Ryōichi Sasakawa was a Japanese suspected war criminal, businessman, far-right politician, and philanthropist. He was born in Minoh, Osaka. In the 1930s and during the Second World War he was active both in finance and in politics, actively supporting the Japanese war effort including raising his own paramilitary units. He was elected to the Japanese parliament during the war. After Japan's defeat he was imprisoned for a time, accused of war crimes, and then found financial success in various business ventures, including motorboat-racing gambling events (Kyōtei) and ship building. He supported anticommunist activities, including the World Anti-Communist League. In 1951 he helped found the Nippon Foundation and became its first president. The foundation has done charitable work around the world, for which it and Sasakawa have received many official honors.

Minoh is a city in northwestern Osaka Prefecture, Japan. As of 31 January 2023, the city had an estimated population of 139,118 in 62451 households and a population density of 2900 persons per km2. The total area of the city is 47.90 square kilometres (18.49 sq mi). It is a suburban city of Osaka City and a part of the Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe metropolitan area. Its name is commonly romanized as "Minō" or "Minoo"; however, the city government officially uses the transliteration "Minoh" in romaji.