Born in Tokyo, Japan, Yoshio Yoda was enrolled at Keio University to study law when the general manager in East Asia 20th Century Fox encouraged him to immigrate to the USA to study cinema technique. Three years into his studies at USC, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer were seeking an Asian actor fluent in both Japanese and English. He was hired after a ten minute interview, and was signed for the role of Sgt. Roy Tada in the 1962 film The Horizontal Lieutenant, followed in 1964 with the role of Fuji Kobiaji in the MacHale's Navy franchise.
Yoshio Yoda died of undisclosed cause at the age of 88.
