6980 Kyusakamoto is an asteroid discovered and named by the two Japanese astronomers Kin Endate

Kin Endate

is a Japanese amateur astronomer who has discovered 600 asteroids , placing him among the most prolific discoverers of minor planets. His discoveries include the Trojan asteroid 1990 VU1 and the Mars-crossing asteroid 6500 Kodaira...

 and Kazuo Watanabe in 1993. Named in memory of the Japanese singer Kyu Sakamoto

Kyu Sakamoto

was a Japanese singer and actor, best known outside of Japan for his international hit song "Sukiyaki", which was sung in Japanese and sold over 13 million copies...

, this planet also symbolizes the famous trio of which Kyu Sakamoto was a member, with songwriter Rokusuke Ei

Rokusuke Ei

is a Japanese lyricist, composer, author, essayist and TV personality.Ei wrote the lyrics to the song "Sukiyaki", which has been used in several English language films. He has also written the lyrics to the song "Miagete goran yoru no hoshi wo" sung by Kyu Sakamoto in 1963...

 and pianist Hachidai Nakamura

Hachidai Nakamura

was a China-born Japanese songwriter and jazz pianist.- Biography :Hachidai Nakamura was born in Qingdao, China to Japanese parents. He moved to Fukuoka at a young age, where he attended high school, and eventually graduated from Waseda University in Tokyo with a degree in literature...

: in Japanese, Roku is 6, Kyu 9 and Hachi 8. Name proposed by the discoverers following a suggestion by T. Sato, A. Fujii and Y. Katagiri.

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