Kobayashi Keiju

Born in Gunma Prefecture, Kobayashi Keiju originally dropped out of Nihon University to pursue an acting career, making his film debut at Nikkatsu in 1942. His career was interrupted during World War II when he was drafted into the Imperial Army and sent to China.

After the war, he returned to the screen and moved to Toho in 1956, where he found immense popularity as a salaryman archetype in the long-running "Company President" (Shachô) comedy series, often starring alongside Morishige Hisaya.

While famous for comedy, Kobayashi was also a highly respected dramatic actor. He won multiple awards, including Best Actor at the Mainichi Film Concours for his role as Kiyoshi Yamashita in The Naked General (1958). He gave memorable performances as Dr. Tadokoro in the disaster epic Submersion of Japan (1973) and as Prime Minister Mitamura in The Return of Godzilla (1984).

He continued working in film and television until his death from heart failure in 2010.