Akinobu "Aki" Iwasaki

Akinobu Iwasaki was born in Sapporo, Japan, and spent his earliest years surrounded by siblings and grandparents before the family relocated to the United States. After a brief time near the Unification Theological Seminary in Red Hook, New York, the Iwasakis settled in Philadelphia in 2007, where Akinobu attended Robert Pollock Elementary and graduated from George Washington High School in the summer of 2023.

Basketball was the great love of his life. Introduced to the game by his older brothers in the family backyard, he poured himself into it with extraordinary discipline, often shooting alone at four or five in the morning at the local elementary school court. He idolised Yuki Togashi, Rui Hachimura, Michael Jordan, Stephen Curry, and Kobe Bryant, and dreamed of playing in the NBA. To stay in shape year-round, he also ran track and cross country, wrestled, and played tennis. He nicknamed himself the Iron Samurai and the fastest shooter.

Beyond the court, he was the embodiment of perseverance. He worked as a line cook under family friend Michael Diamond, building confidence by tackling jobs that intimidated him. He spoke openly about a heavy weight of anxiety on his chest but refused to let it define him, repeating that he wanted to be a man and take care of his parents. After realising the NBA was unlikely, he set his sights on trade school and a future as an automotive technician.

Family was his anchor. He took long neighbourhood walks with his sister Mimi and his brother Sho, raced his siblings home, sparred verbally and on the court with his older brothers, and treasured every shirt and pair of basketball shoes handed down to him. He shared a special bond with his grandmother in Japan, and plans had been in motion for him to live with her after trade school.

Friends and family remembered his contradictions with affection: a buff young man afraid of small dogs, bunnies, and ghosts; a fierce trash-talker who would humbly ask the same opponent for shooting tips; a quiet boy in crowds who came alive on the court. He forgave easily, never carried resentment, and showed love through presence rather than words.

Akinobu was hospitalised on 7 October 2023 and ascended on 11 October, leaving behind a community whose lives he had quietly shaped through his diligence, humour, and pure heart. His father Shota is a pastor in the FFWPU community.