http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=95

It's an interesting list. It's worth going to the original link as it provides Wiki links to all the names, but here's a plain text version.

100 Matsuo Basho
99 Isaac Newton
98 Akechi Mistuhide
97 Ikkyu
96 Chopin
95 Dazai Osamu
94 Abraham Lincoln
93 Shohei “Giant” Baba
92 Anne Sullivan
91 Honda Soichiro
90 Ferdinand Magellan
89 Natsume Masako
88 Jean Henri Casimir Fabre
87 Confucius
86 Sugita Genpaku
85 Uemura Naomi
86 Honda Minako
83 Joan of Arc
82 Tsuburaya Eiji
81 Andy Hug
80 Yosano Akiko
79 Albert Schweizer
78 Marco Polo
77 Pablo Picasso
76 Ito Hirobumi
75 Christopher Columbus
74 Togo Heihachiro
73 Ogi Akira(Baseball Player)
72 Elvis Presley
71 Tokugawa Mitsukuni
70 Cleopatra
69 Kato Daijiro
68 Cao Cao
67 Sanada Yukimura
66 Sato Eisaku
65 Marie Curie
64 Uesugi Kenshin
63 Kurosawa Akira
62 Jesus Christ
61 Yoshida Shoin
60 Martin Luther King Jr.
59 Katsu Kaishu
58 Wright Brothers
55 Ikariya Chosuke
56 Oishi Kuranosuke
55 Marie-Antoinette
54 Matsuda Yusaku
53 Okita Souji
52 Bruce Lee
51 Tanaka Giichi
50 Date Masamune
49 Sugihara Chiune
48 Charlie Chaplin
47 Sen no Rikyu
46 Ishihara Yujiro
45 Ino Tadataka
44 Himiko
43 Takeda Shingen
42 Okubo Toshimichi
41 Kondo Isami
40 Ninomiya Sontoku
39 John F. Kennedy
38 Miyazawa Kenji
37 Yamamoto Isoroku
36 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
35 Murasaki Shikibu
34 Takasugi Shinsaku
33 Soseki Natsume
32 Mahatma Ghandi
31 Audrey Hepburn
30 Ozaki Yutaka
29 Miyamoto Musashi
28 Zhuge Liang
27 John Lennon
26 Prince Shotoku
25 Napoleon Bonaparte
24 Tezuka Osamu
23 Da Vinci
22 Ayrton Senna
21 Minamoto Yo****sune
20 Ludwig Van Beethoven
19 Walt Disney
18 Yoshida Shigeru
17 Florence Nightengale
16 Anne Frank
15 Fukuzawa Yukichi
14 Misora Hibari
13 Albert Einstein
12 Princess Diana
11 Saigo Takamori
10 Hijikata Toshizo
09 Helen Keller
08 Mother Teresa
07 Noguchi Hideyo
06 Tokugawa Ieyasu
05 Matsu****a Konosuke
04 Hideyoshi Toyotomi
03 Thomas Edison
02 Sakamoto Ryoma
01 Oda Nobunaga

Interesting! But... Princess Diana *roll eyes*

I am interested to see Beethoven so high up there, although I remember that the size of a CD ROM was determined by how much room his Ninth Symphony needed. I guess they really like his music.

I guess the surprising thing to me is seeing so many non-asian people on their list.

Very interesting indeed. I'm going to look up the Japanese/oriental folks that I've not heard of before.

Some of the names on the list are surprising. Ayrton Senna at number 22? I guess autoracing must be popular in Japan.

I was a bit surprised to see Helen Keller, and even more surprised to see Anne Sullivan. I confess to googling Anne Sullivan to see if there was more than the one of Helen Keller fame.

It's a pretty eclectic list.

Turns out only 60ish % of the list are from Japan. And yes Racing is huge in Japan at the moment. Hellen Keller is, apparently, on one of their postage stamps.

I'm guessing you had to be dead to be on the list. Senna, Princess Di, and Lennon are some of the few contemporary figures that died young.

Jesus Christ made the list at #62. I would think it would have been a lower number or not on the list at all.

62 Jesus Christ
27 John Lennon


Lennon has been vindiciated, he is bigger then Jesus (at least in japan!)

Hey I'm surprised that many people said Jesus in the first place. Usually its one of those "goes without saying" or if you do people roll their eyes and give you the 'get real' look.

I found Marie Antoinette to be an interesting addition.

Surprised Walt wasn't lower on the list.

87 Confucius
62 Jesus Christ

Is what surprised me.

Interesting! But... Princess Diana *roll eyes*

I am interested to see Beethoven so high up there, although I remember that the size of a CD ROM was determined by how much room his Ninth Symphony needed. I guess they really like his music.

I guess the surprising thing to me is seeing so many non-asian people on their list.

Yeah, so much for the "Japanese hate westerners." I guess Microsoft will have to come up with another reason their consoles don't sell there.

And yes Racing is huge in Japan at the moment.

I believe it has been for many many years. 22 Ayrton Senna has been dead since the mid 90s. He was the greatest driver to ever get behind the wheel. He probably became a Japenese hero in or about the 92 season when McLaren Honda put the royal smack down on Ferrari ( cry ) after the end of the turbo days.

Pop culture fandom in Japan makes the US version pale in comparison. Calling the fans "rabid" would be a gross understatement. If you hit it big in Japan, they'll be crowding around to have your children for years to come. Many of those on the list are more Pop-centric than historical. I'm actually surprised Michael Jackson didn't make the list, despite all his weirdo tendencies; he's still very popular there. Maybe this last round of boy toy litigation finally killed it.

Diana was extremely popular in Japan. In fact she was pretty much adopted by the populace. As for Jesus, you have to remember that Christianity is on the upswing while Buddism/Shintoism are going down.