100 Notable alumni of Waseda University

Risa Wataya is a female Japanese novelist from Kyoto. Her short novel Keritai senaka won the Akutagawa Prize and has sold more than a million copies. Wataya has also won the Bungei Prize and the Kenzaburo Oe Prize. Her work has been translated into German, Italian, French, Thai, Korean, and English.

Jun Azumi is a Japanese politician of the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP), a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). He is also the current secretary-general of the CDP on 11 September 2025.

Hakushū Kitahara is the pen-name of Kitahara Ryūkichi (北原 隆吉), a Japanese tanka poet active during the Taishō and Shōwa periods of Japan. He is regarded as one of the most popular and important poets in modern Japanese literature.

Morio Kazama is a Japanese actor. He won the award for best supporting actor at the 2nd Yokohama Film Festival for Shiki Natsuko and Yūgure made and at the 6th and 7th Japan Academy Prizes.

Makoto Kaneko is the founder, President, CEO and Representative Director of Zuken Inc., a public listed multinational corporation in the Tokyo Stock Exchange. He also owns the exclusive King Kamehameha Golf Club in Hawaii.

Yoshimi Watanabe is a former Japanese politician. He was formerly a member of the Liberal Democratic Party and later the founder of Your Party, after which he became a member of Nippon Ishin no Kai until 2019 when he then became an independent politician. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1996 to 2014, and returned to...

Ichirō Kōno was a Japanese politician during the postwar period who served as Deputy Prime Minister and a member of the National Diet. As Deputy Prime Minister, he was in charge of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. In the 1950s and 1960s, he was the head of the powerful "Kōno Faction" within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Kōno aspired to become...

Yukio Aoshima was a Japanese politician who served as Governor of Tokyo from 1995 to 1999. He is also well known as a TV actor, novelist, film director, screenwriter and songwriter.

Yuji Horii is a Japanese author, video game designer, writer and director best known as the creator of the Dragon Quest franchise, supervising and writing the scenario for Chrono Trigger, and The Portopia Serial Murder Case, released in 1983 as one of the first visual novel adventure games.

Hiroo Ishii is a Japanese retired baseball player and politician from the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan. He currently serves as member of the House of Councillors for Akita at-large district.

Kotaro Otake is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has previously played in NPB for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.

Ikki Kita was a Japanese author, intellectual and political philosopher who was active in early Shōwa period Japan. Drawing from an eclectic range of influences, Kita was a self-described socialist who has also been described by detractors as the "ideological father of Japanese fascism", though this has been highly contested, as his writings touched equally upon pan-Asianism, Nichiren Buddhism, fundamental...

Hirokazu Matsuno is a Japanese politician who served as the Chief Cabinet Secretary from October 2021 until December 2023. He is serving in the House of Representatives as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party.

Kazuyo Katsuma is a Japanese businesswoman and author of several best selling books, with sales numbers in the tens of millions. She writes mostly about self management, work–life balance, gender equality and how women can become more successful. She concentrates especially on optimizing thought processes and increasing productivity.

Fumie Suguri is a Japanese former competitive figure skater. She is a three-time World medalist, a three-time Four Continents champion, the 2003 Grand Prix Final champion, and a five-time Japanese national champion.

Toshihisa Nishi is a Japanese former professional baseball player.

Tatsuro Hirooka is a Japanese retired professional baseball player and manager.

Soichiro Tahara is a Japanese political journalist, best known for hosting TV Asahi's Sunday Project program.

Keiji Sada is the stage name for a Japanese cinema actor active from the late-1940s to the early 1960s. His real name was Kanichi Nakai. He won the award for best actor at the 7th Blue Ribbon Awards for Anata Kaimasu (I Will Buy You) and Taifū Sōdōki. He was the father of the actor Kiichi Nakai and actress Kie...

Ken Utsui was a Japanese actor who worked on stage, film, and television from the 1950s to the 2010s.

Kazuo Kitamura was a Japanese actor. His son is actor Yukiya Kitamura. Kitamura met Shōhei Imamura when he was a student of Waseda University and became a close friend so often worked with Imamura. Kitamura joined Bungakuza theatre company and started his acting career in 1950. In 1953, he made his film debut with An Inlet of Muddy Water directed...

Kunishige Kamamoto was a Japanese football player, manager, and politician. He won the bronze medal with the Japan national team at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, finishing as the tournament's top scorer with seven goals, and is the all-time leading goalscorer for Japan.

Masaru Ibuka was a Japanese electronics industrialist and co-founder of Sony, along with Akio Morita.

Hisaya Morishige was a Japanese actor and comedian. Born in Hirakata, Osaka, he graduated from Kitano Middle School (now Kitano High School), and attended Waseda University. He began his career as a stage actor, then became an announcer for NHK, working in Manchukuo. He became famous in films first for comedy roles, appearing in series such as the "Company President"...

Akira Nishino is a Japanese football manager and former player.

Shin Kyuk-ho, known in Japan as Takeo Shigemitsu (重光 武雄, Shigemitsu Takeo), was a Zainichi Korean businessman known for being the founder of the South Korean-Japanese conglomerate Lotte Corporation (Group), now one of the largest chaebols in South Korea.

Maiko Itō is a Japanese actress.

Inejiro Asanuma was a Japanese politician and leader of the Japan Socialist Party. During World War II, Asanuma was aligned with the Imperial Rule Assistance Association and advocated for war in Asia. Asanuma later became a forceful advocate of socialism in post-war Japan. He was noted for his support of the newly established People's Republic of China (PRC) as well...

Takeshi Iwaya is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party. He is a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet, or national legislature, and was the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2024 to 2025. He served as the Minister of Defense from 2 October 2018 to 11 September 2019.

Rokusuke Ei was a Japanese lyricist, composer, author, essayist, and television personality of Chinese descent.

Shinya Kote is a Japanese actor, voice actor, writer, and director. He is represented with Office PSC.

Kyosen Ōhashi was a Japanese television host and writer. He also served briefly as a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet of Japan. His real name was Ōhashi Katsumi (大橋 克巳).

Toshiki Kaifu was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1989 to 1991.

Gō Katō was a Japanese entertainer and actor.

Chung Ju-yung or Jung Joo-young was a South Korean entrepreneur and the founder of Hyundai Group, one of the largest chaebols in South Korea. Under his leadership, Hyundai became the world's largest shipbuilder, while Hyundai Motor Group expanded to become the largest automobile manufacturer in Korea and the third-largest worldwide. He is considered a pivotal figure in the development of...

Shizuka Arakawa is a retired Japanese figure skater. She is the 2006 Olympic champion and the 2004 World champion. Arakawa is the first Japanese skater to win an Olympic gold medal in figure skating and the second Japanese skater to win any Olympic medal in figure skating, after Midori Ito, who won silver in 1992. She is also the second...

Ayumu Goromaru is a former Japanese rugby union player who played at fullback for Yamaha Júbilo as well as the Japan national rugby union team.

Kohei Arihara is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, and in NPB for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.

Yoshio Kojima is a Japanese comedian famous for appearing only in a small bathing suit, during both performances and interviews. Among his well-known catchphrases are Sonna no kankei nee (そんなの関係ねぇ or "that has nothing to do with it", usually as a reaction to an intentional mistake in his routine) and Oppapī (おっぱっぴー), an abbreviation of "Ocean Pacific Peace", (オーシャン・パシフィック・ピース). All...

Hiroshige Seko is a Japanese politician serving as a Member of the House of Councillors since 1998. He previously served as Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party in the House of Councillors, and was the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry from August 2016 to September 2019 under Shinzo Abe. As Minister, he played a crucial role for announcing the...

Heita Kawakatsu was the governor of Shizuoka Prefecture from 2009 to 2024.

Shun'ichi Suzuki is a Japanese politician who has served as Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party since 2025 and previously served as minister of finance from 2021 to October 2024. He sits in the House of Representatives as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party.

Beni Takemata is a female announcer for Fuji TV. She is a former Japanese women's professional shogi player who was ranked 1-dan.

Shūji Terayama was a Japanese avant-garde poet, artist, dramatist, writer, film director, and photographer. His works range from radio drama, experimental television, underground (Angura) theatre, countercultural essays, to Japanese New Wave and "expanded" cinema.

Mariko Tsutsui is a Japanese actress.

Makiko Tanaka is a Japanese politician. She is the daughter of former Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka and his official wife Hana.

Yoshiaki Tsutsumi is a Japanese businessman. During the Japanese economic bubble, Forbes listed Tsutsumi as the wealthiest person in the world during 1987–94 due to his extensive real estate investments through the Seibu Corporation, which he controlled. In 1987, he had a net worth of $20 billion (approximately $47.2 billion in today's value). However, as a result of a series...

Yōhei Kōno is a Japanese politician and a former President of the Liberal Democratic Party. He served as Speaker of the House of Representatives from November 2003 until August 2009, when the LDP lost its majority in the 2009 election. Kōno served as speaker for the longest length since the set up of House of Representatives in 1890.

Matsumoto Hakuō II is a Japanese kabuki actor, one of the most popular tachiyaku (specialist in male roles) currently performing.

Kin'ya Kitaōji is a Japanese actor.

Hideo Higashikokubaru is a Japanese politician. He originally rose to fame as a comedian and actor under the stage name Sonomanma Higashi (そのまんま東; literally "Higashi without change" or "simply Higashi"), and was known for his role in the popular game show Takeshi's Castle.

Junichi Ishida is a Japanese actor and television personality from Tokyo. He is married to professional golfer Riko Higashio.

Nakamura Kichiemon II was a Japanese actor, kabuki performer and costume designer. He was a so-called Living National Treasure.

Suguru Osako is a Japanese long-distance runner. He won the 10,000 metres gold medal at the 2011 Summer Universiade in Shenzhen and holds the Asian junior record for the half marathon. He held the Japanese National Record for the marathon of 2:04:55 set at the 2025 Valencia Marathon where he finished fourth.

Daiya Seto is a Japanese professional swimmer who specializes in individual medley, butterfly, breaststroke, and freestyle events. He holds the world record in the short course 400-metre individual medley and formerly held the world record in the short course 200-metre butterfly. He won the gold medal in the 400-metre individual medley at the 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2021, and 2022...

Noboru Takeshita was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1987 to 1989.

Yasuo Fukuda is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2007 to 2008. He was previously the longest-serving Chief Cabinet Secretary in Japanese history, serving in that role from 2000 to 2004 under Prime Ministers Yoshirō Mori and Junichiro Koizumi. His record was surpassed by Yoshihide Suga, who served almost twice as long.

Demon Kakka, previously known as Demon Kogure (デーモン小暮, Dēmon Kogure), is a Japanese musician, songwriter, entertainer, journalist, sumo commentator, actor and voice actor. He first gained fame in the 1980s as vocalist of the heavy metal band Seikima-II, before starting a solo career in 1990 and branching out into other forms of entertainment. His real name is not publicly known...

Yasuko Namba was the second Japanese woman (after Junko Tabei) to climb the Seven Summits. Namba worked as a businesswoman for FedEx in Japan, but her hobby of mountaineering took her all over the world. She first summited Kilimanjaro on New Year's Day in 1982, and summited Aconcagua exactly two years later. She reached the summit of Denali on July...

Tsuyoshi Wada is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) from 2003 to 2011, and 2016 to 2024 for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. He also played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2014 to 2015 for the Chicago Cubs.

Lee Byung-chul was a South Korean businessman who founded the Samsung Group, the country's largest chaebol (conglomerate). Lee founded Samsung in 1938, at the age of 28. He is widely recognized as one of the most successful business magnates in South Korean history.

Yoko Kanno is a Japanese composer, arranger and music producer of soundtracks for anime series, video games, television dramas and movies. She has written scores for Cowboy Bebop, Terror in Resonance, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Wolf's Rain, Turn A Gundam and Darker than Black. Kanno is a keyboardist and the frontwoman for Seatbelts, who perform many of...

Akinobu Okada is a Japanese former professional baseball infielder and manager. He played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) from 1980 to 1995 for the Hanshin Tigers and Orix BlueWave.

Tadashi Yanai is a Japanese billionaire businessman and the founder and president of Fast Retailing, the parent company of Uniqlo ("unique clothing"). As of May 2025, he is the richest person in Japan, with an estimated net worth of US$50.3 billion, and the 28th-wealthiest person in the world according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Norio Wakamoto is a Japanese voice actor affiliated with the Sigma Seven talent agency. He was born in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, and was raised in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture. He graduated from Waseda University.

Yasujirō Ozu was a Japanese filmmaker. He began his career during the era of silent films, and his last films were made in colour in the early 1960s. Ozu first made a number of short comedies, before turning to more serious themes in the 1930s. The most prominent themes of Ozu's work are family and marriage, and especially the relationships...

Yoshihiko Noda is a Japanese politician who served as the Prime Minister of Japan from 2011 to 2012. He has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2000.

Maki Okazoe is a Japanese TV announcer, news presenter and tarento. She is represented by her agency cent. Force.

Norichika Aoki is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, Houston Astros, Toronto Blue Jays, and New York Mets and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows.

Takashi Toritani is a Japanese former professional baseball shortstop, commentator, critic, and coach.

Masutatsu Ōyama, commonly known outside Japan as Mas Oyama, was a Korean-Japanese karateka. He was the founder of Kyokushin Karate, considered the first and most influential style of full contact karate.

Tomomi Inada is a Japanese lawyer and politician serving as a member of the House of Representatives, representing the 1st Fukui Prefecture since September 2005. She previously served as Minister of Defense from August 2016 to July 2017, resigning in response to a cover up scandal within the Japanese Ministry of Defense. She spent time as the Chairwoman of the...

Sun Myung Moon was a Korean religious leader, also known for his business ventures and support for conservative political causes. A messiah claimant, he was the founder of the Unification Church, whose members consider him and his wife, Hak Ja Han, to be their "True Parents", and of its widely noted "Blessing" or mass wedding ceremonies. The author of the...

Lee Kun-hee was a South Korean businessman who served as the chairman of Samsung from 1987 to 2008 and from 2010 to his death in 2020. He is also credited with the transformation of Samsung to one of the world's largest business entities that engages in semiconductors, smartphones, electronics, shipbuilding, construction, and other businesses. Since Lee became the chairman of...

Tarō Hirai, better known by the pen name Edogawa Ranpo or Edogawa Rampo (江戸川 乱歩), was a Japanese author and critic who played a major role in the development of Japanese mystery and thriller fiction. Many of his novels involve the detective hero Kogoro Akechi, who in later books was the leader of a group of boy detectives known as...

Megumi Kaneko is a Japanese politician. She served as a member of the House of Representatives for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) between 2012 and 2017, when she represented the 4th District of Niigata prefecture. She was defeated in the 2017 general election.

Tetsuya Komuro is a Japanese musician, songwriter and record producer. He is recognized as the most successful producer in Japanese music history and has introduced contemporary electronic dance music to the Japanese mainstream. He was also a former owner of the disco Velfarre located in Roppongi, Tokyo.

Tōru Hashimoto is a Japanese television personality, former politician, and lawyer. He is a former governor of Osaka Prefecture and mayor of City of Osaka. He is a founder of Nippon Ishin no Kai and the Osaka Restoration Association. He is one of Japan's leading right-wing conservative-populist politicians.

Naohito Fujiki is a Japanese actor and singer.

Yuki Saito is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. He played 11 seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.

Yoshirō Mori is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party from 2000 to 2001. He was unpopular in opinion polls during his time in office, and is known for making controversial statements, both during and after his premiership.

Masumi Kuwata is a Japanese former right-handed pitcher. He played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) from 1986 to 2006 for the Yomiuri Giants. He also played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2007. He is the older brother of professional golfer Izumi Kuwata.

Mamiko Tanaka is a Japanese former professional basketball player. She played four seasons for the Fujitsu Red Wave of the Women's Japan Basketball League from 2019 to 2023. She represented Japan at the international youth and collegiate level.

Hirokazu Kore-eda is a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor. He began his career in television and has since directed more than a dozen feature films, including Nobody Knows (2004) and Still Walking (2008).

Ai Fukuhara is a retired Japanese table tennis player and Olympic medalist, winning silver at the 2012 Summer Olympics and bronze at the 2016 Summer Olympics with the Japanese women's team. She is sponsored by All Nippon Airways.

Sayuri Yoshinaga is a Japanese actress and activist. She has won four Japan Academy Best Actress awards, more than any other actress, and has been called "one of the foremost stars in the postwar world of film."

Tomokazu Harimoto is a Japanese professional table tennis player who is ranked No. 3 in the ITTF rankings. Born to Chinese parents, he became a naturalized Japanese citizen in 2014. He won the world junior singles and team title at the 2016 World Junior Table Tennis Championships for Japan.

Saori Hayami is a Japanese voice actress and singer affiliated with I'm Enterprise. As a singer, she is signed to Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. Hayami won the 10th Seiyu Awards for Best Supporting Actress.

Ryōko Hirosue is a Japanese actress and singer, best known to international audiences for her roles in the Luc Besson-produced Wasabi (2001) and the Academy Award-winning Japanese film Departures (2008). She also starred in the 2008 comedy series Yasuko to Kenji.

Tasuku Emoto is a Japanese actor. His father is actor Akira Emoto, his mother is actress Kazue Tsunogae, his brother is actor Tokio Emoto, and his wife is actress Sakura Ando.

Nao Tōyama is a Japanese voice actress and singer affiliated with the agency Intention. She was a member of Arts Vision. She debuted as a voice actress in 2010, and played her first leading role as Kanon Nakagawa in The World God Only Knows. She is also known for her roles as Chitoge Kirisaki in Nisekoi, Yui Yuigahama in My...

Chiune Sugihara was a Japanese diplomat who served as vice-consul for the Japanese Empire in Kaunas, Lithuania. During the Second World War, Sugihara helped thousands of Jews flee Europe by issuing transit visas to them so that they could travel through Japanese territory, risking his career and the lives of his family. The fleeing Jews were refugees from German-occupied Western...

Haruki Murakami is a Japanese writer. His novels, essays, and short stories have been best-sellers in Japan and internationally, with his work translated into 50 languages and having sold millions of copies outside Japan. He has received numerous awards for his work, including the Gunzo Prize for New Writers, the World Fantasy Award, the Tanizaki Prize, Yomiuri Prize for Literature,...

Yuzuru Hanyu is a Japanese figure skater and ice show producer. Universally regarded as one of the greatest figure skaters in history for his well-rounded skills, achievements, innovations, longevity, popularity, and impact on the sport, he started skating at four years old and competed in the men's singles discipline from 2004 to 2022. Hanyu is the first men's single skater...

Fumio Kishida is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2021 until his resignation in 2024. He has represented Hiroshima 1st in the House of Representatives since 1996. Before his premiership, he was the Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2012 to 2017, as acting Minister of Defense in...

Takuma Sato is a Japanese professional basketball player for Chiba Jets of the B.League in Japan. He played college basketball for Tokai University.

Yuko Obuchi is a Japanese politician. She is a member of the House of Representatives for the Liberal Democratic Party. She briefly served as Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry during the Abe government, but was forced to resign. She is the second daughter of Keizo Obuchi, who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1998 to 2000.

Chen Duxiu was a Chinese intellectual, revolutionary, and political activist who co-founded the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) with Li Dazhao in 1921 and served as its first General Secretary from 1921 to 1927. Chen was also a leading figure in the New Culture Movement (c. 1915–1922) and May Fourth Movement of 1919, which significantly influenced China's intellectual and political landscape...

Zhou Enlai was a Chinese statesman, diplomat, and revolutionary who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China from October 1949 until his death in January 1976. Zhou served under Chairman Mao Zedong and aided the Communist Party in rising to power, later helping consolidate its control, form its foreign policy, and develop the Chinese economy.