| Kent Gilbert | |
| Birth Date: | 25 May 1952 |
| Birth Place: | Idaho, United States |
| Occupation: | Actor |
Kent Sidney Gilbert (born May 25, 1952, in Idaho, United States) is an American commentator working in Japan, lawyer of California. He first came to Japan in 1971 as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After returning to the United States, he received a Juris Doctor as well as an M.B.A. from Brigham Young University.
While working in Japan as an attorney in 1983, he had a chance to perform as a stand-in for a foreign theatrical company, which led to other opportunities on Japanese television and in films. He is a foreign celebrity (gaijin tarento) and is often on news programs as a commentator with a "foreign" point of view.[1] [2]
Gilbert lives in Tokyo and also maintains a residence in Orem, Utah. He made an appearance in Kazuki Ōmori's Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah.
Gilbert has been described as a "far-right online influencer".[3] Gilbert maintains the Japanese government never forced women to work as prostitutes or comfort women during World War II.[4] [5] He was prominently featured in a documentary film that denies the forcing of comfort women to work.[6] He reportedly claimed in an interview that Koreans should be grateful that they had been colonized by Japan. In 2017, he published a book entitled "The tragedy of Chinese and Koreans who are controlled by Confucianism", which reportedly became a best seller and led to "a new wave of hate books".[7] He has associated himself with Toshio Motoya, a far-right figure who denies the Nanjing Massacre and the forcing of comfort women to work.[8]
In April 2018, Gilbert was appointed visiting professor at Okayama University of Science.[9]