51 Japanese motorcycle racers

Norifumi "Norick" Abe , or Norick Abe (ノリック・アベ) was a Japanese professional motorcycle road racer who was previously a 500 cc/MotoGP rider. He died in a road traffic accident in October 2007.

Kousuke Akiyoshi is a Japanese motorcycle road racer. He is a two-time champion in the All-Japan Superbike Championship, and has competed sporadically in the MotoGP World Championship.

Hiroshi Aoyama is a Japanese retired Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He is the older brother of former 250cc and World Superbike rider, Shuhei Aoyama.

Shuhei Aoyama is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He is the younger brother of MotoGP rider Hiroshi Aoyama.

Takahisa Fujinami , nicknamed Fujigas, is a retired Japanese motorcycle trials rider. Fujinami competed in motorcycle trial riding from a young age and became a FIM world champion in 2004. Fujinami retired from trial riding after the 2021 TrialGP season to take up the role of team manager of the Repsol Honda Trial Team; his seat will be taken by Gabriel Marcelli who will ride for the team from 2022 onward.

Noriyuki Haga is a Japanese former professional motorcycle racer. He won 43 world championship superbike races during a 25 year racing career, making him one of the most accomplished competitors never to have won a Superbike World Championship. Haga was the runner-up in the championship three times and, four times finished in third place. His 43 victories ranks fourth all time in the history of the Superbike World Championship behind Jonathan Rea, Carl Fogarty and Troy Bayliss. Haga ranks third behind Troy Corser and Tom Sykes in career World Superbike race starts with 313. He last competed in the 2018 CIV Supersport 600 Championship, aboard a Yamaha YZF-R6.

Toshiyuki Hamaguchi is a Japanese motorcycle racer who has won the 600cc Supersports class of the FIM Asian Grand Prix Championship six times: in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2008.

Tetsuya Harada is a Japanese former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He was the 1993 FIM 250cc World Champion.

Kazuyoshi Hoshino is a Japanese former racing driver and businessman.

Shinichi Ito born December 7, 1966 in Kakuda, Miyagi, Japan) is a retired professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He has raced extensively in Japanese and International championships. Ito has competed in the All Japan Road Race Championship, and won the Japanese 500 cc Championship, and is also 3 times Japanese Superbike Champion. In the prestigious Suzuka 8 Hour Endurance Race he has qualified on pole 5 times and won the race 3 times. Ito has also raced in Superbike World Championship. His considerable experience on different types of racing machine has earned him a reputation as a premier development rider.

Mitsuo Itoh was a Grand Prix motorcycle road racer from Japan.

Yukio Kagayama is a Japanese professional motorcycle road racer. He began his motorcycle racing career competing in the Japanese national championships before racing internationally in Grand Prix motorcycle racing, the Superbike World Championship as well as in the British Superbike Championship. Kagayama raced Suzuki motorcycles for the majority of his career.

Hideo Kanaya was a Japanese professional motorcycle racer and motorcycle racing team manager. He competed in the Grand Prix motorcycle road racing world championships from 1967 to 1975. He dominated Japanese road racing in the early 1970s and was the first Japanese rider to win a world championship 500cc Grand Prix race. Although Kanaya was a competitive racer, he was never allowed to compete in a full season in the world championships as, his main responsibility was as a test rider in Japan.

Yoshimi Katayama was a Japanese professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and auto racer.

Daijiro Kato was a Japanese Grand Prix motorcycle road racer, the 2001 250cc world champion, and the 2000 and 2002 Suzuka 8 Hours winner. He died as a result of injuries sustained after a crash during the 2003 Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix at Suzuka circuit, Japan.

Ryuichi Kiyonari (清成龍一) is a professional motorcycle road racer.

Tomoyoshi 'Tommy' Koyama is a professional motorcycle road racer who currently races in the MFJ All-Japan Road Race ST600 Championship and the Asia Road Race SS600 Championship, riding a Honda CBR600RR.

Hiromichi Kunikawa is a Japanese motorcycle racer. At national level he has competed in the GP250 and ST600 classes of the MFJ All Japan Road Race Championship. In 2010 he was signed by Bimota M Racing to replace Niccolò Canepa for the last races of the Moto2 World Championship season. In 2016 he made a wild card appearance in the Supersport World Championship; in 2017 he competed in the first five European rounds of the same series aboard a Honda CBR600RR.

Kazuki Masaki is a Japanese former motorcycle racer.

Osamu Miyazaki is a Japanese former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer.

Yasutomo Nagai was a motorcycle road racer, born in Koshigaya, Japan.

Tetsuta Nagashima is a Japanese motorcycle racer. He was the All Japan GP-Mono champion in 2011.

Takaaki Nakagami is a Grand Prix motorcycle racer from Japan, who currently rides for LCR Honda Idemitsu in MotoGP. He won the Japanese Road Race Championship 125cc class in 2006 and J-GP2 class in 2011.

Shinya Nakano is a retired Japanese Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Superbike rider. He is not related to the former Formula One racer Shinji Nakano.

Katsuyuki Nakasuga is a Japanese motorcycle racer. He races a factory Yamaha YZF-R1 in the JSB1000 class of the All Japan Road Race Championship. He has won the Suzuka 8 Hours four times and the JSB1000 championship title ten times.

Kohta Nozane is a Japanese motorcycle racer. In 2021 he races in the Superbike World Championship, aboard a Yamaha YZF-R1. He was the All Japan J-GP2 champion in 2013 and the All Japan JSB1000 champion in 2020.

Ai Ogura is a Japanese motorcycle racer.

Tadayuki 'Taddy' Okada is a Japanese former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He was runner-up in the 1994 250cc and in the 1997 500cc World Championship.

Shizuka Okazaki is a Japanese motorcycle racer. In 2016, she became the first Japanese female rider to compete in a Grand Prix in 21 years. She currently competes aboard a TSR3 Honda in the MFJ All-Japan Road Race J-GP3 Championship.

Hikari Okubo is a Japanese motorcycle racer. He currently competes in the MotoE World Cup aboard an Energica Ego bike with Avant Ajo MotoE. He has also competed in the Supersport World Championship aboard a Honda CBR600RR.

Hiroki Ono is a Japanese Grand Prix motorcycle racer. He competes in the MFJ All Japan Road Race J-GP2 Championship aboard a Suzuki GSX-R600.

Ayumu Sasaki is a Japanese motorcycle racer, currently racing in Moto3 for Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max team.

Taro Sekiguchi is a Japanese motorcycle road racer. He was the MFJ All Japan Road Race GP250 champion in 2001 and the European 250cc champion in 2003.

Masahiro Shimizu is a Japanese former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer.

Yoshikazu Sunako was a Japanese motorcycle racer and racing driver.

Tatsuki Suzuki is a Japanese motorcycle racer, competing in Moto3 for Leopard Racing Team.

Tadahiko Taira is a Japanese former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer.

Kunimitsu Takahashi is a Japanese former professional motorcycle road racer, racing driver, and current owner and team manager of Team Kunimitsu in Super GT. Nicknamed "Kuni-san", he is known as the "father of drifting".

Takumi Takahashi is a Japanese motorcycle racer. He has raced in the All Japan Road Race Championship in the GP125 class, in the GP250 class, where he was champion in 2008, and in the JSB1000 class, where he was champion in 2017. He won the Suzuka 8 Hours in 2010 with Ryuichi Kiyonari and Takaaki Nakagami and in 2013 and 2014 with Michael van der Mark and Leon Haslam. A test rider for Honda Racing Corporation, Takahashi in 2015 made a wild card appearance in his home race in the MotoGP World Championship.

Yuki Takahashi is a Japanese Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He currently races in the All Japan Road Race JSB1000 Championship aboard a Honda CBR1000RR. For 2009 he made his debut in the MotoGP class, with the Scot Racing Honda team but was subsequently dropped by the team after just seven rounds of the 2009 season due to financial issues. Until that point, he had spent his entire career with Honda.

Makoto Tamada (玉田誠) is a former Japanese professional motorcycle racer currently working as a rider instructor in Suzuka Racing School. He is one of the few riders to win races in both MotoGP and Superbike World Championship.

Kaito Toba is a Japanese motorcycle racer.

Shoya Tomizawa was a Japanese motorcycle racer. After a successful career in the All Japan Road Race Championship, he switched to MotoGP and competed in the 250cc class during 2009. In the 2010 season he rode in the newly created Moto2 class. Tomizawa won the first race of the new class, at Losail in Qatar, winning by nearly five seconds from Alex Debón and Jules Cluzel. Tomizawa died after sustaining cranial, thoracic and abdominal trauma at the San Marino Grand Prix.

Noboru "Nobby" Ueda is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He was exclusively a 125 class rider. Ueda began his Grand Prix career with a win in his inaugural race at the 1991 Japanese Grand Prix. His best seasons were in 1994, when he finished second in the 125cc world championship behind Kazuto Sakata and in 1997, when he finished second behind Valentino Rossi.

Tohru Ukawa is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer from Japan.

Akira Watanabe is a Japanese former professional motocross racer and team manager. He competed in the Motocross World Championships from 1975 to 1982. Watanabe is notable for being the first and only Japanese competitor to win an FIM motocross world championship.

Kazuki Watanabe is a Japanese motorcycle racer. He competes in the MFJ All Japan Road Race JSB1000 Championship, aboard a Suzuki GSX-R1000. He has previously competed in the MFJ All Japan Road Race JSB1000 Championship, the MFJ All Japan Road Race GP250 Championship and the MFJ All Japan Road Race J-GP2 Championship, where he was champion in 2012.

Kazuma Watanabe is a Japanese motorcycle racer, competing in the All Japan Road Race JSB1000 Championship aboard a Kawasaki ZX-10R. He has competed in the GP125 and J-GP2 classes of the All Japan Road Race Championship, as well as in the ST600 class, where he was champion in 2013.

Tatsuya Yamaguchi is a Japanese motorcycle racer. He currently races in the MFJ All Japan Road Race Championship JSB1000 class aboard a Honda CBR1000RR. He has also competed in the MFJ All Japan Road Race GP250 Championship, the MFJ All Japan Road Race JSB1000 Championship, the MFJ All Japan Road Race J-GP2 Championship, Asia Road Race SS600 Championship and the MFJ All Japan Road Race ST600 Championship, where he was champion in 2010 and 2011.

The Kawasaki Ninja H2 is a "supercharged supersport" class motorcycle in the Ninja sportbike series, manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, featuring a variable-speed centrifugal-type supercharger. The track-only variant is called Ninja H2R, and it is the fastest and most powerful production motorcycle on the market; it produces a maximum of 310 horsepower (230 kW) and 326 horsepower (243 kW) with ram air. The H2R has 50% more power than the fastest street-legal motorcycles, while the street-legal Ninja H2 has a lower power output of 200 hp (150 kW)–210 hp (160 kW) with ram air.

Wataru Yoshikawa is a Japanese motorcycle rider.