Events in the year 1931 in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Incumbents

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Hirohito Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

: **

Osachi Hamaguchi Hamaguchi Osachi (Kyūjitai: ; Shinjitai: , also Hamaguchi Yūkō, 1 April 1870 – 26 August 1931) was a Japanese politician, cabinet minister and Prime Minister of Japan from 1929 to 1931. Nicknamed the due to his dignified demeanor and mane- ...

: until April 14 **

Wakatsuki Reijirō Baron was a Japanese politician and Prime Minister of Japan. Early life Wakatsuki Reijirō was born on 21 March 1866, in Matsue, Izumo Province (present day Shimane Prefecture), the second son of samurai foot soldier (''ashigaru'') Okumura Se ...

: April 14 – December 13 **

Inukai Tsuyoshi Inukai Tsuyoshi ( ja, 犬養毅, 4 June 1855 – 15 May 1932) was a Japanese politician, cabinet minister, and Prime Minister of Japan from 1931 to his assassination in 1932. Inukai was Japan's second oldest prime minister while serving, as he ...

: from December 13

Governors

Aichi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,552,873 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefectur ...

: **starting 20 January:

Masao Oka was a Japanese ethnologist and Japanologist. Biography He was born in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture. He was a graduate of the University of Tokyo and Tohoku University. He served on the faculty of Meiji University, Kanagawa Dental University, W ...

**20 January-21 December:

Kosaka Masayasu and are two separate Japanese surnames, distinguished by the length of the vowel in the first syllable of each surname. They are sometimes spelled identically in romanisation due to omission of the macron in the latter surname. Notable people wi ...

**until 21 December: Yujiro Osaki *Akita Prefecture: Koki Hiegata (until 18 December); Takeshi Uchida (starting 18 December) *Aomori Prefecture: Migaku Moriya (until 18 December); Teizaburo Miyamoto (starting 18 December) *Ehime Prefecture: Koichiro Sasai (until 18 December); Kume Shigeo (starting 18 December) *Fukui Prefecture:

Tachibana Saitanao The term has at least two different meanings, and has been used in several contexts. People * – a clan of ''kuge'' (court nobles) prominent in the Nara and Heian periods (710–1185) * – a clan of ''daimyō'' (feudal lords) prominent in the Mu ...

(until 18 December); Keizo Ichimura (starting 18 December) *Fukushima Prefecture: **until 15 April: Koyanagi Makimamoru **15 April-18 December: Goro Kawasaki **starting 18 December: Murai Hachiro *Gifu Prefecture: **until 8 May:

Ken Usawa Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. * ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film. * ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine. * Ken Masters, a main character in ...

**8 May-18 December:

Yoshida Katsutaro Yoshida (written: 吉田 lit. "lucky ricefield") is the 11th most common Japanese surname. A less common variant is 芳田 (lit. "fragrant ricefield"). Notable people with the surname include: *Ai Yoshida, Japanese sailor *, Japanese idol, singer ...

**starting 18 December: Takehiko Ito *Gunma Prefecture: **until 27 June:

Hotta Kanae Hotta (written: ) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese model and television personality *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese ''daimyō'' *, Japanese ''daimyō'' *, Japanese ''daimyō'' *, Japanese ''daimyō'' *, ...

**27 June-18 December:

Kiichi Harata Kiichi (written: , , , , , or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese politician *, Japanese equestrian *, Imperial Japanese Navy admiral *, Japanese politician *, Japanese mixed martial artist *, J ...

**starting 18 December: Masao Kanazawa *

Hiroshima Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Hiroshima Prefecture has a population of 2,811,410 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 8,479 km² (3,274 sq mi). Hiroshima Prefecture borders Okayama ...

: **until 8 May:

Hiroshi Kawabuchi Hiroshi Kawabuchi (August 15, 1883 – October 1, 1946) was a Japanese politician who served as governor of Hiroshima Prefecture from July 1929 to May 1931. He was governor of Fukushima Prefecture (1925-1927) and Fukuoka Prefecture (1931). He was m ...

**8 May-18 December:

Takekai Shirane Takekai Shirane (May 25, 1883 – March 5, 1957) was a Japanese politician who served as governor of Hiroshima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Hiroshima Prefecture has a population of 2,811,410 (1 ...

**starting 18 December:

Ryo Chiba Ryo Chiba (March 2, 1884 – November 8, 1963) was a Japanese politician who served as governor of Hiroshima Prefecture from Dec. 1931 to June 1932. He was governor of Nagano Prefecture (1927-1929) and Niigata Prefecture is a prefecture in ...

Ibaraki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Ibaraki Prefecture has a population of 2,871,199 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Ibaraki Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the north, ...

: **until 27 June: Shozo Ushijima **27 June-18 December:

Tanaka is the fourth most common Japanese name, Japanese surname. It is typically written with the kanji for . Less common variants include , , , , and . People with the surname *, Japanese musician formerly known as Boku no Lyric no Bōyomi *, Japane ...

**starting 18 December:

Seikichi Kimishima Seikichi (written: 清吉 or 政吉) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: * Seikichi Odo (1926–2002), Japanese karateka * (1917–1998), Japanese karateka Fictional characters: * character in the stage play ...

Ishikawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu island. Ishikawa Prefecture has a population of 1,140,573 (31 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,186 km2 (1,616 sq mi). Ishikawa Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to ...

: Nakano Kunikazu (until month unknown) *Iwate Prefecture: Toyoshiro Kubo (until 18 December);

Hidehiko Ishiguro Hidehiko (written: 秀彦 or 英彦) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese musician and songwriter *, Japanese jazz saxophonist and bandleader *, Japanese footballer and manager *, Japanese high jump ...

(starting 18 December) *Kagawa Prefecture: **until 27 June: Susumu Tsuboi **27 June-18 December: Yusai Takahashi **starting 18 December: Akira Ito *

Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kana ...

Jiro Yamagata Jiro Yamagata (January 6, 1881 – January 9, 1936) was a Japanese politician who served as governor of Hiroshima Prefecture from October 1923 to September 1925. He was governor of Ishikawa Prefecture (1922-1923), Hyōgo Prefecture (1925-1927) and ...

(until month unknown) *Kochi Prefecture: **until 27 June:

**27 June-18 December: Tsuboi **starting 18 December: Kodora Akamatsu *

Kumamoto Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Kumamoto Prefecture has a population of 1,748,134 () and has a geographic area of . Kumamoto Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the north, Ōita Prefecture to ...

: Bunpei Motoyama (until 18 December); Kenichi Yamashita (starting 18 December) * Kyoto Prefecture: **until October: Sasaki Shinichi **October-December: Shinya Kurosaki **starting December:

Sukenari Yokoyama Sukenari Yokoyama (January 1, 1884 – March 27, 1963) was a Japanese politician who served twice as governor of Hiroshima Prefecture in 1927–1928 and 1943–1944. Biography He was also governor of Okayama Prefecture (1923-1924), Ishikawa Prefe ...

*Mie Prefecture: Keizo Ichimura (until 18 December); Hirose Hisatada (starting 18 December) *Miyagi Prefecture:

Michio Yuzawa was a bureaucrat and cabinet minister in early Shōwa period Japan. Biography Yuzawa was born in Kamitsuga District, Tochigi in what is now part of the city of Kanuma as the son of a ''kannushi'' (Shinto priest)]. After his graduation in 19 ...

*Miyazaki Prefecture: **until 18 December: Ariyoshi **18 December-21 December: Kiyoshi Nakarai **starting 21 December: Gisuke Kinoshita *

Nagano Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,052,493 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture to the north, Gunma Prefecture to the ...

: Shintaro Suzuki (until 18 December);

Ishigaki Kuraji Ishigaki may refer to: * Ishigaki Island, a Japanese island southwest of Okinawa ** Ishigaki, Okinawa, city ** Ishigaki Airport * Japanese escort ''Ishigaki'', World War II era ship of the Japanese Navy * 10179 Ishigaki, main-belt asteroid Peopl ...

(starting 18 December) *

Niigata Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture in the Chūbu region of Honshu of Japan. Niigata Prefecture has a population of 2,227,496 (1 July 2019) and is the List of Japanese prefectures by area, fifth-largest prefecture of Japan by geographic area ...

: *until 2 October: Toyoji Obata *2 October-18 December: Nakano Kunikazu *starting 18 December: Obata Toyoji *

Okinawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city o ...

: Jiro Ino *

Osaka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Osaka Prefecture has a population of 8,778,035 () and has a geographic area of . Osaka Prefecture borders Hyōgo Prefecture to the northwest, Kyoto Prefecture ...

: Saito Munenori (starting month unknown) *

Saga Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. Saga Prefecture has a population of 809,248 (1 August 2020) and has a geographic area of 2,440 km2 (942 sq mi). Saga Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northeast and Nagasak ...

: ** until 18 December:

Inoue Inoue (kanji: , historical kana orthography: ''Winouhe'') is the 16th most common Japanese surname. Historically, it was also romanized as Inouye, and many Japanese-descended people outside of Japan still retain this spelling. A less common vari ...

** 20 January-18 December: Nakarai Kiyoshi ** starting 18 December:

Saburo Hayakawa Saburo Hayakawa (April 8, 1888 – April 19, 1973) was a Japanese politician who served as governor of Hiroshima Prefecture from April 1936 to January 1937. He was born in Kanagawa Prefecture and graduated from the University of Tokyo. He was als ...

Saitama Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 km2 (1,466 sq mi). Saitama Prefecture borders Tochigi Prefecture ...

: ** until 15 April: Niwa Shichiro ** 15 April-18 December: Kozo Yamanaka ** starting 18 December: Umekichi Miyawaki *Shiname Prefecture: ** until 21 August: Keiichi Omori ** 21 August-18 December: Kanichi Misawa ** starting 18 December: Rinsaku Yagi *Tochigi Prefecture: ** until 27 January: Harada ** 20 January-27 December:

Asari Saburo Asari may refer to: The Asari are a caste of artisans and craftsmen who do metal working and make jewelry. They are also involved in the construction trades of carpentry and masonry. They are followers of Vishvakarman, the Hindu god of craftsmen an ...

** starting 27 December: Chokichi Toshima *

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

: Torataro Shizuka (until 18 October); Hasegawa Hisakazu (starting 18 October) *Toyama Prefecture: Kozo Yamanaka (until 15 April);

Keiichi Suzuki is a Japanese musician, singer, and record producer who co-founded the Moonriders, a group that became one of Japan's most innovative rock bands. He is known to audiences outside Japan for his musical contributions to the video games ''Mother'' ...

(starting 15 April) *Yamagata Prefecture: ** until 24 October: Kubota Osamu Kosuke ** 24 October-18 December:

Ken Yamaguchi was a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator. He was represented by OYS Produce. His son is a fellow voice actor . He was most known for the roles of Ashuraman, The Omegaman, Prisman ('' Kinnikuman: Scramble for the Throne''), Genji Togas ...

** starting 18 December: Sada Kawamura

Events

*March - March Incident *March 27 – A real estate brand, Shōei Corporation was founded, as predecessor for Hullic. *June 27 - Nakamura Incident *July 1 -

Wanpaoshan Incident The Manbosan Sageon was a minor dispute between Chinese and Korean farmers which occurred on 1 July 1931. Through a series of false reports, the issue was highly sensationalized in the Imperial Japanese and Korean press, and used for considerabl ...

*September 21 – A Richer Scale magnitude 6.5 earthquake hit in

Yorii, Saitama is a town in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 32,851 in 14,689 households and a population density of 510 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Geography Located in northwestern Saitama Prefecture, ...

Prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

. According to

Japanese government The Government of Japan consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and is based on popular sovereignty. The Government runs under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947. It is a unitary state, c ...

official confirmed report, killing 16 persons, 146 persons were wounded. *October 21 -

October Incident The , also known as the , was an abortive coup d'état attempt in Japan on 21 October 1931, launched by the ''Sakurakai'' secret society within the Imperial Japanese Army, aided by civilian ultranationalist groups. Background and History Having ...

*November 4 -

Resistance at Nenjiang Bridge The Resistance at Nenjiang Bridge was a small battle fought between forces of the Chinese National Revolutionary Army against the Imperial Japanese Army and collaborationist forces, after the Mukden Incident during the Invasion of Manchuria in ...

*November 4–18 - Jiangqiao Campaign *Unknown date ** Teikyo Commerce School, later

Teikyo University is a private university headquartered in the Itabashi ward of Tokyo, Japan. It was established in 1931 as Teikyo Commercial High School (帝京商業高等学校). It became Teikyo University in 1966. It is part of Teikyo Group, a multinational ...

was founded in Tokyo. ** A time recorder and robot brand, Amano was founded in

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

, as predecessor name of Amano Manufacturing. ** A

mail order Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as: * Sending an order form in the mail * Placing a telephone call * Placing a ...

cram school A cram school, informally called crammer and colloquially also referred to as test-prep or exam factory, is a specialized school that trains its students to achieve particular goals, most commonly to pass the entrance examinations of high schoo ...

, ''Jitsuryoku-Zōshinsha'' (Ability Promotion), as predecessor of Zōshinsha Holdings (Z-kai) was founded.

Films

*'' Tokyo Chorus''

Births

January–March

*January 2 –

Toshiki Kaifu was a Japanese politician who served as the 77th Prime Minister of Japan from 1989 to 1991. Early life and education Kaifu was born on 2 January 1931, in Nagoya City, the eldest of six brothers. His family's business Nakamura Photo Studio wa ...

, Prime Minister of Japan *January 6 –

Kaoru Yachigusa was a Japanese actress from Osaka Prefecture. From 1947 to 1957 she was a member of the Takarazuka Revue. After leaving the Revue, she was active in film, television, and narration. She famously quit part way through the filming of the televisio ...

, actress (d.

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

) *January 20 –

Ariyoshi Sawako Sawako Ariyoshi (有吉佐和子 ''Ariyoshi Sawako'', 20 January 1931 – 30 August 1984) was a Japanese writer, known for such works as ''The Doctor's Wife'' and ''The River Ki.'' She was known for her advocacy of social issues, such as the elde ...

, writer (d.

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

) *January 21 –

Yoshiko Kuga is a Japanese people, Japanese actress. Biography and personal life Kuga was born in Tokyo, Japan. Her father, , was a marquis and a member of the House of Peers (Japan), House of Peers. In 1946, while still attending Gakushuin Junior High Sc ...

, actress *January 28 – Sakyo Komatsu, science fiction writer (d. 2011 in Japan, 2011) *February 16 – Ken Takakura, actor (d. 2014 in Japan, 2014) *March 7 – Atsuko Ikeda, Atsuko, Princess Yori, fourth daughter of Hirohito, Emperor Shōwa *March 9 – Masahiro Shinoda, film director

April–June

*April 11 – Koichi Sugiyama, composer and conductor (d. 2021 in Japan, 2021) *May 10 – Ichirō Nagai, voice actor (d. 2014 in Japan, 2014) *June 22 – Teruyuki Okazaki, Black belt (martial arts), black belt in Shotokan Karate (d. 2020 in the United States, 2020)

July–September

*July 5 – Ryuzo Sato, economist *July 11 – Yasuo Ōtsuka, animator (d. 2021 in Japan, 2021) *August 29 – Ichikawa Raizō VIII, actor (d. 1969 in Japan, 1969) *August 30 – Jōji Yanami, voice actor *September 17 – Ayako Sono, writer *September 21 – Syukuro Manabe, Japanese-American meteorologist and climatologist

October–December

*October 24 – Ken Utsui, actor (d. 2014 in Japan, 2014) *November 29 – Shintaro Katsu, actor (d. 1997 in Japan, 1997) *December 5 – Kyōko Kagawa, actress *December 11 – Fujiko Yamamoto, actress *December 15 – Shuntarō Tanikawa, poet and translator *December 19 – Reiko Sato, actress and dancer (d. 1981 in Japan, 1981) *December 31 – Sakata Tōjūrō IV, kabuki actor (d. 2020 in Japan, 2020)

Full date unknown

*Miyozo Yamazaki, amateur archaeologist

Deaths

*January 27 – Nishinoumi Kajirō II, Sumo wrestler, 25th Yokozuna (sumo), yokozuna (b. 1880) *June 13 – Kitasato Shibasaburō, physician and bacteriologist (b. 1853) *June 26 – Yamakawa Kenjirō, physicist, university president (b. 1854) *August 2 – Kinue Hitomi, sprinter and long jumper (b. 1907 in Japan, 1907) *August 26 –

, Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1870 in Japan, 1870) *September 2 – Ichinohe Hyoe, general (b. 1855 in Japan, 1855) *November 11 – Shibusawa Eiichi, industrialist (b. 1840 in Japan, 1840)

References

{{Asia topic, 1931 in 1931 in Japan, 1930s in Japan 1931 by country, Japan