Yoji Tanaka was born on August 8, 1963 in Nagano, Japan. Tanaka made his film debut in 1994. He has starred in dozens of films in Japan and also appeared in the American film Kill Bill: Vol.1, which was directed by Quentin Tarantino. He has also appeared in the Japanese film Desu nôto or Death Note, which is based on a manga of the same name that debuted in 2003.