35 Sophia University alumni

Jin Akiyama is a Japanese mathematician, known for his appearances on Japanese prime-time television (NHK) presenting magic tricks with mathematical explanations. He is director of the Mathematical Education Research Center at the Tokyo University of Science, and professor emeritus at Tokai University.

Beni Arashiro is a Japanese R&B singer, who debuted in 2004 under the Avex Trax label. In 2008, Arashiro left Avex Trax and transferred to Universal Music Japan where she started to perform as simply Beni.

Agnes Meiling Kaneko Chan is a pop singer, a "foreign television personality", a Doctor of Philosophy, a professor at Japanese universities, an essayist and a novelist. Since 1998, Chan has been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and also supports the Japan Committee for UNICEF.

Crystal Kay Williams is a Japanese singer, songwriter, actress and radio host.

Masayuki Fujio was the Japanese Minister of Education, under the government of Yasuhiro Nakasone until 1986. He was a member of the right-wing Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyūkai faction of the Liberal Democratic Party, where he was described as being a "loyal vassal" to Takeo Fukuda, the founder of the faction.

Kōichirō Genba is a Japanese politician who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2011 to 2012. He is a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet, and was a member to the Democratic Party of Japan and its successor Democratic Party until its merger in 2018. He left the party briefly before the merger, and joined the Group of Independents House of Representatives caucus of other former Democrats a few days later. A native of Tamura, Fukushima and graduate of Sophia University, he was later accepted into the prestigious Matsushita Institute of Government and Management, an institution founded by Panasonic founder Konosuke Matsushita which grooms future civic leaders of Japan. Genba was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in 1993 after serving in the assembly of Fukushima Prefecture for one term. In September 2011 he was chosen as Minister for Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.

Joseph Morris Gersten was an American politician in the state of Florida.

Takuya Hirai is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet. A native of Takamatsu, Kagawa and graduate of Sophia University he was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in 2000 as a member of the New Frontier Party after running unsuccessfully as an independent in 1996. He later joined LDP.

Morihiro Hosokawa is a Japanese politician and noble who was Prime Minister of Japan from 1993 to 1994, leading a coalition government which was the first non-Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) government of Japan since 1955. After a funding scandal in early 1994, he was forced to resign. He later ran unsuccessfully as a candidate for Governor of Tokyo in the February 2014 gubernatorial election as an independent supported by the Democratic Party of Japan. He has been, since 2005, the head of the Kumamoto-Hosokawa clan, one of the noble families of Japan.

Kuniko Inoguchi is a Japanese political scientist and politician. She served as Japan's first Minister of State for Gender Equality and Social Affairs from 2005 to 2006, and is currently a member of the House of Councillors representing Chiba Prefecture for the Liberal Democratic Party.

Inoue Hisashi was a leading Japanese playwright and writer of comic fiction. From 1961 to 1986, he used the pen name of Uchiyama Hisashi.

Mitsuhide Iwaki is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Councillors in the National Diet. A native of Iwaki, Fukushima and graduate of Sophia University with a B.L., he worked at Suntory and served in the city assembly of Iwaki for two terms since 1980, in the assembly of Fukushima Prefecture for two terms from 1986 and as mayor of Iwaki for two terms from 1990. He was elected to the House of Councillors for the first time in 1998.

Hassan Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel is a Saudi businessman and philanthropist. He is Deputy President and Vice Chairman of Saudi Arabia operations of the family-owned international conglomerate business Abdul Latif Jameel, which, among numerous business operations, has distribution rights to Toyota vehicles in Saudi Arabia and other countries. His philanthropy work promotes health and safety, and assists job-seekers and those in need in Saudi Arabia.

Fumiaki Kobayashi is a Japanese politician representing Hiroshima 7th district in the House of Representatives, the lower house of the National Diet, for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

Mao Kobayashi was a Japanese freelance newscaster and actress. She was also one of Fuji TV's weathercasters.

Shoichi Kondo is a Japanese politician of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, and a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet. He is a former member of the Democratic Party (DP), the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), and New Party Sakigake. After he joined the DPJ in 1996, he was elected to the House of Representatives.

Li Linsi ; birth name Li Jiaxiang (厉家祥), was a modern Chinese educator, diplomat and scholar, who has been recognized as one of the key figures in modern Chinese cultural and diplomatic history. Hailed as China's Mahatma Gandhi, Li was the leader of China's nonviolent resistance against Japanese aggression. His military research contributed greatly to China's anti-Japanese war. He was known for his efforts to save hundreds of Jews fleeing to Shanghai during World War II. A diplomatic consultant to Chiang Kai-shek, Li was a key facilitator of the China-Germany relationship during the 1930s, and a major proponent of China's League of Nations diplomacy. He was a co-founder of some of China's most influential organizations, including the China branch of the United Nations and China Institute of World Cultural Cooperation at the League of Nations. Being reputed as a human bridge connecting Chinese and European cultures, Li made a great contribution to helping the West comprehend ancient Chinese philosophies, and introduced many Western progressive thoughts to China. A descendant of Jiang Ziya, the Chinese legendary founding prime minister during the Zhou Dynasty, Li was the fourth great-grandson of Li E, a leader of the Qing Dynasty poetry. His eldest son is Li Shengjiao, a noted Chinese diplomat and jurist. Li died in Shanghai during the Cultural Revolution.

Yoshio Maki is a Japanese politician of the Democratic Party of Japan. He is a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet. A native of Nagoya, Aichi and drop-out of Sophia University, he was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in 2000.

Boyé Lafayette De Mente was an American author, journalist, and adventurer who wrote more than 100 books mainly related to the culture of Japan and the Japanese language. He also wrote widely of East Asia as well as Mexico.

Dato' Seri Utama Mukhriz bin Tun Dr. Mahathir is a Malaysian politician who twice served as the 11th and 13th Menteri Besar of Kedah from May 2013 to February 2016 and again from May 2018 to May 2020. He also served as the Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry in the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration under former Prime Ministers Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Najib Razak as well as former Minister Mustapa Mohamed from March 2008 to May 2013. He has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Jerlun since May 2018, from March 2008 to May 2013 and Member of the Kedah State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Jitra since May 2018 as well as Ayer Hitam from May 2013 to May 2018. He is the third son of Mahathir Mohamad, the 4th, 7th and former Prime Minister of Malaysia. He has been a founding member and 1st President of the Homeland Fighters' Party (PEJUANG) since party foundation in August 2020. He was a founding member, 1st Deputy President and State Chairman of Kedah of the Malaysian United Indigenous Party (BERSATU) from party foundation in September 2016 to his membership termination in May 2020 and too, State Chairman of Kedah of its former coalition, Pakatan Harapan (PH) opposition coalition. He was also a member of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), a component party of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, till he left the party with Mahathir in 2016 to found BERSATU. He is one of the two Menteris Besar of Malaysia who represented two different political parties and coalitions.

Adolfo Nicolás Pachón was a Spanish Jesuit priest of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the 30th Superior General of the Society of Jesus from 2008 to 2016. Before being elected Superior General, he worked primarily in Japan; he taught at Sophia University in Tokyo for twenty years and then headed educational institutions in Manila from 1978 to 1984 and in Tokyo from 1991 to 1993. He led the Jesuits in Japan from 1993 to 1996 and, after four years of pastoral work in Tokyo, led the Jesuits in Asia from 2004 to 2008.

Seiko Noda is a Japanese politician. As of 2005, she is a member of the House of Representatives, serving her fifth term and representing the 1st District of Gifu Prefecture; she was the State Minister in charge of Consumer Affairs. She is a self-described conservative who affiliates herself with the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). She served as the Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications from 3 August 2017 to 2 October 2018. She was a candidate in the 2021 Liberal Democratic Party Leadership Election, however she was eliminated in a run-off, placing fourth in the first round. She was then appointed to the new Cabinet as the Minister-in-charge of Measures against Declining Birthrate on 4 October 2021.

Judy Ongg is a Taiwanese-Japanese singer, actress, author, and woodblock-print artist. Born in Taipei, she graduated from Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan, and after which, she became a naturalized Japanese citizen. Her career has spanned more than four decades.

Dr. Ir. Rizal Ramli, M.A. is an Indonesian politician, economist, and former student activist. Rizal served as Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs under President Joko Widodo's Working Cabinet. He also served under President Abdurrahman Wahid's administration as Chair of the Indonesian Bureau of Logistics (Bulog), Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industry also Minister of Finance in the National Unity Cabinet.

Toshitsugu Saito is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet. A native of Fuji, Shizuoka and graduate of Sophia University, he attended Waseda University for graduate study and business school at the University of Washington in the United States. He was elected for the first time in 1986.

Yukari Satō is a Japanese economist and politician of the Liberal Democratic Party.

Aiko Shimajiri is a Japanese politician, a Liberal Democrat member of the House of Councillors in the Diet who was elected for the first time in 2007 and re-elected in 2010 in Okinawa Prefecture constituency. Shimajiri was appointed the Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs in the cabinet reshuffle on October 7, 2015, and is one of 3 women serving in Shinzo Abe's cabinet.

Peter Seiichi Shirayanagi was a Japanese Cardinal Priest of the Catholic Church and archbishop of Tokyo.

Dave Spector is an American gaijin tarento, television producer, author, and actor based in Japan. Originally from Chicago, he moved to Japan in 1983 after visiting as a producer with the American television program Ripley's Believe It or Not!. He appears regularly as a commentator on several different Japanese television programs, including a Wednesday spot on Fuji TV's daily morning news program Tokudane!, and TBS's weekly Sunday Japon.

Roger Lee Steele Reared in Wichita Falls, Texas was an American-born graphic artist/printmaker living in South Carolina best known for his evocative and colorful lithography, an artistic process also known as relief printing. He was a printmaker specializing in the color-blend or split fountain technique often incorporating traditional chine-collé gold leaf techniques in his work. His abstract color graphics are frequently suggestive of an artistic link between mid-late Japanese motifs and the modern world.

George Takei is an American actor and activist. He is internationally known for his role as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the fictional starship USS Enterprise in the television series Star Trek and subsequent films.

Sumire Uesaka is a Japanese voice actress and singer who is currently affiliated with Voice Kit. She won the Best Rookie Actress at the 10th Seiyu Awards. She made her singing debut in April 2013 under King Records.

Maureen Crane Wartski was a naturalized American author She wrote many novels for children and young adults. Wartski's Eurasian heritage and her deep connection to the natural world inspired many of her novels which address such issues as racism, identity and bullying.

Yūki Yamato is a Japanese screenwriter and director. She has adapted and directed film versions of Hot Gimmick and Drowning Love, and was named Best New Director at the 24th Japan Film Professional Awards. She has also directed music videos for Nogizaka46, Momoiro Clover Z, and Radwimps.

Lydia N. Yu-Jose was a professor of political science and Japanese Studies at the Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines. A graduate of Sophia University, she was best known for her research into the history of Japan–Philippines relations, as well as aiding in the development of Japanese studies in the Philippines as a separate academic discipline.