Kiyoshi Kawakubo was a Japanese voice actor born in Yokohama on November 18, 1929. He began his career in 1952 and was active in the industry for over six decades until his passing in 2019. At the time of his death on April 16, 2019, from lung cancer, he was affiliated with the talent agency 81 Produce. He was 89 years old.

Kawakubo had a prolific career, contributing voice work to a wide array of anime television series, films, and OVAs. He was known for playing a variety of roles, from fatherly figures to villains. In the World Masterpiece Theater television series 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother, he voiced Pietro Rossi, the father of the protagonist Marco. He also played the role of Pietro in the 1980 film adaptation of the same story. He was the voice of the titular character, Samiadon, in the 1985 fantasy series Onegai! Samia Don and its 1989 film. His other television anime roles included Yōichirō Hidaka in King Fang, Michael in Iruka to Shonen, Mole in Hello Kitty no Oyayubi Hime, and Mōta in Rain Boy. In later years, he took on roles such as Guame the Immoveable in Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Kevin Yeegar in D.Gray-man, and various characters in Paranoia Agent and Detective Conan.

Beyond television, Kawakubo was active in original video animations and animated films. He voiced Admiral Dhorasoo in the OVA Gunbuster 2: Diebuster. His film work included roles in Slayers Great as Lord Haizen, Doraemon: Nobita and the Animal Planet as a delegation leader, and in the classic films Alakazam the Great and Arabian Nights: Sinbad's Adventures. He also had a significant presence in the world of dubbing, providing the Japanese voice for actors such as Jim Broadbent in the Bridget Jones's Diary film series and for characters in foreign television series like Diff'rent Strokes.