Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancient times. The area has long been considered the gateway to the country, as it is the nearest point among Japan's main islands to the Asian mainland. Although humans occupied the area since the Jomon period, some of the earliest settlers of the Yayoi period arrived in the Fukuoka area. The city rose to prominence during the Yamato period. Because of the cross-cultural exposure, and the relatively great distance from the social and political centers of Kyoto, Osaka, and later, Edo (Tokyo), Fukuoka gained a distinctive local culture and dialect that has persisted to the present.
Jackie Marie Stiles is an American college basketball coach who was formerly an assistant coach for the University of Oklahoma women's basketball team and at Missouri State University. Stiles set several scoring records while playing shooting guard in college and was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.
Yuichi Komano is a former Japanese professional footballer who last played as a defender. He last played for Japan national team until 2013.
Michelle M. Marciniak is a former All-American collegiate and professional basketball player who played point guard in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). As a floor general, Marciniak competed for two national championships during her three-year career at the University of Tennessee. She led the Tennessee Lady Vols to their 4th National Championship and was named MVP in the 1996 Final Four held in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The Sanix World Rugby Youth Invitational Tournament is an international rugby union tournament for 15-a-side youth teams which is held every year during the Golden Week holidays in Fukuoka prefecture, Japan. Participation is by invitation only, and the overseas schools selected by their respective unions to represent their country are generally expected to be of a high standard and among the top five in each country. The event is hosted by the Japan Rugby Football Union and supported by various local bodies including the Kyushu RFU, the Sanix Sports Foundation and Munakata City. The Global Arena in Munakata, Fukuoka on the island of Kyūshū is the venue for this tournament.
Shuichi Murata is a third baseman for the Tochigi Golden Braves of Baseball Challenge League. Murata led the Central League in home runs in both 2007 and 2008 and is one of the few pure home run hitters in Japanese professional baseball today. He played in the 2008 Beijing Olympics as well as the 2009 World Baseball Classic as a member of the Japanese national team and hit cleanup for much of the latter tournament.
Nana Iwasaka is a retired Japanese volleyball player who plays for Hisamitsu Springs.
Kensuke Nagai is a Japanese football player who plays as a striker for J1 League club Nagoya Grampus.
Shōhōzan Yūya is a Japanese former professional sumo wrestler from Chikujō, Fukuoka. Wrestling for Hanaregoma stable, he made his professional debut in March 2006 and reached the top makuuchi division in November 2011. His highest rank was komusubi, which he achieved on five separate occasions. He earned three Fighting Spirit prizes, five kinboshi or gold stars for defeating yokozuna, and was runner-up in one tournament before retiring from competition in June 2022.
Kaleb Tarczewski is an American professional basketball player for Gunma Crane Thunders of the Japanese B.League. He played college basketball for Arizona. He is a 213-centimeter-tall center.
Daichi Ohsera is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He was the Carp's top pick in the 2013 autumn draft.
Amjyot Singh Gill is an Indian professional basketball player. He has previously played for the Tokyo Excellence of the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) and the Delhi Capitals of the UBA Pro Basketball League. He and Amritpal Singh became the first Indian male to sign a professional basketball contract abroad.
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 Scotland in the 2019 World Cup on 13 October 2019; a victory that saw Japan reach the competition's knockout stage for the first time. In 2021, he entered the Medical school of Juntendo University for professional doctor career.
Kobe Lorenzo Forster Paras is a Filipino professional basketball player who last played for Altiri Chiba of the B2 League. Listed at 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) and 200 pounds (91 kg), he plays the small forward position. He has been a member of the Philippine national team and the national 3x3 team.
Rui Hachimura is a Japanese professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs and has played for the Japan national team. He plays both the small forward and power forward positions. After being selected ninth overall by the Washington Wizards in the 2019 NBA draft, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team in 2020.
Marcus Johnny Rashaan Keene is an American basketball player who last played for Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association. He gained national prominence in 2016–17 season as a redshirt junior while at Central Michigan University, having been profiled by Sports Illustrated, the NCAA, and ESPN because of his prolific scoring ability. Keene is a 5'9" point guard who averaged 30.0 points per game his junior year at Central Michigan, the highest average in NCAA Division I men's basketball that season.
Eric Jacobsen is an American professional basketball player for Ibaraki Robots of the B.League. The Arizona-born big man played four years of college basketball for Arizona State before starting his professional career in 2016.
Carsen Cade Edwards is an American professional basketball player for Bayern Munich of the German Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the Purdue Boilermakers, where he was twice named an All-American.
Benjamin Ethan Lawson is a British professional basketball player who plays for the Fukui Blowinds of the B.League in Japan. He played college basketball for Western Kentucky. Standing at 7 ft 1 in, Lawson plays the power forward / center positions.
Bryce Washington is an American professional basketball player for Rizing Zephyr Fukuoka of the B.League. He played college basketball for the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where he earned a spot in the First-team All-Sun Belt Conference in 2018.
