Monkey Punch (モンキー・パンチ Monkī Panchi) is the pen name of mangaka Kazuhiko Katō (加藤一彦 Katō Kazuhiko, born May 26, 1937), creator of the successful Japanese manga series Lupin III. He was born in Hamanakachō, Hokkaidō. His manga series Lupin III made its debut in 1967 in the first issue of the Japanese magazine Weekly Manga Action (WEEKLY漫画アクション). It became extremely popular and successful, being turned later into an animated series and yielding several movies by various directors (including Hayao Miyazaki.)