Alumni There are currently more than 600,000
alumni members. According to Japanese media, there are over 3,100 famous individuals known nationwide in Japan who are alumni of Waseda University. Among the
notable alumni of Waseda University have become leading politicians, businessmen, writers, architects, athletes, actors, musicians, scientists, and those that have gained both national and international fame. To develop alumni connections, the Waseda network consists of over 50 alumni groups, or "Tomonkai", on six continents. Among notable alumni are
Masaru Ibuka, co-founder of
Sony;
Shuntaro Furukawa, president of
Nintendo; novelist
Haruki Murakami;
Prime Ministers of Japan Tanzan Ishibashi,
Noboru Takeshita,
Toshiki Kaifu,
Keizō Obuchi,
Yoshirō Mori,
Yasuo Fukuda,
Yoshihiko Noda and
Fumio Kishida; pioneering video artist and experimental filmmaker
Kohei Ando; As mentioned above, notable global alumni of Waseda University include
Lee Byung-chul and
Lee Kun-hee, Chairmen of
Samsung;
Kim Seong-su, former
vice president of
South Korea and founder of
Korea University;
Shin Kyuk-ho, founder of
Lotte Group and builder of one of the world's top five skyscrapers,
Lotte World Tower.
Kim Young-sam, former
President of South Korea who also served as an honorary doctorate and professor; and
Park Tae-joon, former chairman of
POSCO and
Prime Minister of South Korea.
Li Dazhao,
Chen Duxiu,
Zhou Enlai co-founder of the
Chinese Communist Party; Palme d'Or winning director
Shohei Imamura;
Tadashi Yanai, founder and
CEO of
Fast Retailing and the
richest man in Japan;
Chiune Sugihara, Japanese diplomat who rescued 5,558 Jews during the Holocaust;
Shizuka Arakawa,
2006 Olympic Champion figure skater; famed
tanka poet
Hakushū Kitahara;
Doppo Kunikida,
Meiji-era novelist and poet noted as one of the inventors of Japanese
naturalism; former mayor of
Osaka city
Tōru Hashimoto; accomplished
Major League Baseball player
Nori Aoki; and 2014, 2018 two-time Olympic Champion figure skater
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Fumio Kishida •
Fumio Kishida – The 100th and 101st prime minister, Faculty of Law. •
Yasushi Kaneko – Politician, Faculty of Commerce. •
Hiroshi Kawauchi •
Toshiki Kaifu – The 76th and 77th prime minister of Japan, Faculty of Law •
Hirokazu Koreeda – Graduated from the Faculty of Literature, a film director, and has been a professor at Waseda University since 2014. •
Yuji Kuroiwa – Politician. •
Hiroyuki Nagahama – Politician. •
Himeka Nakamoto – Faculty of Human Sciences. Former member of Nogizaka46. •
Shogo Nakamura – Baseball player, Chiba Lotte Marines. •
Kichiemon Nakamura – Kabuki actor. His elder brother, Hakuo Matsumoto, graduated from the Faculty of Drama. •
Reiko Matsushita - Politician. •
Fukushiro Nukaga – Politician. •
Akira Nishino – Former soccer player, led the Japanese team in the Russian World Cup, and currently coaches the Thailand national team. •
Miki Nonaka – Member of Morning Musume. •
Yoshihiko Noda – The 95th prime minister, Faculty of Political Science and Economics. •
Makiko Tanaka – Politician. •
Shuichi Takatori – Politician. •
Ryota Takeda – Politician. •
Noboru Takeshita – The 74th prime minister, Faculty of Commerce •
Noriko Tsuiki – Textile artist, weaver, author, and printmaker •
Demon Kakka – Vocalist of Seikima-II, which originated from a Waseda University folk song club •
Jin Matsubara – Politician. •
Yoshiro Mori – The 85th prime minister, Faculty of Commerce. •
Takeshi Mori – Animation director. •
Tomomi Mochizuki – Animation director. •
Jun Murakami – Professional lyricist, affiliated with the highest level of the Japan Professional Mahjong League. •
Haruki Murakami – Graduated from the Faculty of Literature, a novelist •
Shingo Miyake – Graduated from the Faculty of Political Science and Economics •
Marino Miyata – Winner of the 2009 Miss Japan contest. Gained attention as a high school student when she won Miss Japan. Later active in broadcasting, movies, magazines, and more. Entered Waseda University's Faculty of Political Science and Economics in April 2010, graduated in 2014, and joined the Bank of Japan. •
Satoshi Mitazono – Graduated from the Faculty of Education • – Gravure idol. Graduated from Faculty of Human Sciences in March 2023 with a certification in child-care •
Yosuke Nagai – Founder and Executive Director of
Accept International Faculty Professors who are also Waseda alumni are listed in
italics. •
Yaichi Aizu, poet, scholar of ancient Chinese and Japanese art, and namesake of Aizu Museum •
Tameyuki Amano, economics scholar and educator •
Kohei Ando, professor emeritus of
Cinema •
Yasunobu Fujiwara, scholar of
political science •
Lafcadio Hearn, novelist, literary scholar, professor of
English literature •
Smimasa Idditti (Sumimasa Idichi ), professor of English •
Kenji Imai, architect •
Tokio Kimura, historian •
Kunitake Kume, historian •
Tachu Naito, architect •
Naoyoshi Nakamura, historian •
Haruo Nishihara, law professor, former president •
Takayasu Okushima, law professor, former president • Hajime Ōnishi, philosopher •
Ikuo Ōyama, scholar of political science •
Yaso Saijo, poet •
Masasada Shiozawa, scholar of economics, former president • Sanae Takata, scholar of political science, former president • Ōdō Tanaka, philosopher •
Shoyo Tsubouchi, playwright, critic,
translator, educator, professor of English literature, and namesake of Tsubouchi Memorial Theater Museum •
Sokichi Tsuda, historian, recipient of the
Order of Culture • Kazutami Ukita, scholar of political science • Shujiro Urata, economist • Yoshio Yamanouchi, translator, scholar of
French literature • Akira Yonekura, law professor •
Takamasa Yoshizaka, architect •
Shigeaki Sugeta, linguist
Presidents Principals, de facto presidents (1882–1907) • Hidemaro Ōkuma, 1882–1886 •
Hisoka Maejima, 1886–1890 •
Kazuo Hatoyama, 1890–1907
De facto presidents (1907–1923) • Sanae Takata, 1907–1915 • Tameyuki Amano, 1915–1917 • Yoshiro Hiranuma, 1918–1921 • Masasada Shiozawa, 1921–1923
Presidents • Shigenobu Ōkuma, 1907–1922 • Masasada Shiozawa, 1923 • Sanae Takata, 1923–1931 • Hozumi Tanaka (public finance scholar, Doctor of Laws, 1876–1944), 1931–1944 • Tomio Nakano, 1944–1946 • Koichi Shimada, 1946–1954 • Nobumoto Ōhama, 1954–1966 • Kenichi Abe, 1966–1968 • Tsunesaburo Tokikoyama, 1968–1970 • Sukenaga Murai, 1970–1978 • Tsukasa Shimizu, 1978–1982 • Haruo Nishihara, 1982–1990 • Chūmaru Koyama, 1990–1994 • Takayasu Okushima, 1994–2002 • Katsuhiko Shirai, 2002–2010 • Kaoru Kamata, 2010–2018 • Aiji Tanaka, 2018–present
Trustees •
Ryuhoku Narushima, poet, journalist, and one of the first trustees of Waseda • Azusa Ono (1852–1886), law scholar and one of the first trustees of Waseda
Benefactors Waseda University has had numerous benefactors, including: •
Eiichi Shibusawa, businessman and philanthropist • Ichizaemon Morimura, businessman • Koichiro Kagami, businessman • Kenkichi Kodera, presenter of over thirty-six thousand foreign books to the
Library • Kisaku Maekawa, businessman and philanthropist •
Masaru Ibuka, after whom Masaru Ibuka Auditorium (Hall) is named. • Robert J. Shillman, founder & CEO of
Cognex Corporation, the namesake of Robert Shillman Hall ==See also==