Biography
Shigeru Izumiya is a Japanese actor and singer, also known by the name 泉谷しげる. Born on 11 May 1948 in Aomori Prefecture, he debuted as a folk singer with the 1971 album 泉谷しげる登場 and co-founded the record label For Life Records in 1975 alongside Takuro Yoshida, Yosui Inoue and Hitoshi Komuro.
Izumiya first gained prominence as an actor in the 1979 television drama Sengo Saidai no Yūkai – Yoshiten-chan Jiken, winning a Television Award and an Arts Festival Excellence Award. His film roles include Samon Taguchi in Godzilla: Final Wars (2004), the voice of Gonta in Pom Poko (1994), and appearances in Hachiko (1987), His Motorbike, Her Island (1986) and Fukushima 50 (2020). He also directed the 1986 film Death Powder.
