the Yokohama BayStars and Yomiuri Giants.

Yasuo Saitō, also known by the stage name Yakkun Sakurazuka (桜塚 やっくん, Sakurazuka Yakkun), was a Japanese comedian, singer, and voice actor.

Kenzō Tange was a Japanese architect. Born in Sakai and raised in China and southern Japan, Tange was inspired from an early age by the work of Le Corbusier and designed his first buildings under Imperial Japan. He first achieved recognition for his projects to reconstruct the destroyed cities of postwar Japan, particularly Hiroshima, where he designed the Hiroshima Peace...

Yoshiyuki Tomino is a Japanese anime director, screenwriter, songwriter and novelist best known for creating the Gundam anime franchise.

Toshiaki Kasuga is a Japanese comedian best known as the boke half of the comedy duo Audrey alongside Masayasu Wakabayashi. On stage, he usually wears a pink vest and white pants. Aside from comedy, he is also known for his participation in sporting events such as kickboxing, bodybuilding, and finswimming. He was also a YouTuber under the name Hideo Furui.

Toshio Furukawa is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator affiliated with Aoni Production. He is married to fellow voice actress Shino Kakinuma.

Ayumu Hirano is a Japanese Olympic champion and three-time Olympic medalist snowboarder and Olympic skateboarder. He won the silver medal in the superpipe in 2013 Winter X Games XVII at the age of 14, becoming the youngest medalist in X Games history, and won silver medals in the half-pipe at both the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and the 2018...

Momoka Ariyasu is a Japanese singer and photographer, as well as a former idol and child actress. She is best known as a former member of the all-girl musical group Momoiro Clover Z, in which her signature color was green.

Hisayoshi Chōno is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Yomiuri Giants and Hiroshima Toyo Carp from 2010 to 2025.

Chūya Nakahara, born Chūya Kashimura (柏村 中也, Kashimura Chūya), was a Japanese poet active during the early Shōwa period. Originally shaped by Dada and other forms of European (mainly French) experimental poetry, he was one of the leading renovators of Japanese poetry. Although he died at the young age of 30, he wrote more than 350 poems throughout his life....

Kanata Hongō is a Japanese actor. He is part of Stardust Promotion and has appeared several times in music videos, movies, TV series, and magazines. His major breakthrough role was as Ryoma Echizen in the live-action film adaptation of The Prince of Tennis and became even more widely known when he was cast as Shin in Nana 2. In television,...

Rio Uchida is a Japanese actress and gravure idol who is affiliated with LesPros Entertainment. She is best known for her role as Kiriko Shijima, the main heroine of the Kamen Rider series Kamen Rider Drive.

Sosuke Ikematsu is a Japanese actor, television, and theatre actor best known for his role as Higen, the young nephew of samurai leader Katsumoto, in the 2003 film The Last Samurai.

Mikihiro Ogawa, better known by the stage name Shidō Nakamura II (二代目 中村 獅童, Nidaime Nakamura Shidō), is a Japanese kabuki and film actor.

Akira Ishida is a Japanese actor who specializes in voice acting.

Yu Aoi is a Japanese actress and model. She made her film debut as Shiori Tsuda in Shunji Iwai's 2001 film All About Lily Chou-Chou. She subsequently portrayed Tetsuko Arisugawa in Hana and Alice (2004), also directed by Iwai, Kimiko Tanigawa in the hula dancing film Hula Girls and Hagumi Hanamoto in the 2006 live-action adaptation of the Honey and...

Kotaro Koizumi is a Japanese actor and the eldest son of the 56th Japanese Prime Minister, Junichiro Koizumi, and Kayoko Miyamoto, he is the older brother of Japanese Defense Minister Shinjirou Koizumi.

Shioli Kutsuna is an Australian-born Japanese actress, known for her role as Ran Mori in Shinichi Kudo's Written Challenge!, Minami Maho in Beck (2010), Haru/Harumi in 125 Years Memory (2015), Yukio in Deadpool 2 (2018) and Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), and Rainy in the video game Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (2025). She plays Mitsuki in the Apple TV+...

Yuumi Kawai or Yūmi Kawai is a Japanese actress.

Megumi Han is a Japanese actress and voice actress employed by Atomic Monkey. She is the daughter of the voice actress Keiko Han.

Hiroyuki Sanada is a Japanese actor. He has received numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, a British Academy Television Award, a Japan Academy Film Prize, two Hochi Film Awards, a Mainichi Film Award, three Blue Ribbon Awards for Best Actor, four Kinema Junpo Awards, and honors from the Yokohama Film Festival. In 2018, he received...