Junichi Kagaya was a Japanese actor and voice actor, born on February 20, 1945, in Akita Prefecture, Japan. He passed away in March 2003. His career in entertainment began in the 1970s and spanned three decades, encompassing work in theatre, television drama, anime voice acting, and dubbing for foreign films.

Kagaya started his artistic journey in theatre, performing with the Tokyo Geijutsuza and appearing in productions such as a stage adaptation of Maxim Gorky's Mother in 1971. He later became affiliated with the talent agency Kiraboshi. In addition to his voice work, he was a familiar face in Japanese television dramas, with roles in numerous popular series including Oshin, Kinpachi-sensei, and Beautiful Life, as well as several of NHK's taiga dramas.

In the realm of anime, Kagaya contributed his voice to a wide array of characters in classic series. He is known for his role as Kirai Stol in the 1986 series Machine Robo: Revenge of Cronos, a part he played for 14 episodes. He also voiced Dylan in the follow-up series, Machine Robo: Battle Hackers. Another notable role was Emperor Gross in the 1989 anime television series Blue Blink. He provided the voice for Heishichiro Honda in the 1996 series Midori no Makibao. His other anime credits include appearances in long-running franchises such as Crayon Shin-chan, Detective Conan, Doraemon, and Esper Mami.

Kagaya also lent his voice to animated films and original video animations. His film work included roles in City Hunter: Love, Destiny, Magnum (1989) as Kilhiman, the Riki-Oh OVA (1989) as Iwata, and as an announcer in the theatrical feature Pokémon: The Movie 2000 (1999). Beyond animation, he was active as a narrator, performed in radio dramas, and provided Japanese dubbing for foreign television programs and films. His distinctive voice was also heard in commercials for brands like Renault and NTT Docomo. Throughout his career, Junichi Kagaya was recognized for his versatility and professionalism, leaving a lasting legacy in the Japanese entertainment industry.