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Once a reputed Japanese martial artist and wrestler, Antonio Inoki grew up in Brazil, where he won several contests of shot put, discus, and javelin. At 17, he went to the Japanese Wrestling Association and was mentored by Rikidōzan. He later established the New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Masaru Emoto was a Japanese author, businessman, and pseudo-scientist. He is best remembered for his New York Times bestseller book The Hidden Messages in Water in which he claimed that thought can influence the molecular structure of water. He also served as the president emeritus of a non-profit organization called International Water For Life Foundation.
Japanese actor Tadanobu Satō, better known as Tadanobu Asano, had begun his acting career at 16, with the show Kimpachi Sensei, at his father’s insistence. He later gained critical acclaim with roles in films such as Maborosi and Fried Dragon Fish. He has also sung for the band Mach 1.67.
Phyllis Ayame Whitney was an American writer best remembered for writing mystery novels. Dubbed the Queen of the American Gothics, Whitney won an Edgar Award for her book The Mystery of the Haunted Pool in 1961. In 1988, she was honored with the Grand Master Award by the Mystery Writers of America for her overall contribution.
Apart from being a politician, Christopher Bland was also a successful entrepreneur and headed various organizations, such as the Independent Television Authority, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and British Telecommunications. Once an Olympic fencer for Ireland, the Oxford alumnus later also owned a vineyard and penned a novel.
Miri Yu is a Zainichi Korean novelist, playwright, and essayist. Although she is a citizen of South Korea, Miri Yu writes in her native language, Japanese. Over the course of her career, Miri Yu has won several prestigious awards like the Noma literary prize and Akutagawa Prize. Many of her works, including Tokyo Ueno Station, have been translated into English.
Keiiti Aki was a Japanese-American professor, mentor, author, and seismologist. He is best remembered for teaching Geophysics at the University of Southern California and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Over the course of his career, Keiiti Aki received several prestigious awards, including the William Bowie Medal and the Thorarinsson Medal.
