Hirohito, posthumously honored as Emperor Shōwa, was the 124th emperor of Japan, reigning from 1926 until his death in 1989. His reign of over 62 years is the longest of any historical Japanese emperor and one of the longest-reigning monarchs in the world.
Yakuza, also known as gokudō, are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them bōryokudan, while the yakuza call themselves ninkyō dantai. The English equivalent for the term yakuza is gangster, meaning an individual involved in a Mafia-like criminal organization.
Shoko Asahara, born Chizuo Matsumoto, was the founder and leader of the Japanese doomsday cult known as Aum Shinrikyo. He was convicted of masterminding the deadly 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway, and was also involved in several other crimes. Asahara was sentenced to death in 2004, and his final appeal failed in 2011. In June 2012, his execution was postponed due to further arrests of Aum members. He was ultimately executed along with other senior members of Aum Shinrikyo on July 6, 2018.
The Japanese Red Army was a militant communist organization active from 1971 to 2001. It was designated a terrorist organization by Japan and the United States. The JRA was founded by Fusako Shigenobu and Tsuyoshi Okudaira in February 1971, and was most active in the 1970s and 1980s, operating mostly out of Lebanon with PFLP collaboration and funding from Muammar Gaddafi's Libya, as well as Syria and North Korea.
Ishikawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu island. Ishikawa Prefecture has a population of 1,140,573 and has a geographic area of 4,186 km2. Ishikawa Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the east, Gifu Prefecture to the southeast, and Fukui Prefecture to the south.
Yamaguchi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Yamaguchi Prefecture has a population of 1,377,631 and has a geographic area of 6,112 km2. Yamaguchi Prefecture borders Shimane Prefecture to the north and Hiroshima Prefecture to the northeast.
Unit 731, short for Manshu Detachment 731 and also known as the Kamo Detachment and the Ishii Unit, was a covert biological and chemical warfare research and development unit of the Imperial Japanese Army that engaged in lethal human experimentation and biological weapons manufacturing during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) and World War II. It killed an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 people. It was based in the Pingfang district of Harbin, the largest city in the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo and had active branch offices throughout China and Southeast Asia.
The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU), widely known as the Unification Church, is a new religious movement derived from Christianity, whose members are called Unificationists or informally Moonies. Sun Myung Moon (1920–2012) started amassing followers after the Second World War ended and, on 1 May 1954 in Seoul, South Korea, officially founded the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity (HSA-UWC), the Unification Church's full name until 1994. It has a presence in approximately 100 countries around the world. Its leaders are Moon and his wife Hak Ja Han, whom their followers honor with the title "True Parents".
Mitsuhiro Momota, better known as Rikidōzan (力道山), was a Korean-born Japanese wrestler who competed in sumo and professional wrestling. He was known as The Father of Puroresu, and one of the most influential persons in professional wrestling history. Initially, he had moved from his native country Korea to Japan to become a rikishi. He was credited with bringing the sport of professional wrestling to Japan at a time when the Japanese needed a local hero to emulate and was lauded as a national hero. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2017, becoming the first Korean inductee and the third puroresu star to be inducted after Antonio Inoki and Tatsumi Fujinami. He was killed in a street fight with a member of the Sumiyoshi-ikka in 1963.
Fumihito, Crown Prince Akishino is the younger brother and heir presumptive of the emperor of Japan and the younger son of the emperor emeritus and the empress emerita. Since his marriage in June 1990, he has had the title Prince Akishino and has headed his own branch of the imperial family.
Mitsuo Terada, known professionally as Tsunku (つんく♂), is a Japanese singer, record producer, and songwriter. He is the lead singer of the rock band Sharam Q.
The Imperial House, also referred to as the Imperial Family and the House of Yamato, is the royal family of Japan, consisting of those members of the extended family of the reigning Emperor of Japan who undertake official and public duties. Under the present Constitution of Japan, the Emperor is "the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people". Other members of the Imperial Family perform ceremonial and social duties, but have no role in the affairs of government. The duties as an Emperor are passed down the line to their male children. This Japanese monarchy is the oldest continuous hereditary monarchy in the world. The Imperial House recognizes 126 monarchs, beginning with Emperor Jimmu, and continuing up to the current emperor, Naruhito. However, scholars have agreed that there is no evidence of Jimmu's existence, that the traditional narrative of Japan's founding is mythical, and that Jimmu is a mythical figure. Historical evidence for the first 25 emperors is mythical, but there is sufficient evidence of an unbroken hereditary line since the early 6th century. Historically verifiable Emperors of Japan start from AD 539 with Emperor Kinmei.
Mutsuhito, posthumously honored as Emperor Meiji, was the 122nd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. His reign is associated with the Meiji Restoration, a series of rapid changes that witnessed Japan's transformation from an isolationist, feudal state to an industrialized world power.
Akihito is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 1989 until his abdication in 2019. He presided over the Heisei (平成) era, Heisei being an expression of achieving peace worldwide.
Luke Thompson is a retired Japanese rugby union player. He played as a lock and occasional flanker. He was born in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Japan Society is a non-profit organization formed in 1907 to promote friendly relations between the United States and Japan. Its headquarters was designed by Junzo Yoshimura and opened in 1971 at 333 East 47th Street near the United Nations. With a focus on promoting "arts and culture, public policy, business, language, and education", the organization has regularly held events in its many facilities, including a library, art gallery, and theater, since its opening. After suspending all activities during World War II, Japan Society expanded under the leadership of John D. Rockefeller III.
Francois "Faf" de Klerk is a South African professional rugby union player who plays scrum-half for Japan Rugby League One club Yokohama Canon Eagles and the South Africa national team. He was a member of the South Africa team that won the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
