Born and raised in Tokyo and moving to the U.S. in 2001, Yoshi was
previously a successful businessman in Tokyo, but he decided to become
an actor inspired by renown actors such as Daniel Day-Lewis and Mifune
Toshiro (with love of classic samurai films). Along with lead roles in
independent films, he was cast in Clint Eastwood's Oscar-nominated
film, Letters from Iwo Jima (2006), quickly establishing himself as a
promising bi-cultural actor able to perform in Japanese, or English
language films with equal skill. Yoshi began his martial arts study as
a youth in Japan, and is continuing his training under the intensive
tutorship of Shinkendo master Obata Toshishiro.
Graduated from Japan's Ivy League Sophia University with a Degree in International Relations. Earned full scholarship from his High
School in Yokohama finished in the top 1% grades among 900 students.
Earned 2nd place in the English proficiency test at Kanagawa
prefecture, Japan.