From John F. Kennedy's inaugural address in 1961 to Barack Obama's "Yes We Can" speech in 2008, history has been colored by powerful rhetoric that is never forgotten.

But behind the epoch-making speeches have been strategists who construct memorable phrases, coach the speakers' stage actions and dream up scenarios that motivate people to take action.

Yosuke Kageyama, 36, makes his living as a speechwriter — a profession that, although widely known in the West, has only recently drawn attention in Japan.