Ousmane Sankhon: Japan celebrates first African on Japanese television on 77th birthday

Ousmane Sankhon

Guinean diplomat and one of Africa’s leading personalities in Japan, Ousmane Sankhon, has been celebrated on his 77th birthday in the East Asian country.

A number of high-ranking personalities and dignitaries from all walks of life were present at the ceremony to honour the one-time most famous foreign figure Japanese screens on March 11, 2026.

Incidentally, Sankhon’s birthday coincides with the day Japan suffered a massive blow when the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami hit the Japanese city of Fukushima in 2011.

Sankhon started appearing on Japanese television screens back in the 1980s as one of the foremost foreigners to be afforded the rare opportunity.

He first arrived in Japan in 1972 as a secretary to the Guinean Embassy and made his TV debut in 1984 on Tamori’s long-running noon variety program, “Warette Itomo.”

Back in September 2011, Sankhon’s smiling face was on open display on posters in Seven-Eleven convenience stores for Seven Bank’s ATM money transfer service, which the bank and Western Union had launched earlier that year.

Sankhon who has 22 siblings has been involved with a lot of philanthropic activities and charity works.