Anime director Hayao Miyazaki is among Time’s 100 most influential people of 2024, according to a list published by the U.S. magazine Wednesday.
Three other Japanese people are also on the list. They are sociologist Chizuko Ueno, Katsuhiko Hayashi, professor at Osaka University, and Yale University professor Akiko Iwasaki.
Miyazaki, who won his second Oscar last month, was described as a “one-of-a-kind creator” in the magazine.
On Ueno, the magazine said her “books have propelled feminist ideas into mainstream Chinese society, a rare bright spot amid worsening political repression.”
Referring to Hayashi, the magazine said his work on reproductive biology “offers hope to those with infertility problems or same-sex couples who one day wish to have biological children.”
The magazine said immunologist Iwasaki’s “expertise in innate immunity … is providing key insights into long COVID.”
The magazine annually selects 100 people from various fields, including politics, the arts and academia. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was included in the 2023 list, while Major League Baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani and tennis player Naomi Osaka appeared in the 2021 list.