| Takamasa Sakurai | |
| Native Name: | 櫻井 孝昌 |
| Native Name Lang: | ja |
| Birth Date: | 19 December 1965 |
| Birth Place: | Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan |
was a Japanese pop culture and anime expert. Sakurai was a strong proponent for the promotion of Japanese popular culture internationally as a means of cultural exchange and cultural diplomacy.[1] His projects promoted Japanese anime, fashion and music to a global audience. In 2009, Sakurai co-founded the Ministry of Foreign Affairs's "Kawaii Ambassador" program.[1] He also authored several books on the country's aesthetics and pop culture, including "Sekai Kawaii Kakumei" ("World Cuteness Revolution") and Anime Bunka Gaiko (Anime Cultural Diplomacy).[1] [2]
On December 4, 2015, Sakurai was killed when he fell onto the tracks at the Nishi-Nippori Station of the Keihin-Tōhoku Line in Arakawa, Tokyo, around 12:30 a.m.[1] Sakurai, who was 49-years old, may have been intoxicated at the time of the accident.[1] He had lived in the nearby Higashi-Nippon neighborhood of Tokyo.[2]