Famous People Born In Kobe

Shinji Kagawa is a Japanese footballer who plays as a midfielder. He has the distinction of having played for top-notch European football clubs, such as Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund. Known for agility on the field, Shinji Kagawa is currently part of the Greek club, PAOK Thessaloniki, after his contract with Spanish team, Zaragoza, was terminated. 

Japanese-American actor Makoto Iwamatsu, or Mako, is remembered for his Academy Award- and Golden Globe-nominated role of Po-Han in The Sand Pebbles. He also appeared in Conan the Barbarian, Conan the Destroyer, and Seven Years in Tibet. He delivered a Tony-nominated performance in Pacific Overtures and co-founded East West Players.

Richard T. Jones is an American actor known for playing important roles in films like Full Court Miracle, The Wood, and Why Did I Get Married? Apart from being an actor, Richard T. Jones is also a preacher/minister and often appears in Christian drama films, such as A Question of Faith.

Kiyoshi Kurosawa is a Japanese film director and film critic. He is also a professor at Tokyo University of the Arts. Interested in filmmaking from a young age,he received his training under prominent film critic Shigehiko Hasumi before beginning his career. He has worked in numerous genres and is best known for his many contributions to the Japanese horror genre. 

Jared Taylor is a white supremacist who is credited with founding an online magazine named American Renaissance for which he serves as the editor. He also serves as the president of New Century Foundation, the magazine's parent organization, through which he has published many of his books. Over the years Jared Taylor has been accused of propagating racist ideologies.

Apart from serving as the governor of Tokyo, Japanese right-wing politician Shintaro Ishihara has also been an accomplished writer. He wrote the Akutagawa Prize-winning novel Season of the Sun when he was still in school and later contributed to various plays and screenplays, too.

Hiroshi Mikitani is a Japanese writer and businessman. He is best known as the founder of the popular online retailing and electronic commerce company, Rakuten Group, Inc., where he also serves as the CEO. Hiroshi Mikitani also serves as the president of Crimson Group.

A Japanese Christian social reformer, Toyohiko Kagawa was educated at the Princeton Theological Seminary in the US and later spearheaded the Friends of Jesus band in Japan, encouraging compassion for the poor and women’s suffrage. His written work is preserved in the 24-volume Kagawa Toyohiko Zenshu.

Takako Doi was a prominent Japanese politician who became the first female Lower House Speaker in Japan. She was also the country’s first female Opposition Leader. She became a member of the Japan Socialist Party (JSP) in 1969 and rose through the ranks with time. She was a popular politician and retired in 2005.

Best known for his war novel Zone of Emptiness, which is now hailed as a classic, Hiroshi Noma was also drawn toward Symbolism in his youth. After graduating in French literature, he was involved in student and labor movements and later also fought in World War II.