, born , is a Japanese

freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

presenter A presenter is a person or organization responsible for the running of a public event, or someone who conveys information on media via a broadcasting outlet. Presenter may refer to: People * News presenter, person who presents news during a new ...

tarento Television personalities in Japan, known as in Japanese, are celebrities who regularly appear in mass media in Japan, especially as panelists on variety shows. During the Golden Age of Hollywood, bankable stars in America were described as "tal ...

radio personality A radio personality (American English) or radio presenter (British English) is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host, and in India and Pakistan as a rad ...

narrator Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the a ...

who is affiliated with Sony Music Artists. He is very popular in Japan having participated in various

TV commercials A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

TV shows A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed bet ...

, among other

Audio-visual Audiovisual (AV) is electronic media possessing both a sound and a visual component, such as slide-tape presentations, films, television programs, corporate conferencing, church services, and live theater productions. Audiovisual service prov ...

-related activities. Kabira is well known in the West due to his narration in the ''

Winning Eleven ''eFootball'', formerly known as ''Pro Evolution Soccer'' (''PES'') internationally and in Japan and North America, is a series of association football simulation video games developed and published by Konami since 1995. The series consists ...

'' video game series. He comments alongside former ex-Japanese footballers

Tsuyoshi Kitazawa is a former Japanese football player. He played for Japan national team. He is currently working on television as a football commentator. Club career When Kitazawa was a junior high student, he played for Yomiuri Junior Youth. After being re ...

and

Hiroshi Nanami is a Japanese former professional football player and manager. He played for Japan national team and currently manager of Matsumoto Yamaga until 2022. Club career Nanami was born in Fujieda on November 28, 1972. After graduating from Juntendo ...

, in the past games he also comments alongside other ex-Japanese players like Yasutaro Matsuki,

Kozo Tashima is a former Japanese football player. He played for the Japan national team. He is current president of the Japan Football Association. Club career Tashima was born in Amakusa District, Kumamoto on November 21, 1957. In 1976, he won the Japan ...

Hiroshi Hayano is a former Japanese Association football, football player and manager. Playing career Hayano was born in Kanagawa Prefecture on November 14, 1955. After graduating from Chuo University, he played for Yokohama F. Marinos, Nissan Motors from 1978 ...

and

Tetsuo Nakanishi is a former Japanese football player. He currently works on television as a football commentator. Playing career Nakanishi was born in Nagoya on 8 September 1969. After graduating from Doshisha University, he joined his local club Nagoya Gra ...

. Kabira is the son of , an Okinawan broadcaster who later served as a senior executive of

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...

and

Showa Women's University is a women's private university in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan. The university has undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs and five research institutes. It also contains affiliated schools that span from kindergarten to high school. Aside fr ...

, and his wife Wandalee, a

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

native who worked as a teacher at the

American School in Japan The American School in Japan (ASIJ; ja, アメリカンスクール・イン・ジャパン) is an international private day school located in the city of Chōfu, Tokyo, Japan. The school consists of an elementary school, a middle school, and a ...

. His younger brother is also active as a media personality.

Filmography

Movies

* '' Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys'' (Gurū) * ''

Shrek 2 ''Shrek 2'' is a 2004 American computer-animated comedy film loosely based on the 1990 picture book ''Shrek!'' by William Steig, produced by DreamWorks Animation and released by DreamWorks Pictures. The sequel to ''Shrek'' (2001) and the seco ...

'' (Doris) * '' Goal!'' (

Martin Tyler Martin Tyler (born 14 September 1945) is an English football commentator. He has worked as a commentator for Sky Sports since 1990, covering the Premier League and UEFA Champions League, as well as other domestic and international competitions. T ...

) * ''

Shrek the Third ''Shrek the Third'' (also known as ''Shrek 3'') is a 2007 American computer-animated comedy film loosely based on the 1990 picture book '' Shrek!'' by William Steig, produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The se ...

'' (Doris) * ''

Pride Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) wh ...

'' (Soichiro Asami) * ''

Shrek Forever After ''Shrek Forever After'' is a 2010 American computer-animated comedy film loosely based on the 1990 picture book ''Shrek!'' by William Steig, produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The sequel to ''Shrek the Thi ...

'' (Doris)

TV

* ''

Thomas & Friends ''Thomas & Friends'' (originally known as ''Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends'' and later ''Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!'') is a British children's television series that aired across 24 series from 1984 to 2021. Based on ''The ...

'' (Narrator, 2008-2018) * '' Chatty Jay's Sundry Shop'' (Host, 2016-2019)

Video games

*'' Hakunetsu Pro Yakyuu Ganba League'' (Voice) *''

'' series (Commentator) *'' Hyper Formation Soccer'' (Supervisor, Voice)

References

External links

Official websiteProfile from Sony Music Artists
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kabira, Jon 1958 births Living people Japanese people of American descent People from Naha Japanese male video game actors Japanese male voice actors Japanese television personalities Japanese radio personalities 20th-century Japanese male actors 21st-century Japanese male actors

Filmography

Movies

TV

Video games

See also

References

External links