Mizuho Fukushima
Mizuho Fukushima campaigning in Shinjuku, Tokyo, June 24, 2010
Chair of the Social Democratic Party
Incumbent
Assumed office 2003
Preceded by	Takako Doi
Special Advisor to the Prime Minister for Consumers and Food safety
In office September 16, 2009 – May 28, 2010
Prime Minister	Yukio Hatoyama
Preceded by	Position Established
Special Adviser to the Prime Minister for Low birth rate
In office September 16, 2009 – May 28, 2010
Prime Minister	Yukio Hatoyama
Preceded by	Position Established
Special Advisor to the Prime Minister for Sex Equality
In office September 16, 2009 – May 28, 2010
Prime Minister	Yukio Hatoyama
Preceded by	Position Established
Personal details
Born	(1955-12-24) 24 December 1955 (age 56) Nobeoka, Miyazaki, Japan
Political party	Social Democratic Party
Occupation	lawyer[1]

Mizuho Fukushima (福島 瑞穂, Fukushima Mizuho^?, born 24 December 1955 in Miyazaki Prefecture) is a Japanese politician. She has been a member of the House of Councillors since 1998,^[2] was re-elected in 2004 and 2010,^[1] and is the current chair of the Social Democratic Party of Japan, a position she has held since 2003.^[3]

Fukushima was also Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Food Safety, Social Affairs, and Gender Equality in Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's cabinet (16 September 2009- 28 May 2010); the SDP was the junior partner in the DPJ-led government coalition. However, in May 2010 disagreements over the issue of the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma led to the sacking of Fukushima from the cabinet on Friday May 28, and the SDP subsequently voted to leave the ruling coalition.^[4]

Fukushima's Social Democratic Party has an anti-nuclear platform, and she has been referred to as a prominent anti-nuclear activist. For three decades, she was at the forefront of an often futile fight against the utilities that operated Japan's nuclear reactors, the corporations that built them and the bureaucrats who enabled them. That situation changed with the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in March 2011.^[5]

She has opposed capital punishment on the SDP website.^[6]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website (Japanese)
• Official blog (Japanese)

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Michio Kaku (加来 道雄, Kaku Michio^?, born January 24, 1947) is an American theoretical physicist, the Henry Semat Professor of Theoretical Physics in the City College of New York of City University of New York, a co-founder of string field theory,^[1] a futurist, and a "communicator" and "popularizer" of science. He has written several books about physics and related topics; he has made frequent appearances on radio, television, and film; and he writes extensive online blogs and articles. He has written two New York Times best sellers, Physics of the Impossible (2008) and Physics of the Future (2011). He has hosted several TV specials for BBC-TV, the Discovery Channel, and the Science Channel.

Early life and education[link]

Kaku was born in San Jose, California to Japanese immigrant parents. His grandfather came to the United States to take part in the clean-up operation after the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake^{[citation needed]}. His father was born in California but was educated in Japan and spoke little English. Both his parents were put in the Tule Lake War Relocation Center, where they met and where his two brothers were born.

At Cubberley High School in Palo Alto, Kaku assembled an atom smasher in his parents' garage for a science fair project.^[2] At the National Science Fair in Albuquerque, New Mexico, he attracted the attention of physicist Edward Teller, who took Kaku as a protégé, awarding him the Hertz Engineering Scholarship. Kaku graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University in 1968 and was first in his physics class. He attended the Berkeley Radiation Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley and received a Ph.D. in 1972, and in 1972 he held a lectureship at Princeton University.

During the Vietnam War, Kaku completed his U.S. Army basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia and his advanced individual training at Fort Lewis, Washington.^[3] However, the Vietnam War ended before he was deployed as an infantryman.

Academic career[link]

Kaku became a visiting professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton,^[4] and New York University.^[5] He currently holds the Henry Semat Chair and Professorship in theoretical physics at the City College of New York.^[6]

Kaku has had over 70 articles published in physics journals such as Physical Review, covering topics such as superstring theory, supergravity, supersymmetry, and hadronic physics.^[7] In 1974, along with Prof. Keiji Kikkawa of Osaka University, he authored the first papers describing string theory in a field form.^[8][9]

Kaku is the author of several textbooks on string theory and quantum field theory.

Popular science[link]

Kaku is most widely known as a popularizer of science.^[10] He has written books and appeared on many television programs as well as film. He also hosts a weekly radio program.

Books[link]

Kaku is the author of various popular science books.

• Hyperspace (1994)
• Beyond Einstein (with Jennifer Thompson) (1995)
• Visions: How Science Will Revolutionize the 21st Century^[11] (1998)
• Einstein's Cosmos (2004)
• Parallel Worlds (2004)
• Physics of the Impossible (2008)
• Physics of the Future (2011)

Hyperspace was a best-seller and was voted one of the best science books of the year by both The New York Times^[10] and The Washington Post. Parallel Worlds was a finalist for the Samuel Johnson Prize for non-fiction in the UK.^[12]

Radio[link]

Kaku is the host of the weekly, one-hour radio program Explorations, produced by the Pacifica Foundation's WBAI in New York. "Explorations" is syndicated to community and independent radio stations and makes previous broadcasts available on the program's website. Kaku defines the show as dealing with the general topics of science, war, peace, and the environment.

In April 2006, Kaku began broadcasting Science Fantastic on 90 commercial radio stations, the only nationally syndicated science program on commercial radio in the United States. It is syndicated by Talk Radio Network and now reaches 130 radio stations and America's Talk on XM. The program is formatted as a live listener call-in show, focusing on "futurology," which he defines as the future of science.^{[citation needed]} Featured guests include Nobel laureates and top researchers on the topics of string theory, time travel, black holes, gene therapy, aging, space travel, artificial intelligence, and SETI. When Kaku is busy filming for television, Science Fantastic goes on hiatus, sometimes for several months. Kaku is also a frequent guest on many programs, where he is outspoken in all areas and issues he considers of importance, such as the program Coast to Coast AM, where on 30 November 2007, he reaffirmed his belief that there is a 100% probability of extraterrestrial life in the universe.^[13]

Kaku has appeared on The Opie and Anthony Show a number of times, discussing popular fiction such as Back to The Future, Lost, and the theories behind time-travel that these and other fictional entertainment focus on.

Television and film[link]

Kaku has appeared in many forms of media and on many programs and networks, including Good Morning America, The Screen Savers, Larry King Live, 60 Minutes, Nightline, 20/20, Naked Science, CNN, ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, Al Jazeera English, Fox News Channel, The History Channel, Conan, The Science Channel, The Discovery Channel, TLC, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, The Colbert Report, The Art Bell Show and its successor, Coast To Coast AM, BBC World News America, The Opie & Anthony Show, The Covino & Rich Show, Head Rush, The Late Show with David Letterman, and Real Time with Bill Maher.

In 1999, Kaku was one of the scientists profiled in the feature-length film Me and Isaac Newton, directed by Michael Apted. It played theatrically in the United States, was later broadcast on national TV, and won several film awards.^{[citation needed]}

In 2005, Kaku appeared in the short documentary Obsessed & Scientific. The film is about the possibility of time travel and the people who dream about it. It screened at the Montreal World Film Festival and a feature film expansion is in development talks. Kaku also appeared in the ABC documentary UFOs: Seeing Is Believing, in which he suggested that while he believes it is extremely unlikely that extraterrestrials have ever actually visited Earth, we must keep our minds open to the possible existence of civilizations a million years ahead of us in technology, where entirely new avenues of physics open up. He also discussed the future of interstellar exploration and alien life in the Discovery Channel special Alien Planet as one of the multiple speakers who co-hosted the show, and Einstein's Theory of Relativity on The History Channel.

In February 2006, Kaku appeared as presenter in the BBC-TV four-part documentary Time which seeks to explore the mysterious nature of time. Part one of the series concerns personal time, and how we perceive and measure the passing of time. The second in the series deals with cheating time, exploring possibilities of extending the lifespan of organisms. The geological time covered in part three explores the ages of the earth and the sun. Part four covers the topics of cosmological time, the beginning of time and the events that occurred at the instant of the big bang.

On January 28, 2007, Kaku hosted the Discovery Channel series 2057. This three-hour program discussed how medicine, the city, and energy could change over the next 50 years.

In 2008, Kaku hosted the three-hour BBC-TV documentary Visions of the Future, on the future of computers, medicine, and quantum physics, and he appeared in several episodes of the History Channel's Universe series.

On December 1, 2009, he began hosting a 12-episode weekly TV series for the Science Channel at 10 pm, called Sci Fi Science: Physics of the Impossible, based on his best-selling book. Each 30-minute episode discusses the scientific basis behind imaginative schemes, such as time travel, parallel universes, warp drive, star ships, light sabers, force fields, teleportation, invisibility, death stars, and even superpowers and flying saucers. Each episode includes interviews with the world's top scientists working on prototypes of these technologies, interviews with science fiction fans, clips from science fiction movies, and special effects and computer graphics. Although these inventions are impossible today, the series discusses when these technologies might become feasible in the future.^[14]

In 2010, he began to appear in a series on the website Gametrailers.com called Science of Games, discussing the scientific aspects of various popular video games such as Mass Effect 2 and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.

Kaku is popular in mainstream media because of his knowledge and his accessible approach to presenting complex subjects in science. While his technical writings are confined to theoretical physics, his public speaking and media appearances cover a broad range of topics, from the Kardashev scale to more esoteric subjects such as wormholes and time travel. In January 2007, Kaku visited Oman. While there, he talked at length to select members of that country's decision makers. In an interview with local media, Dr Kaku elaborated on his vision of mankind's future. Kaku considers climate change and terrorism as serious threats in man's evolution from a Type 0 civilization to Type 1.^[15]

He is pictured in Symphony of Science's newest song (as of September 6, 2011), 'The Quantum World.'

On October 11, 2010, Michio Kaku appeared in the BBC program "What Happened Before the Big Bang" (along with Laura Mersini-Houghton, Andrei Linde, Roger Penrose, Lee Smolin, Neil Turok, and other notable cosmologists and physicists), where he propounded his theory of the universe created out of nothing.^[16]

Social policy advocacy[link]

Kaku has publicly stated his concerns over matters including the anthropogenic cause of global warming, nuclear armament, nuclear power and the general misuse of science.^[17] He was critical of the Cassini–Huygens space probe because of the 72 pounds (33 kg) of plutonium contained in the craft for use by its radioisotope thermoelectric generator. Conscious of the possibility of casualties if the probe's fuel were dispersed into the environment during a malfunction and crash as the probe was making a 'sling-shot' maneuver around earth, Kaku publicly criticized NASA's risk assessment.^[18] He has also spoken on the dangers of space junk and called for more and better monitoring. Kaku is generally a vigorous supporter of the exploration of outer space, believing that the ultimate destiny of the human race may lie in extrasolar planets; but he is critical of some of the cost-ineffective missions and methods of NASA.

Kaku credits his anti-nuclear war position to programs he heard on the Pacifica Radio network, during his student years in California. It was during this period that he made the decision to turn away from a career developing the next generation of nuclear weapons in association with Edward Teller and focused on research, teaching, writing and media.^{[citation needed]} Kaku joined with others such as Helen Caldicott, Jonathan Schell, Peace Action and was instrumental in building a global anti-nuclear weapons movement that arose in the 1980s, during the administration of U.S. President Ronald Reagan.

Kaku was a board member of Peace Action and on the board of radio station WBAI-FM in New York City where he originated his long running program, Explorations, that focused on the issues of science, war, peace and the environment.

His remark from an interview in support of SETI, "We could be in the middle of an intergalactic conversation...and we wouldn't even know.", is used in the third Symphony of Science installment "Our Place in the Cosmos".

Personal life[link]

Kaku is married to Shizue Kaku and has two daughters.^[19]

Bibliography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Michio Kaku

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More spoken articles

• Official website
• Michio Kaku on Twitter
• Getting Physical: Dr. Michio Kaku Explains Einstein's Genius
• Russia Takes Aim at Asteroids, op-ed on asteroid defense, Wall St. Journal, Jan. 5, 2010
• The Skeptics' Guide To The Universe interview
• Michio Kaku at the Internet Movie Database
• Michio Kaku on National Public Radio
• About Michio Kaku
• Video: Michio Kaku discusses Physics of the Future on March 23, 2011, on Forum Network.
• In Depth interview with Kaku, October 3, 2010

Tomoko Kawakami (川上 とも子, Kawakami Tomoko^?, born 川上 倫子, April 25, 1970 – June 9, 2011) was a Japanese voice actress from Tokyo. Having graduated from the Toho Gakuen School of Music, Kawakami was affiliated with Production Baobab at the time of her death.

Career[link]

Kawakami debuted in 1994 as a role of a boy in Metal Fighter Miku. Her first regular performance was in 1995 as Chiriko in Fushigi Yuugi. Two years after, she landed her first starring voice role as Utena Tenjou in Revolutionary Girl Utena. Aside from Chiriko and Utena, her famous roles are in Air (Misuzu Kamio), Bleach (Soifon), Chrono Crusade (Rosette Christopher), Hikaru no Go (Hikaru Shindou) and Sgt. Frog (Fuyuki Hinata).

Kawakami provided voices for young boys, girls and comical characters. The best-known genre of her roles are tomboyish characters (Soifon, Utena Tenjou). With such a powerful voice, she was often affiliated in paranormal and yuri-themed anime. She also made her name voicing the heroine in the Harukanaru Toki no Naka de series, based from the Neoromance game with the same title produced by Koei in 1996.

Illness and death[link]

In August 2008, Kawakami was diagnosed with ovarian cancer,^[1] which required surgery. She took 20 months of sick leave. During this time, most of her ongoing roles were replaced by other voice actresses, although Kawakami was able to do some voice work during her illness.^[2] Kawakami died on June 9, 2011 at the age of 41.^[3]

Voice roles[link]

Television animation[link]

Lead and major characters in bold

• Air - Misuzu Kamio
• Amaenaideyo!! - Sumi Ikuina
• A Little Snow Fairy Sugar - Sugar
• Angelic Layer - Madoka Fujisaki
• Aria series - Athena Glory
• Ashita no Nadja - Shudefan
• Battle Athletes Victory - Chris Christopher
• Best Student Council - Cyndi Manabe
• Betterman - Sēme
• Bleach - Soifon (Episode 24 - 205)
• Brave Story: New Traveler- Yuno
• Bucky - The Incredible Kid - Pink
• Cardcaptor Sakura - Rika Sasaki
• Chrono Crusade - Rosette Christopher
• Clannad - Girl from the Illusionary World
• Cyborg 009 - Cynthia
• Darker than BLACK - Amber
• Dear Boys - Yukiko Kawasaki
• Descendants of Darkness - Kazusa Otonashi
• Detective School Q - Kazuma Narusawa
• Di Gi Charat Nyo! - Chibi Akari, Kareida-san
• Doki Doki School Hours - Akane Kobayashi
• Elfen Lied - Mariko
• F-Zero GP Legend - Sasuke Reina
• Fullmetal Alchemist - Kyle (in episode 9)
• Fushigi Yūgi, Fushigi Yūgi Oni, and Fushigi Yūgi Eikoden - Chiriko
• Gakuen Heaven - Satoshi Umino
• Gaiking - Lulu
• Genesis of Aquarion - Futaba
• Great Teacher Onizuka - Hoshino (in episode 28)
• Ghost Stories (anime) - Satsuki Miyanoshita
• Godannar - Luna
• Harukanaru Toki no Naka de - Akane Motomiya
• Hikaru no Go - Hikaru Shindō
• I'm Gonna Be An Angel! - Noelle
• Jigoku Shōjo - Yoshimi Kuroda (in episode 1)
• Jinki: Extend - Elnie Tachibana
• Kanon - Sayuri Kurata
• Kara no Kyōkai - Ryougi Shiki (Drama CD)
• Magical Project S - Konoha Haida/Funky Connie
• Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple - Miu Fūrinji
• Martian Successor Nadesico - Eri, Ai
• MegaMan NT Warrior - Princess Pride
• Mirmo! - Wakaba
• Mon Colle Knights - Fearī
• NieA 7 - Kāna
• Nodame Cantabile - Elise (main story in anime), Puririn (Purigorota)
• One Piece - Amanda
• Orphen: Revenge - Licorice Nelson
• Paranoia Agent - Heroin
• Piano: The Melody of a Young Girl's Heart - Yūki Matsubara
• Pokémon - Ayame, Takami, Hikari's Mimirol, Pokédex (Sinnoh region)
• Popotan - Mai Konami
• Rune Soldier - Merrill
• Revolutionary Girl Utena - Utena Tenjō
• Saiyuki Reload series - Lirin
• Saru Get You -On Air- - Natsumi
• Sgt. Frog - Fuyuki Hinata (Episode 1 + 231)
• Shaman King - Pirika, Mini Mongomeri
• Steel Angel Kurumi - Eiko Kichijōji
• Tactics- Yōko
• The Law of Ueki - Ai Mori
• The Twelve Kingdoms - Rangyoku
• The World of Narue - Ran Tendō
• Those Who Hunt Elves - Annette, Emily
• Those Who Hunt Elves 2 - Annette, Pichi
• Tokyo Mew Mew - Ayano Uemura (in episode 28)
• Touch: Miss Lonely Yesterday - Kōchi
• Trinity Blood - Elise Wasmeyer (in episode 8)
• Uta Kata - Satsuki Takigawa
• Yakitate!! Japan - Princess Anne (episode 31)

Movies[link]

• Air - Misuzu Kamio
• Bleach: Memories of Nobody - Soifon
• Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion - Soifon
• Lupin; Alcatraz Connection - Monica
• InuYasha the Movie: Affections Touching Across Time- Hari
• Keroro Gunso the Super Movie - Fuyuki Hinata
• Keroro Gunso the Super Movie 2: The Deep Sea Princess - Fuyuki Hinata
• Keroro Gunso the Super Movie 3: Keroro vs. Keroro Great Sky Duel - Fuyuki Hinata
• Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Adolescence of Utena - Utena Tenjō

Video games[link]

• Air - Misuzu Kamio
• Ape Escape - Natalie/Natsumi
• Bleach: Blade Battlers 2 - Soifon
• Bleach: Heat The Soul 3 - Soifon
• Bleach: Heat the Soul 4 - Soifon
• Bleach: Shattered Blade - Soifon
• Brave Story: New Traveler - Yuno
• Growlanser II: The Sense of Justice - Charlone Claudius
• King of Fighters - May Lee (The King of Fighters)
• Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil - Lolo
• Never7 - Yuka Kawashima
• Radiant Silvergun - Reana
• Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal - Sasha
• SD Gundam G Generation - Kay Nimrod
• Sengoku Basara - Itsuki
• Skies of Arcadia - Aika
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Fushigisou (Ivysaur)
• Tales of Destiny 2 - Nanaly Fletch
• The Law of Ueki: Taosu ze Roberuto Juudan! - Ai Mori
• The Legend of Dragoon - Meru^[4]
• Tokimeki Memorial: Girl's Side (Konami Palace Selection) - Fujii Natsumi
• Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side 1st Love - Fujii Natsumi
• Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side: 1st Love Plus - Fujii Natsumi
• Viper F40 - Raika
• Viper CTR - Miki

Dubbing roles[link]

• Shirt Tales - Pammy Panda

References[link]

1. ^ 声優の川上とも子さんが卵巣がんで死去. ORICHON news. 2011-06-10
2. ^ Masutō, Tatsuya (March 5, 2009). "佐藤順一総監督 ロング・インタビュー [Long Interview with Junichi Sato, the General Director]" (in Japanese). Kinema Junpo (Tokyo, Japan: Kinema-Junpo) 1528 (March 2009): 140. 
3. ^ "Utena Voice Actress Tomoko Kawakami Passes Away". Anime News Network. June 10, 2011. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-06-10/utena-voice-actress-tomoko-kawakami-passes-away. Retrieved June 10, 2011. 
4. ^ "The Legend of Dragoon (1999)(VG)". IMDb. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0255319/fullcredits#cast. Retrieved June 11, 2011. 

Sources[link]

• Nakagami, Yoshikatsu. "The Official Art of AIR" (October 2007), Newtype USA. pgs. 135–41

External links[link]

• Tomoko Kawakami at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia