He was born in 1962 in Kanazawa, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan. In junior high school he was captain of the school judo club.[3] When he was 16 years old he joined Kyokushin Kaikan Ishikawa Dojo. At 19 years old he made his debut in his first All Japan Tournament.
He remained a top athlete in Kyokushin All Japan Tournaments, going on to beat Michel Wedel, Gerard Gordeau and Michael Thompson.[4] He fought and lost to Andy Hug[5] however Hug was unable to walk after the fight.[6]
In 1990 he won a gold medal in the 22nd All Japan Kyokushin Tournament.[7] and in 1991 he placed second in the 5th World Karate Tournament.[8]
He is the shihan of Kyokushin Kaikan Masuda Dojo.[9] In 2007 Masuda published the book "Freestyle Karate"[10] and in 2009 he published "Masuda Akira - Go, Budojin toshite Ikiru".[11]
^Note on Japanese names: Family names go before given names, so in Japan he is known as Masuda Akira, while in the west he is usually referred to as Akira Masuda
