95 Notable alumni of University of Tsukuba

Hiroki Yamamoto is a Japanese international rugby union player who plays as a flanker. He currently plays for the Toshiba Brave Lupus in Japan's domestic Top League.

Yves Lafontaine, is a Canadian musician, luthier and writer.

Hiromichi Kataura is a Japanese scientist known for his work on synthesis and characterization of single-wall and double-wall carbon nanotubes and on encapsulation of water, fullerenes and other organic molecules into carbon nanotubes.

Sun Qichang, was a politician in the early Republic of China who subsequently served as a cabinet minister in the Empire of Manchukuo.

Rogel Mari D. Sese is a Filipino astrophysicist who is known for being a proponent of space science in the Philippines.

Atsushi Kanazawa is the former head coach of the Rizing Zephyr Fukuoka in the Japanese B.League.

Motoki Sakai is a Japanese handball player. He competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics, held July–August 2021 in Tokyo.

"Cindy" Yoshiko Shirata is a Japanese accounting scholar who specialized in corporate bankruptcy prediction. She is best known for her SAF2002 bankruptcy prediction model. Her bankruptcy prediction model has been used by major banks and rating companies in Japan. She is considered one of the most well-known experts to develop bankruptcy prediction models in Japan.

Minami Iju is a Japanese former basketball player who played for Denso Iris of the Women's Japan Basketball League. She also played for Japan women's national 3x3 team.

Taniko Nakamura-Mitsukuri is a retired Japanese gymnast. She competed in all artistic gymnastics events at the 1964 and 1968 Olympics and won a team bronze medal in 1964 + bronze at the asymmetric bar during the 1966 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. Her best individual achievement was seventh place on uneven bars in 1968. Born Taniko Nakamura she changed her last...

Takashi Etō is a Japanese track and field athlete who competes in the high jump. His personal best is 2.30 m ( 7 ft 6+1⁄2 in), set in 2014. He won the gold medal in the event at the Asian Athletics Championships in 2015. He represented Japan at the 2014 Asian Games and was national champion that year.

Domingo Lim Siazon, Jr. was a Filipino diplomat. He served as the Director-General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization from 1985 to 1992, the 18th Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs from 1995 to 2001, and the Philippine Ambassador to Japan from 1993 to 1995 (1st term) and 2001 to 2010 (2nd term).

Moon Deoksu was a South Korean poet.

Shihomi Shinya is a Japanese speed skater. She competed in the women's 500 metres at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Shinnosuke Tokuda is a Japanese handball player for Saudi Arabian Khaleej Club and the Japanese national team.

Chen Shizeng, original name Chen Hengke, courtesy name Shizeng, art name Xiudaoren Xiuzhe, was a Chinese painter and critic, painter, and educator of early 20th-century China. At a time when some Chinese artists were rejecting traditional painting styles in favor of Western influenced styles, Chen championed traditional literati art in his own art and in his A Study of Chinese...

Katsuyuki Tanamura is a water polo player from Japan. He was part of the Japanese team at the 2016 Summer Olympics, where the team was eliminated in the group stage. He also participated in the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Akiyuki Kido is a Japanese former ice dancer. He competed with Nozomi Watanabe. They are three-time Japanese national champions. They placed 15th at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino.

Akari Ogata is a Japanese judoka.

Yusuke Shimizu is a water polo player from Japan. He was the captain of the Japanese team at the 2016 Summer Olympics, where the team was eliminated in the group stage.

Fang Chih, courtesy name Xikong (希孔), was a politician, provincial governor, diplomat, author and a high-ranking Kuomintang official of the Republic of China.

Shusuke Ikuhara is a Japanese professional basketball player who plays for the Shinshu Brave Warriors of the B.League in Japan. He played college basketball for the University of Tsukuba.

Masakatsu Hikosaka is a Japanese rugby sevens player. He competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics for Japan 7s's rugby sevens team. He also won a gold medal at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea as a member of the Japan 7sese squad. He plays in the Top League for Toyota Verblitz.

Ryota Kuwakubo is a Japanese multimedia artist. Kuwakubo was born in Tochigi Prefecture. In 1998 he co-produced the project BITMAN with the art unit Maywa Denki. Kuwakubo works with varying mediums, most commonly utilizing digital or electronic aspects, and a typical theme his works center on is contrasting matter.

Takeshi Nagano is a Japanese volleyball player who plays for Panasonic Panthers.

Ayaka Kōra is a Japanese athlete specialising in the long jump. She won a silver medal at the 2018 IAAF World U20 Championships. She later also won a silver at the 2019 Asian Championships.

Remina Chiba is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Frauen-Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt and the Japan national team.

Takashi Morita is a Japanese politician of People's New Party, an independent and member of the House of Councillors in the Diet (national legislature).

Tatsuya Suzuki is a former Japanese football player.

Toshiko Yuasa was a Japanese nuclear physicist who worked in France. She was the first Japanese female physicist.

Yoshihiro Nitta is a Japanese Paralympic cross-country skier and biathlete. He is regarded as one of the most experienced Japanese Paralympic competitors as he went onto represent Japan at the Paralympics in 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022. Yoshihiro Nitta has clinched 4 medals in his Paralympic career including 2 gold medals at the 2010 Winter Paralympics. He...

Eri Yonamine is a Japanese former professional racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2016 and 2024 for seven different teams. Her thirteen professional victories came entirely at the Japanese national road championships – seven Japanese National Road Race Championships titles and six Japanese National Time Trial Championships titles – while she also won three medals at the Asian Games.

Yukio Futatsugi is a Japanese video game developer. His work includes leading the teams which created Sega Saturn games Panzer Dragoon, Panzer Dragoon II Zwei, Panzer Dragoon Saga, and Xbox title Phantom Dust. He is the co-founder of video game development company Grounding Inc, developers of Crimson Dragon.

Keisuke Uchida is a Japanese rugby union player.

Shuji Ono is the former head coach for Toyota Alvark, Hitachi SunRockers and Earthfriends Tokyo Z in Japan.

Seiya Nakano is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a forward for J3 League club Vanraure Hachinohe, on loan from RB Omiya Ardija.

Kota Yamamura is a retired Japanese national volleyball player and used to play for Suntory Sunbirds on club level. He is currently active as Sunbirds' head coach.

Toshio Iwai is a Japanese interactive media and installation artist who has also created a number of commercial video games. In addition he has worked in television, music performance, museum design and digital musical instrument design.

Ham Seok-heon was a notable figure in the Religious Society of Friends (Quaker) movement in Korea, and was nicknamed the "Gandhi of Korea." Ham was an important Asian voice for human rights and non-violence during the 20th century, despite numerous imprisonments for his convictions. He was a Quaker who concluded that all religions are on common ground in terms of...

Akiyoshi Kitaoka is a Professor of Psychology at the College of Letters, Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan, who has been referred to as "a master of optical art".

Murod Nazarov is an Uzbekistani businessman and vice-president of the polo federation of Uzbekistan

Kan Takahama is a Japanese manga artist born in Amakusa, Kumamoto Prefecture. Debuting in 2001, she became known for her short stories published in the alternative magazine Garo, later collected and republished in her award-winning Kinderbook. Her unique style often depicts the darker sides of everyday life through simplistic character designs and illustrations that blend manga and Franco-Belgian comics. She...

Takuya Yamasawa is a Japanese rugby union player who plays as a Fly-half. He currently plays for Sunwolves in Super Rugby and Panasonic Wild Knights in Japan's domestic Top League.

Seiken Akamine is a Japanese politician of the Japanese Communist Party, who served as a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature).

Tadaaki Hirakawa is a former Japanese footballer. He is the current manager of J3 League club FC Ryukyu.

Shintaro Ikeda is a male badminton player from Japan.

Kentaro Moriya is a Japanese former footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.

Makoto Hamaguchi is a Japanese politician who is a member of the House of Councillors of Japan.

Yukio Endō was a Japanese artistic gymnast, Olympic champion and world champion. He was part of the first Japanese team that succeeded to win gold medals in the team event at the Summer Olympics (1960) and World Championships (1962). In 1964 he won the first individual all-around Olympic gold medal for Japan. He was the flag bearer at the 1968...

Yang Changji was a Chinese educator, philosopher, and writer. After advanced studies in Japan and Europe, he taught at Hunan First Normal University, where he exerted considerable influence on Mao Zedong, Cai Hesen, Xiao Zisheng, and others, and then at Peking University. He became considered one of the leading philosophers of his generation before his early death.

Naotake Hanyu is a former Japanese football player. He played for the Japan national team.

Kiyoko Ono was a Japanese politician and gymnast. She competed at the 1960 and 1964 Olympics and won a team bronze medal in 1964.

Shuhei Yomoda is a Japanese professional football manager and former player.

Takashi Kiyama is a Japanese professional football manager and former player who is the manager of J1 League club Fagiano Okayama.

Tsutomu Nishioka is a professor of International Christian Studies at Tokyo Christian University. He specializes in Japan-Korean relations, South Korea/North Korea Studies. His research focuses on the Comfort women and the North Korean abductions of Japanese citizens. He is a chairman of the National Association for the Rescue of Japanese Kidnapped by North Korea (NARKN).

Hirofumi Yanagase is a Japanese politician who is a former member of the House of Councillors of Japan. He was a representative member of the national proportional representation block.

Sawao Katō is a Japanese former gymnast and one of the most successful Olympic athletes of all time. Between 1968 and 1976 he won twelve Olympic medals, including eight gold medals, making him the most successful Japanese Olympian by number of gold medals won.

Shinya Adachi is a Japanese politician of the Democratic Party for the People, and a former member of the House of Councillors in the Diet (national legislature).

Kenya Yasuda is a water polo player from Japan. He appeared in the Japanese Reality TV series Terrace House: Boys × Girls Next Door (2012), episodes 75 - 98 which depicts his water polo training and in which he expresses his dream to one day represent Japan in the Olympics. He makes a cameo appearance in the Japanese movie Terrace...

Jungo Fujimoto is a former Japanese football player.

John Maeda is an American designer, visual artist, executive, strategic advisor, writer, and educator. He serves as the vice president of design and artificial intelligence at Microsoft. Previously, Maeda served as is chief technology officer of Everbridge from October 2020 through October 2022, and as president of Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) from June 2008 until December 2013. Before...

Masashi Yanagisawa is a Japanese-American molecular biologist and physician, famous for his discovery of the hormone endothelin and the neuropeptide orexin, the absence of which is the cause of narcolepsy. He is currently the Director of the International Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine, University of Tsukuba, and an adjunct professor at the Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Texas Southwestern...

Ryuji Sato is a former Japanese football referee. He has officiated matches in the J1 League, AFC Champions League and FIFA World Cup qualifiers and is currently a director of referees in the J.League.

Kozue Ando is a Japanese football player. Ando currently plays club football for the Urawa Reds Diamonds. She previously played for the Japan national team before retiring in 2015.

Yumi Kajihara is a Japanese professional female road racing and track cyclist. She represented Japan at the 2020 Summer Olympics, and won a silver medal in the women's omnium, becoming the first Japanese woman to win an Olympic medal in cycling.

Fūka Nagano is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Women's Super League club Liverpool and the Japan national team.

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.

Gō Ōiwa is a Japanese football manager and former player who is the manager of the Japan under-23 national team.

Hikaru Naomoto is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for WE League club Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza and the Japan women's national team.

Atsushi Fujii is a retired Japanese professional outfielder. He spent his career playing for the Chunichi Dragons in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball.

Shintaro Kurumaya is a Japanese footballer who plays as a left back for Kawasaki Frontale.

Saki Kumagai is a Japanese footballer who plays as a midfielder or defender for Women's Super League club London City Lionesses and captains the Japan national team. A versatile defensive midfielder with keen sense of anticipation and exceptional tactical acumen, she is also able to be deployed as a central defender. She is regarded as one of the finest Asian...

Kozo Tashima is a former Japanese football player. He played for the Japan national team. He is also the president of the Japan Football Association and the East Asian Football Federation.

Takanori Nagase is a Japanese judoka.

Kota Matsuda is a Japanese entrepreneur, business executive, and former politician. He is best known as the founder and former President and CEO of Tully’s Coffee Japan, and as a former member of Japan’s House of Councillors representing the Tokyo at-large district from 2010 to 2016. Matsuda also served as the leader of the political party The Assembly to Energize...

Eiji Ōtsuka is a Japanese social critic, folklorist, media theorist, and novelist. He is currently a professor at International Research Center for Japanese Studies, Kyoto. He graduated from University of Tsukuba with a degree in anthropology, women's folklore, human sacrifice and post-war manga. In addition to his work with manga he is a critic, essayist, and author of several successful...

Riyoko Ikeda is a Japanese manga artist and singer. She is included in the Year 24 Group by some critics, journalists, and academics, although her inclusion has been debated due to a focus more on epic stories than the internal psychology of those mangaka. She was one of the most popular Japanese comic artists in the 1970s, being best known...

Sota Hirayama is a Japanese former footballer. He played for Japan national team.

Fumitake Fujita is a Japanese businessman and politician. A member of Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party), he has served as a member of the House of Representatives since 2019 and co-leader of Ishin since August 2025, serving alongside Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura. He previously served as the party’s Secretary-General from 2021 to 2024.

Shinichiro Tomonaga, usually cited as Sin-Itiro Tomonaga in English, was a Japanese physicist. He shared the 1965 Nobel Prize in Physics with Richard Feynman and Julian Schwinger "for their fundamental work in quantum electrodynamics (QED), with deep-ploughing consequences for the physics of elementary particles".

Kenta Hasegawa is a Japanese professional football manager and former player who is the manager of J1 League club of Nagoya Grampus.

Yukihiro Matsumoto, also known as Matz, is a Japanese computer scientist and software programmer. He is best known as the chief designer of the Ruby programming language and its original reference implementation, Matz's Ruby Interpreter (MRI).

Masashi Nakayama, nicknamed "Gon" during his playing career, is a Japanese professional football manager and former player. He was the J.League Most Valuable Player in 1998, J.League Top Scorer in 1998 and 2000, and J.League Best XI in 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002.

Yudai Baba is a Japanese professional basketball player for Nagasaki Velca of the B.League. He played college basketball for the University of Tsukuba. Baba has been a member of the Japan men's national basketball team.

Shōgo Taniguchi is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Belgian Pro League club Sint-Truiden and the Japan national team.

Hanako Jimi is a Japanese politician who has served as Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs, Minister of State for Regional Revitalization, Minister of State for Ainu-Related Policies, and Minister for the World Expo 2025 since September 2023. She is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party and she also serves in the House of Councillors of...

Naoya Ogawa is a Japanese world champion judoka, retired professional wrestler, and mixed martial artist. He won a total of seven medals at the All-Japan Judo Championships (second only behind Yasuhiro Yamashita), and set a record of seven medals at the World Judo Championships. Ogawa won the silver medal in the +95 kg judo weight class at the 1992 Summer...

Yoichi Ochiai is a Japanese media artist, entrepreneur, and academic. He has a doctorate from the University of Tokyo, and is an associate professor at the University of Tsukuba Library; Information and Media Associate Professor and Director of the Centre for Digital Nature Development and Research; Specially-appointed professor at Digital Hollywood University; as well as a visiting professor at Osaka...

Kenki Fukuoka is a Japanese former rugby union player. He was named in Japan's squad for the 2015 Rugby World Cup. He was selected for Japan's 2016 Olympic sevens squad and included in the squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup, held in Japan for the first time. Fukuoka won the man of the match award in Japan's victory against...

Masato Yoshii, nicknamed "Oiyan", is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher, coach, and manager. He played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) from 1985 to 2007 for the Kintetsu Buffaloes, Yakult Swallows, Orix BlueWave / Orix Buffaloes, and Chiba Lotte Marines. He also played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1998 to 2002 for the New York Mets, Colorado Rockies, and...

Choi Kyu-hah was a South Korean politician who served as the fourth President of South Korea from 1979 to 1980. An independent politician, he served as the Prime Minister under the administration of President Park Chung Hee from 1975 to 1979.

Kaoru Mitoma is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion and the Japan national team. He is best known for his dribbling ability.

Xu Shoushang was a Chinese writer.

Iftekhar Uddin Chowdhury is a Bangladeshi academic. He served as the 17th vice-chancellor of the University of Chittagong.