41 Notable alumni of Tokyo Institute of Technology
Updated: June 23, 2026 EliteDegrees
Tokyo Institute of Technology is ranked #251 in the world and #10 in Japan by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 41 notable alumni from Tokyo Institute of Technology sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with Tokyo Institute of Technology won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. Zhu Qinglai
1881-. (aged 145)
politician
Zhu Qinglai was a politician in the Republic of China. He was an important politician during the Wang Jingwei regime (Republic of China-Nanjing. His given name was Xiang (翔), but he was better known by his art-name Qinglai. He disappeared after the collapse of the Wang Jingwei regime.
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2. Jin-Ho Choy
1948-. (aged 78)
researcher
chemist
Choy Jin-ho is a South Korean scientist. He was a professor in the department of chemistry at Seoul National University from 1981 to 2004, and thereafter a distinguished professor and director of the Center for Intelligent Nano-Bio Materials (CINBM) at Ewha Womans University.
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3. Liu Shiying
1893-1973 (aged 80)
educator
Liu Shiying, also known as Feixiong, was a Chinese architect and educator. Liu Shiying had five major contributions to the history of Chinese architecture:
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4. Du Zhongyuan
1895-1943 (aged 48)
entrepreneur
activist
Du Zhongyuan was one of China's best-known wartime journalists, having reported in great detail on the Japanese invasion and occupation of China during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
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5. Sethu Vijayakumar
1970-. (aged 56)
academic
roboticist
Sethu Vijayakumar is Professor of Robotics at the University of Edinburgh and a judge on the BBC2 show Robot Wars. He is the programme co-director for Artificial Intelligence at The Alan Turing Institute, the UK's National Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, with the responsibility for defining and driving the institute's Robotics and Autonomous Systems agenda. He co-founded the...
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6. Sarangadhar Das
1887-1957 (aged 70)
writer
politician
Sarangadhar Das was an Indian nationalist revolutionary and Orissa politician. Das fought against the feudal chiefs in Orissa (present day Odisha) and, post-independence, was a member of India's Constituent Assembly, a Member of Parliament, and a leader of the Socialist Party.
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7. Su Tiren
1888-1979 (aged 91)
politician
Su Tiren was a Republic of China politician who served with the Wang Jingwei regime during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
8. Katsuhiko Ariga
1962-. (aged 64)
academic
chemist
Katsuhiko Ariga is a Japanese chemist specializing in nanotechnology and self-assembly. He was educated at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, where he defended his PhD in 1990 and later worked as assistant professor. Since 2004 he carries out research at the National Institute for Materials Science, and teaches at the University of Tokyo, where he is a full professor. Ariga...
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9. Zhuchen Li
1882-1968 (aged 86)
politician
Li Zhuchen was a Chinese male politician, who served as the vice chairperson of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
10. Jiro Tanaka
1917-2017 (aged 100)
military flight engineer
military personnel
engineer
Jiro Tanaka was a Japanese aircraft and automotive engineer.
11. Yasuharu Suematsu
1939-. (aged 87)
computer scientist
physicist
Yasuharu Suematsu is a Japanese electrical engineer who is recognised for his contributions to developments in fiber-optic communication technology. His research in the field of electromagnetic radiation concerning dynamic single-mode lasers has also been cited in several academic and technical studies. Suematsu is professor emeritus at the Institute of Science Tokyo.
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12. Takumi Shibano
1926-2010 (aged 84)
science fiction writer
writer
translator
Takumi Shibano was a Japanese science-fiction translator and author. He was a major figure in fandom in Japan and contributed to establishing the Japanese science fiction genre.
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13. Tadamichi Yamamoto
1950-. (aged 76)
diplomat
Tadamichi Yamamoto is a diplomat, who served as UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Afghanistan and head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) until replaced by Deborah Lyons in March 2020.
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14. Susumu Sakurai
1968-. (aged 58)
scientist
Susumu Sakurai is a Japanese scientist and science navigator. He was born in Yamagata Prefecture. He is the president of sakurAi Science Factory Inc.
15. Eiichi Nakamura
1951-. (aged 75)
researcher
chemist
Eiichi Nakamura is a Japanese chemist and professor of chemistry at University of Tokyo in Japan, also appointed as lecture profession in Nankai University in Tianjin, China from Sep 2025.
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16. Yoshihisa Yamamoto
1950-. (aged 76)
academic
physicist
electrical engineer
university teacher
Yoshihisa Yamamoto is the director of Physics & Informatics Laboratories (PHI Labs), NTT Research, Inc. He is also Professor (Emeritus) at Stanford University and National Institute of Informatics (Tokyo).
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17. Teruaki Mukaiyama
1927-2018 (aged 91)
university teacher
chemist
Teruaki Mukaiyama was a Japanese organic chemist. One of the most prolific chemists of the 20th century in the field of organic synthesis, Mukaiyama helped establish the field of organic chemistry in Japan after World War II.
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18. Toshikazu Sunada
1948-. (aged 78)
mathematician
university teacher
Toshikazu Sunada is a Japanese mathematician and author of many books and essays on mathematics and mathematical sciences. He is professor emeritus of both Meiji University and Tohoku University. He is also distinguished professor of emeritus at Meiji in recognition of achievement over the course of an academic career. Before he joined Meiji University in 2003, he was professor of...
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19. Haruji Matsue
1878-1954 (aged 76)
businessperson
Haruji Matsue was a Japanese entrepreneur and the first person to manufacture the sugar cube in Japan. His brother, Major General Toyohisa Matsue, was commandant of the Bandō prisoner-of-war camp in World War I.
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20. Rin Yamashita
1857-1939 (aged 82)
painter
iconographer
Yamashita Rin was a painter of icons for the Japanese Orthodox Church. She was one of the first independent Japanese female artists, the first recognized female yōga painter. She studied in Russia, and her work can be found in over forty churches across Japan.
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21. Keisuke Serizawa
1895-1984 (aged 89)
artist
Keisuke Serizawa was a Japanese textile designer. In 1956, he was designated as a Living National Treasure by the Japanese government for his katazome stencil dyeing technique. A leading member of the mingei movement founded by Yanagi Sōetsu, Serizawa visited Okinawa several times and learned the Ryūkyū bingata techniques of dyeing. Chōsuke Serizawa (Archaeologist) was his son.
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22. Ryūsuke Hikawa
1958-. (aged 68)
critic
editing staff
Ryūsuke Hikawa is a Japanese anime critic and writer.
23. Nob Yoshigahara
1936-2004 (aged 68)
puzzle designer
Nobuyuki Yoshigahara was a Japanese inventor, collector, solver, and communicator of puzzles.
24. Park Kyung-won
1901-1933 (aged 32)
aircraft pilot
Park Kyung-won was the first female Korean civilian aviator.
25. Akitoshi Kawazu
1962-. (aged 64)
video game director
game designer
Akitoshi Kawazu is a Japanese game designer, director, producer and writer. After joining Square (later Square Enix) in 1985, he went on to become a central developer for the first two Final Fantasy titles, then acted as creator and lead developer for the SaGa series.
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26. Kenjirō Takayanagi
1899-1990 (aged 91)
pioneer
engineer
inventor
Kenjiro Takayanagi was a Japanese engineer and a pioneer in the development of television. Although he failed to gain much recognition in the West, he built the world's first all-electronic television receiver, and is referred to as "the father of Japanese television".
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27. Kenzo Fujisue
1964-. (aged 62)
politician
researcher
Kenzo Fujisue is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan, a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Kumamoto, Kumamoto, he graduated from Tokyo Institute of Technology and received master's degrees from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University in the United States. He was elected to the House of...
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28. Shōji Hamada
1894-1978 (aged 84)
ceramicist
potter
artist
Shōji Hamada was a Japanese potter. He had a significant influence on studio pottery of the twentieth century, and a major figure of the mingei (folk-art) movement, establishing the town of Mashiko as a pottery centre. In 1955 he was designated a "Living National Treasure".
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29. Kawai Kanjirō
1890-1966 (aged 76)
ceramicist
essayist
Kawai Kanjirō was a Japanese potter and a key figure in mingei (Japanese folk art) and studio pottery movements, which included Bernard Leach, Shōji Hamada, Kenkichi Tomimoto, Shikō Munakata, Keisuke Serizawa, and Tatsuzō Shimaoka, among others.
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30. Tetsuo Saito
1952-. (aged 74)
engineer
politician
Tetsuo Saito is a Japanese politician who served as chief representative of the Komeito from 2024 to 2026. He served as Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism from 2021 to 2024 and Minister of the Environment from 2008 to 2009.
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31. Julia Nesheiwat
1975-. (aged 51)
university teacher
politician
Julia Nesheiwat is an American academic, business executive, and former government official who served as the 10th homeland security advisor in the first Trump administration from 2020 to 2021. She also held various positions in the Bush and Obama administrations.
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32. Toshiwo Doko
1896-1988 (aged 92)
businessperson
engineer
Toshiwo Doko was a Japanese engineer born in Mitsu District, Okayama, Manager, President and Chairman of Ishikawajima Heavy Industry (IHI) and Toshiba.
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33. Naoto Kan
1946-. (aged 80)
university teacher
theoretical physicist
politician
Naoto Kan is a Japanese former politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) from June 2010 to September 2011.
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34. Yoshinori Ohsumi
1945-. (aged 81)
biologist
Yoshinori Ohsumi is a Japanese cell biologist specializing in autophagy, the process that cells use to destroy and recycle cellular components.
35. Masao Yoshida
1955-2013 (aged 58)
engineer
Masao Yoshida was a nuclear engineer who served as plant manager of the Tokyo Electric Power Company Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant during the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
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36. Satoru Iwata
1959-2015 (aged 56)
game programmer
entrepreneur
video game producer
executive producer
engineer
Satoru Iwata was a Japanese businessman, video game programmer and producer. Beginning in 2002, he was the fourth president of Nintendo, as well as the chief executive officer (CEO) of Nintendo of America from 2013 until his death in 2015. Iwata was a major contributor in broadening the appeal of video games by focusing on novel and entertaining games rather...
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37. Keitaro Ohno
1968-. (aged 58)
politician
Keitarō Ohno is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party. He is currently serving as Deputy Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan. He has served as State Minister of Cabinet Office in charge of Economic Security, Disaster Management, Space Policy, Science and Technology, etc, from 2021 to 2022, Parliamentary Vice Minister of Defense from 2017 to 2018,...
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38. Hideki Shirakawa
1936-. (aged 90)
academic
engineer
professor
chemist
Hideki Shirakawa is a Japanese chemist, engineer, and Professor Emeritus at the University of Tsukuba and Zhejiang University. He is best known for his discovery of conductive polymers. He was co-recipient of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Chemistry jointly with Alan MacDiarmid and Alan Heeger.
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39. Takaaki Yoshimoto
1924-2012 (aged 88)
writer
poet
literary critic
philosopher
Takaaki Yoshimoto, also known as Ryūmei Yoshimoto, was a Japanese poet, philosopher, and literary critic. As a philosopher, he is remembered as a founding figure in the emergence of the New Left in Japan, and as a critic, he was at the forefront of a movement to force writers to confront their responsibility as wartime collaborators.
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40. Maria Marta Molinas Cabrera
1968-. (aged 58)
university teacher
María Marta Molinas Cabrera is a Paraguayan electrical engineer, educated in Japan, who works in Norway as a professor of engineering cybernetics at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).
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41. Tadao Takahashi
1950-2022 (aged 72)
computer scientist
Eduardo Tadao Takahashi was a Brazilian computer scientist and researcher who was credited with contributions toward planning, deployment, and adoption of the internet in Brazil and other Latin American countries. He was a founding director of Brazil's National Research Network (RNP), an academic network that coordinated actions toward setting up the country's national internet backbone. He was inducted into the...
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