Douglas MacArthur is a major figure in the US military and diplomatic history of WWII and post-WWII. As general of the army, he helped conquer the Japanese Empire and played a major role in rebuilding the nation and drafting its first democ...

Morihei Ueshiba was a famous martial artist and founder of the Japanese martial art of aikido. He is often referred to as Kaiso, meaning "founder", or Osensei, "Great Teacher". Ueshiba is remembered by his pupils as a master of the marti...

Hideki Tojo was a general of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA), the leader of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association, and the 27th Prime Minister of Japan during much of World War II, from October 17, 1941, to July 22, 1944. As Prime Minis...

Hirohito, the Showa Emperor, reigned over Japan from 1926 to 1989. He was known in the West by his given name Hirohito (he had no surname). He was the 124th Emperor of Japan. His reign was the longest of all Japanese emperors, and oversaw t...

Momofuku Ando, born Go Pek-Hok, was an inventor and businessman who founded Nissin Food Products Co., Ltd. He is known as the inventor of instant noodles (ramen noodles) and the creator of the brands Top Ramen and Cup Noodles....

Yokoi was one of the most important figures in the history of the Nintendo video game company. While employed there, Yokoi designed the Game Boy handheld game console and improved the D-Pad, the cross-shaped multi-directional input device f...

Shigeru Miyamoto is a Japanese video game designer and producer. He is best known as the creator of some of the best-selling, most critically acclaimed, most enduring, and most influential games and franchises of all time. Miyamoto join...

Shinya Yamanaka is a Japanese physician and stem cell researcher. In 2006, he and his team generated Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells - from adult mouse fibroblasts. In 2007, he and his team were able to generate Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell...