Short answers, pulled from the story.
Masaharu Iwata was born on the 26th of October 1966 in Tokyo, Japan. His early attempts at composing were dismissed as failures before he purchased a synthesizer during his junior high school years.
Masaharu Iwata joined Bothtec as a composer in 1987. He met Hitoshi Sakimoto, a freelance composer who was still in high school at the time, during his tenure at the company.
Masaharu Iwata and Hitoshi Sakimoto released Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen in 1993. The soundtrack featured a wide variety of instrumentation that was unprecedented in video game music.
Basiscape was founded in 2002 by Masaharu Iwata, Hitoshi Sakimoto, and Manabu Namiki. The company allows composers to procure individual work while also collaborating on projects hired out to the company as a whole.
Final Fantasy XII was released in 2006. The game's soundtrack was a collaboration with Hitoshi Sakimoto and Hayato Matsuo.