Hiroko Yoda
Hiroko Yoda is a Japanese entrepreneur, translator, writer, and folklorist. She is the president of AltJapan Co., Ltd., a localization company, and she previously served as the Tokyo city editor for CNNGo, CNN’s travel site. She translates video games and writes about Japanese history and culture, and she is especially known for bringing yokai folklore to English-speaking audiences. In 2025, she published Eight Million Ways to Happiness: Wisdom For Inspiration and Healing From the Heart of Japan, from Penguin Random House.
Born in Tokyo, Yoda studied at the University of Maryland and earned a Master’s degree in International Peace and Conflict Resolution from American University in Washington, D.C. In film, she played a yokai frog in The Great Yokai War (2005) by Takashi Miike and had a cameo in Death Kappa (2010).
In 2008, she was denied a Facebook account because the name Yoda is often blocked for abuse, but the company relented after international media attention. She is married to writer and television personality Matt Alt. Her work spans scriptwriting, translation, localization work, and books and manga.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 15:27 (CET).