William M. Akutagawa, Jr. was born February 18, 1948 on Moloka'i. His late father, William M. Akutagawa, Sr., was the son of Japanese immigrants. His mother, Katharine Hagemann Akutagawa, is the daughter of a German immigrant father and Hawaiian mother.  William grew up in KamalO and visited his grandparents in 'Ualapu'e often, spending much of his youth fishing the waters off of 'Ualapu'e Fishpond. He attended Kilohana School and Moloka'i High School, graduating in 1966.