Events in the year 1959 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 ...

Nobusuke Kishi was a Japanese bureaucrat and politician who was Prime Minister of Japan from 1957 to 1960. Known for his exploitative rule of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo in Northeast China in the 1930s, Kishi was nicknamed the "Monster of the Shō ...

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 ...

: Mikine Kuwahara *Akita Prefecture: Yūjirō Obata *Aomori Prefecture:

Iwao Yamazaki was a lawyer, politician and cabinet minister in the early Shōwa period of Japan. His brother, Tatsunosuke Yamazaki was also a politician and cabinet minister, and his nephew Heihachiro Yamazaki was later a prominent member of the post-war Libe ...

*Chiba Prefecture: Hitoshi Shibata *Ehime Prefecture: Sadatake Hisamatsu *Fukui Prefecture:

Seiichi Hane Seiichi (written: , , , , , , , or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese karateka *, Japanese cult member *, Japanese politician *, Japanese photographer *, Japanese philosopher *, Japanese art di ...

(until 22 April);

Eizō Kita Eizō, Eizo or Eizou (written: 栄三, 栄蔵, 英三, 英蔵 or 永三) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese politician *, Japanese painter *, Japanese gymnast *, Japanese musician *, Japanese film ...

(starting 23 April) *Fukuoka Prefecture:

Taichi Uzaki Tai chi (), short for Tai chi ch'üan ( zh, s=太极拳, t=太極拳, first=t, p=Tàijíquán, labels=no), sometimes called "shadowboxing", is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits and meditation. Ta ...

*Fukushima Prefecture: Zenichiro Satō *Gifu Prefecture: Yukiyasu Matsuno *Gunma Prefecture: Toshizo Takekoshi *

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 ...

Hiroo Ōhara was the Governor of 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 s ...

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

: Toshifumi Tanaka (until 22 April); Kingo Machimura (starting 23 April) *Hyogo Prefecture: Masaru Sakamoto *

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, ...

: Yoji Tomosue (until 29 March); Nirō Iwakami (starting 23 April) *

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 ...

: Jūjitsu Taya *Iwate Prefecture:

Senichi Abe was a Nippon Professional Baseball player and manager. In 2003, he led the Hanshin Tigers to their first Central League pennant in 18 years before retiring for health reasons. In 2007, he managed the Japanese national team for the 2008 Beijin ...

*Kagawa Prefecture: Masanori Kaneko *Kagoshima Prefecture:

Katsushi Terazono Katsushi (written: 克志, 克史, 勝志, 豪氏 or かつし in hiragana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese animator *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese editor *, Japanese ...

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 ...

: Iwataro Uchiyama *Kochi Prefecture: Masumi Mizobuchi *

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 ...

Saburō Sakurai is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Saburō can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *三郎, "third son" *三朗, "three, bright" The name can also be written in hiragana or katakana. People with the name ...

(until 10 February); Kōsaku Teramoto (starting 11 February) * Kyoto Prefecture: Torazō Ninagawa *Mie Prefecture: Satoru Tanaka *

Miyagi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Miyagi Prefecture has a population of 2,305,596 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Miyagi Prefecture borders Iwate Prefecture to the north, Akita Prefecture to the nort ...

Yasushi Onuma Yasushi is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Yasushi can be written using many different combinations of kanji characters. Here are some examples: *康, "healthy" *靖, "peaceful" *泰, "peaceful" *安, "tranquil" *靖志, "peace ...

(until 12 January);

Yoshio Miura Yoshio is both a masculine Japanese given name and a Japanese surname. Possible writings Yoshio can be written using many different combinations of kanji characters. Here are some examples: *義雄, "justice, masculine" *義男, "justice, man ...

(starting 4 March) *Miyazaki Prefecture:

Jingo Futami Jingo may refer to: * Jingoism, aggressive nationalism * Empress Jingū (also Jingū or Jingō), a legendary empress of Japan * ''Jingo'' (novel), from the ''Discworld'' series * "Jin-go-lo-ba" or "Jingo", a 1959 song by Babatunde Olatunji, covere ...

(until 22 April);

Hiroshi Kuroki was a governor of Miyazaki Prefecture in Japan. He was the 1974 recipient of Ramon Magsaysay Award The Ramon Magsaysay Award (Filipino: ''Gawad Ramon Magsaysay'') is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President R ...

(starting 23 April) *

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 ...

: Torao Hayashi (until 22 April);

Gon'ichirō Nishizawa was a Japanese politician and essayist. He was born in Nagano Prefecture. He was a graduate of Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology. He was governor of Nagano Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu reg ...

(starting 26 April) *Nagasaki Prefecture:

Katsuya Sato is both a masculine Japanese given name and a Japanese surname. Possible writings *克也, "gram, to be" *勝也, "win, to be" *勝矢, "win, arrow" *勝哉, "win, how" *勝夜, "win, night" *活耶, "active, father" *活弥, "active, extensive, ...

*Nara Prefecture: Ryozo Okuda * Niigata Prefecture:

Kazuo Kitamura was a Japanese actor. His son is actor Yukiya Kitamura. Kitamura met Shōhei Imamura when he was a student of Waseda University and became a close friend so often worked with Imamura. Kitamura joined Bungakuza theatre company and started his act ...

*Oita Prefecture:

Kaoru Kinoshita Kaoru is a Japanese given name for males or females. Name Meanings The name's meaning varies depending on its written form: *薫/郁/芳 — "fragrance", common for both males and females *馨/香 — "fragrance", more common for females ...

Okayama Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Okayama Prefecture has a population of 1,906,464 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 7,114 Square kilometre, km2 (2,746 sq mi). Okayama Prefectur ...

Yukiharu Miki was a Japanese physician and politician. He served as Governor for the Okayama Prefecture

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 ...

Bunzō Akama Bunzō, Bunzo, Bunzou or Bunzoh (written: or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese botanist *, Japanese rower *, a Japanese author and journalist. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bunzo Japanese masculine given ...

(until 22 April); Gisen Satō (starting 23 April) *

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 ...

: Naotsugu Nabeshima (until 16 April);

Sunao Ikeda Sunao (written: 直, 淳, 愿, 順, 須直, 直男 or すなお in hiragana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese manga artist *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese swimmer *, Japanese anime director * ...

(starting 23 April) *

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 ...

Hiroshi Kurihara is a common masculine Japanese given name. It can also be transliterated as Hirosi. Possible writings Hiroshi can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *浩, "meaning" *汎 *弘, *宏, *寛, *洋, *博, *博一, *博司, ...

* Shiga Prefecture:

Kyujiro Taniguchi is a Japanese weightlifter. He competed in the men's flyweight event at the 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), wa ...

*Shiname Prefecture:

Yasuo Tsunematsu Yasuo is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Yasuo can be written using many different combinations of kanji characters. Here are some examples: *安雄, "tranquil, male" *安男, "tranquil, man" *安夫, "tranquil, husband" *安� ...

(until 29 April); Choemon Tanabe (starting 30 April) *Shizuoka Prefecture:

Toshio Saitō Toshio is a common masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Toshio can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *敏夫, "agile, man" *敏男, "agile, man" *敏雄, "agile, male" *俊夫, "sagacious, man" *俊雄, "sagaci ...

*Tochigi Prefecture: Kiichi Ogawa (until 4 February);

Nobuo Yokokawa Nobuo (written: , , , , , in hiragana or in katakana) is a masculine, Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese basketball player * Nobuo Fujita (1911–1997), Warrant Flying Officer of the Imperial Japanese Navy *, ...

(starting 5 February) *Tokushima Prefecture:

Kikutaro Hara (born November 17, 1976), better known as his wrestling persona and formerly , is a freelance Japanese people, Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. Though best known for wrestling under a Wrestling mask, mask, he also regula ...

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 ...

Seiichirō Yasui Seiichirō Yasui was a Japanese politician and bureaucrat who held a variety of positions in Japanese government. He served as appointed Governor of Niigata Prefecture from 1940 to 1941, then as appointed Governor of Tokyo from 1946 to 1947, th ...

(until 18 April); Ryōtarō Azuma (starting 22 April) *Tottori Prefecture:

Jirō Ishiba is a stand-alone Japanese given name along with " Tarō", and a common name suffix for males. Possible writings Jirō can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: * 次郎, "next, son" * 次朗, "next, melodious" * 二郎, "s ...

*Toyama Prefecture: Minoru Yoshida *Wakayama Prefecture:

Shinji Ono is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for J1 League club Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo. Career Urawa Reds Ono grew up in the Shizuoka Prefecture and began his professional career with Urawa Reds in the J1 League in 1998. ...

*Yamagata Prefecture: Tōkichi Abiko *Yamaguchi Prefecture: Taro Ozawa *Yamanashi Prefecture:

Hisashi Amano Hisashi is a masculine Japanese given name. Its meaning differs depending on the kanji used to write it. Kanji Single kanji used to write the name Hisashi include: *: "long time" *: "eternal" *: "still" *: "standard" *: "complete" *: "long" *: "li ...

Events

*April 1 – Kyoto Ceramic (now Kyocera) has founded. *April 10 – The Crown Prince

Akihito is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 7 January 1989 until his abdication on 30 April 2019. He presided over the Heisei era, ''Heisei'' being an expression of achieving peace worldwide. Bo ...

, the future

Emperor of Japan The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial House of Japan, Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his positio ...

, weds Michiko Shōda, the first commoner to marry into the

Japanese Imperial Family The , also referred to as the Imperial Family or the House of Yamato, comprises those members of the extended family of the reigning Emperor of Japan who undertake official and public duties. Under the present Constitution of Japan, the Emperor i ...

. *June 2 –

Mori Building is a Japanese family-owned property management firm. As of 2015 its president and CEO is Shingo Tsuji. Its headquarters are in the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo. Mori Building has been managing office building leases s ...

was founded. *June 30 – Twenty-one students are killed and more than a hundred injured when an American North American

F-100 Super Sabre The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard (ANG) until 1979. The first of the Century Series of ...

jet crashes into Miamori Elementary School on the island of

Okinawa 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 ...

. The pilot ejected before the plane struck the school."21 Die as Jet Hits School On Okinawa", ''Oakland Tribune'', June 30, 1959, p1 *July 22 – A

Kumamoto University , abbreviated to ''Kumadai'' (熊大), is a Japanese national university located in Kumamoto, Kumamoto Prefecture in the Kyushu region of Japan. It was established on May 31, 1949, at which time the following institutions were subsumed into it; ...

medical research group studying

Minamata disease Minamata disease is a neurological disease caused by severe mercury poisoning. Signs and symptoms include ataxia, numbness in the hands and feet, general muscle weakness, loss of peripheral vision, and damage to hearing and speech. In extreme cas ...

concludes that it is caused by

mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

. *September 26 – 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,

Typhoon Vera Typhoon Vera, also known as the , was an exceptionally intense tropical cyclone that struck Japan in September 1959, becoming the strongest and deadliest typhoon on record to make landfall on the country as a Category 5 equivalent storm. Th ...

with tidal wave hit around

Ise Bay is a bay located at the mouth of the Kiso Three Rivers between Mie and Aichi Prefectures in Japan. Ise Bay has an average depth of and a maximum depth of . The mouth of the bay is and is connected to the smaller Mikawa Bay by two channels: th ...

, total 5,098 person were lives, 38,921 person were hurt.

Births

*January 3 –

Dankan is a Japanese actor and film director. He appeared in more than 30 films since 1990. Selected filmography Film Television References External links * {{Authority control 1959 births Living people People from Saitama (city) Japane ...

, actor and director *January 16 – Kimiko Ikegami, actress *January 17 – Momoe Yamaguchi, actress *February 8 –

Amy Yamada born February 8, 1959, is a popular but controversial contemporary Japanese writer who is most famous for her stories that address issues of sexuality, racism, and interracial love and marriage. Her debut and subsequent popular success in the ...

, writer *February 20 –

Tomomi Inada is a Japanese lawyer and politician serving as a member of the Japanese House of Representatives, representing the 1st Fukui Prefecture since September 2005. She previously served as the 14th Japanese Minister of Defense from August 2016 to Jul ...

, politician *March 23 –

Kazue Ikura is a Japanese actress, voice actress and narrator who works for Aoni Production. She was previously affiliated with theater groups/production companies 劇舎燐, 俳協, Production Baobab and NABEYA. She is most known for the roles of Kaori M ...

, actress, voice actress and narrator *May 19 –

Michiru Shimada was a Japanese anime screenwriter from Tokyo. Shimada was a graduate of Waseda University. She made her screenwriting debut in 1980. She died in 2017, aged 58, from undisclosed causes.2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

) *May 23 –

Ryuta Kawashima is a Japanese neuroscientist known for his appearances in the '' Brain Age'' series of video games for the Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Switch.

, neuroscientist *June 17 – Kazuki Yao, voice actor and actor *July 17 –

Kiyotaka Sugiyama is a Japanese singer-songwriter. Sugiyama's career began after joining the band "Kyutipanchosu," and subsequently winning 19th Popcon with the single, "Gospel No Yoru." After being scouted by producer Koichi Fujita, Sugiyama's band became " Kiy ...

, singer-songwriter *August 11 –

Yoshiaki Murakami is a Japanese investor, bull, former bureaucrat of the MITI, co-founder of "Murakami Fund" (Japanese: 村上ファンド), and founder of the Murakami Family Foundation (村上財団). About Murakami founded the “Murakami Fund”, with M& ...

, investor *August 17 – Chika Sakamoto, voice actress *September 8 –

Saeko Shimazu is a Japanese actress, voice actress and narrator from Isehara. Shimazu is notable for having had voice roles in all four of the major anime television series based on the works of Rumiko Takahashi - she played Shinobu Miyake in ''Urusei Yatsur ...

, voice actress *October 13 –

Denny Tamaki is a Japanese politician and the current Governor of Okinawa Prefecture since August 2018. Tamaki was a member of the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly for Okinawa City from 2002 to 2005 and became the first Amerasian member of the Japanese Hou ...

, governor of Okinawa Prefecture *October 21 –

Ken Watanabe is a Japanese actor. To English-speaking audiences, he is known for playing tragic hero characters, such as General Tadamichi Kuribayashi in '' Letters from Iwo Jima'' and Lord Katsumoto Moritsugu in ''The Last Samurai'', for which he was nomi ...

, actor *November 21 – Naoko Watanabe, voice actress *November 24 – Akio Ōtsuka, actor and voice actress *December 5 – Yoshitomo Nara, artist *December 6 –

Satoru Iwata was a Japanese businessman, video game programmer, video game designer, and producer. He was the fourth President (corporate title), president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Nintendo from 2002 until his death in 2015. He was a major contr ...

, video game designer, businessman (d.

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

)

Deaths

*March 7 –

Ichirō Hatoyama was a Japanese politician who was Prime Minister of Japan from 1954 to 1956. A conservative, Hatoyama helped oversee the 1955 merger of the Liberal Party and the Democratic Party to create the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), of which Hatoyam ...

, politician and 35th Prime Minister of Japan (b.

1883 Events January–March * January 4 – ''Life'' magazine is founded in Los Angeles, California, United States. * January 10 – A fire at the Newhall Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, kills 73 people. * Ja ...

) *April 30 –

Kafū Nagai was a Japanese writer, editor and translator. His works like '' Geisha in Rivalry'' and ''A Strange Tale from East of the River'' are noted for their depictions of life of the demimonde in early 20th-century Tokyo. Biography Nagai was born Sōki ...

, author, playwright, essayist, and diarist (b.

1879 Events January–March * January 1 – The Specie Resumption Act takes effect. The United States Note is valued the same as gold, for the first time since the American Civil War. * January 11 – The Anglo-Zulu War begins. * Janu ...

) *June 20 –

Hitoshi Ashida was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan in 1948. He was a prominent figure in the immediate postwar political landscape, but was forced to resign his leadership responsibilities after a corruption scandal (Shōwa Denkō Jik ...

, politician and 35th Prime Minister of Japan (b.

1887 Events January–March * January 11 – Louis Pasteur's anti-rabies treatment is defended in the Académie Nationale de Médecine, by Dr. Joseph Grancher. * January 20 ** The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Har ...

)

References

{{Asia topic, 1959 in 1950s in Japan

Years of the 20th century in Japan