Events in the year 2004 in Japan. 2004 was the population "peak" of Japan—the last year in which the national population increased.

Incumbents

* Emperor: Akihito * Prime Minister: Junichiro Koizumi ( L–Kanagawa) *

Chief Cabinet Secretary The is a member of the cabinet and is the leader and chief executive of the Cabinet Secretariat of Japan. The Chief Cabinet Secretary coordinates the policies of ministries and agencies in the executive branch, and also serves as the government ...

: Yasuo Fukuda (L–Gunma) until May 7, Hiroyuki Hosoda (L–Shimane) * Chief Justice of the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

Akira Machida Akira Machida (町田顯 ''Machida Akira'', October 16, 1936 – April 5, 2015) was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Japan from 2002 to 2006. He was born in Shimonoseki, Japan. He first began his career in 1959, when he was appointed as a ...

* President of the House of Representatives: Yōhei Kōno (L–Kanagawa) * President of the House of Councillors: Hiroyuki Kurata (L–Chiba) until July 30,

Chikage Ōgi , real name (born 10 May 1933 as , is a Japanese actress and politician. During her 30-year-long political career, she served in some important posts. She became the first female President of the House of Councillors in 2004. Her pseudonymous ...

(L–proportional) * Diet sessions: 159th (regular, January 19 to June 15), 160th (extraordinary, July 30 to August 6), 161st (October 12 to December 3)

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 ...

Masaaki Kanda is a Japanese politician who served as governor of Aichi Prefecture in 1999–2011. A graduate of Chuo University, he served as mayor of Ichinomiya is a Japanese historical term referring to the Shinto shrines with the highest rank in a prov ...

*Akita Prefecture: Sukeshiro Terata *Aomori Prefecture: Shingo Mimura *Chiba Prefecture: Akiko Dōmoto *Ehime Prefecture: Moriyuki Kato *Fukui Prefecture: Issei Nishikawa *Fukuoka Prefecture: Wataru Asō *Fukushima Prefecture: Eisaku Satō *Gifu Prefecture: Taku Kajiwara *Gunma Prefecture: Hiroyuki Kodera *

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 ...

: Yūzan Fujita * Hokkaido: Harumi Takahashi *Hyogo Prefecture:

Toshizō Ido is a Japanese politician and the 48th - 52nd governor of Hyōgo Prefecture in Japan. He became the Governor of Hyōgo Profecture in 2001, a position he held for 5 terms over 20 years. He is a native of Tatsuno, Hyōgo and graduate of the Un ...

* Ibaraki Prefecture:

Masaru Hashimoto is Japanese politician who was the governor of Ibaraki Prefecture from 1993 to 2017. Life Masaru Hashimoto was born on 19 November 1945 in Tōkai, Ibaraki Prefecture. He is a graduate of the University of Tokyo, and joined the Ministry of H ...

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 ...

Masanori Tanimoto is a Japanese politician who was the governor of 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 ...

*Iwate Prefecture:

Hiroya Masuda is a Japanese politician, government official, and business executive. He was Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications from August 2007 to September 2008, and has served as the president and CEO of Japan Post Holdings since January 2020. ...

*Kagawa Prefecture:

Takeki Manabe is a Japanese politician who was the 43rd governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's offi ...

*Kagoshima Prefecture:

Tatsurō Suga Tatsurō, Tatsuro or Tatsurou (written: , , , or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese singer *, Japanese football player *, Japanese baseball player *, Japanese sumo wrestler *, Japanese baseball ...

(until 27 July); Satoshi Mitazono (starting 27 July) * Kanagawa Prefecture: Shigefumi Matsuzawa *Kochi Prefecture:

Daijiro Hashimoto is a politically independent former governor of the Kōchi Prefecture who served from 1991 to 2007, with an intermediate resignation in 2004 to test support after a scandal alleging transactions between his campaign aide and a construction compan ...

* Kumamoto Prefecture:

Yoshiko Shiotani was the governor of Kumamoto Prefecture is a 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 ...

* Kyoto Prefecture:

Keiji Yamada is a Japanese politician and former Governor of Kyoto Prefecture. A native of Hyōgo Prefecture and 1977 graduate of the University of Tokyo, he had worked at the Ministry of Home Affairs since 1977 and served as the vice governor of Kyoto Prefec ...

*Mie Prefecture:

Akihiko Noro is a Japanese politician, most recently serving as the governor of Mie Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefectur ...

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 ...

: Shirō Asano *Miyazaki Prefecture:

Tadahiro Ando was the Governor of Miyazaki Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Miyazaki Prefecture has a population of 1,073,054 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 7,735 km2 (2,986 sq mi). Miyazaki Prefecture bo ...

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 ...

: Yasuo Tanaka *Nagasaki Prefecture:

Genjirō Kaneko is a Japanese politician and member of the Liberal Democratic Party. Kaneko served as Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries from October 2021 to August 2022. He has also represented the Nagasaki At-large district in the House of Counc ...

*Nara Prefecture:

Yoshiya Kakimoto Yoshiya (written: 佳也, 栄哉 or 代志也) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: * (born 1987), Japanese footballer * (born 1973), Japanese footballer Yoshiya (written: 吉屋) is also a Japanese surname. N ...

* Niigata Prefecture: Ikuo Hirayama (until 24 October);

Hirohiko Izumida is a Japanese politician who was the Governor of Niigata Prefecture between 2004 and 2016. Personal history * September 15, 1962: Born in Kamo in Niigata Prefecture. * 1981: Graduated from Sanjo High School. * 1987: Graduated from Kyoto Univ ...

(starting 25 October) *Oita Prefecture:

Katsusada Hirose is the governor of Ōita Prefecture in Japan, first elected in 2003. A native of Hita, Ōita and graduate of the University of Tokyo, he had worked at the Ministry of International Trade and Industry The was a ministry of the Government of ...

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 ...

: Masahiro Ishii *

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 ...

Keiichi Inamine is a Japanese politician who served as the fifth Governor of Okinawa from 1998 until 2006. He studied at, and graduated from, Keio University , mottoeng = The pen is mightier than the sword , type = Private ...

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 ...

Fusae Ōta is a Japanese politician, a former governor of Osaka prefecture, and the country's first female prefectural governor. Her married name is . She is affiliated to the revisionist lobby Nippon Kaigi. Overview Born in Kure, Hiroshima, she later mo ...

* Saga Prefecture: Yasushi Furukawa *

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 ...

: Kiyoshi Ueda * Shiga Prefecture: Yoshitsugu Kunimatsu *Shiname Prefecture: Nobuyoshi Sumita *Shizuoka Prefecture:

Yoshinobu Ishikawa was the governor of Shizuoka Prefecture in Japan, first elected in 1993. A native of Kakegawa, Shizuoka, formerly known as Daitō, Shizuoka, and graduate of the University of Tokyo, Department of Law, he had worked at the Ministry of Home Affai ...

*Tochigi Prefecture:

Akio Fukuda is a Japanese politician of the Constitutional Democratic Party and a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Imaichi, Tochigi and graduate of Tohoku University, he joined the city government of Ima ...

(until 8 December); Tomikazu Fukuda (starting 9 December) *Tokushima Prefecture: Kamon Iizumi * Tokyo:

Shintarō Ishihara was a Japanese politician and writer who was Governor of Tokyo from 1999 to 2012. Being the former leader of the radical right Japan Restoration Party, he was one of the most prominent ultranationalists in modern Japanese politics. An ultranat ...

*Tottori Prefecture: Yoshihiro Katayama *Toyama Prefecture:

Yutaka Nakaoki Yutaka is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Yutaka can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *豊, "bountiful" *裕, "affluence" *穣, "fertile" *温, "warmth" The name can also be written in hiragana ゆ� ...

(until 8 November);

Takakazu Ishii is a Japanese politician and a former governor of Toyama Prefecture in Japan, first elected in 2004. A native of Toyama, Toyama and a graduate of the University of Tokyo, he worked in the Ministry of Home Affairs An interior ministry (sometim ...

(starting 9 November) *Wakayama Prefecture:

Yoshiki Kimura Yoshiki is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Yoshiki can be written using many different combinations of kanji characters. Here are some examples: *義樹, "justice, tree" *義基, "justice, foundation" *義機, "justice, opportu ...

*Yamagata Prefecture: Kazuo Takahashi *Yamaguchi Prefecture: Sekinari Nii *Yamanashi Prefecture: Takahiko Yamamoto

Events

January

* January 19: Deployment of Japanese troops to Iraq begins as the first set of ground forces arrive in

Samawah , nickname = Samawa , settlement_type = City , motto = , image_skyline = مدينة السماوة.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = Samawah , image_flag = , fl ...

February

* February 8: The Ground Self-Defense Force's main unit of the SDF dispatched to Iraq enters Samawah, Iraq. * February 12: The Tokyo District Court has ruled two years in prison and five years in prison for former member of the House of Representatives Kiyomi Tsujimoto who was accused of fraudulent misappropriation of secretary salary. Neither the prosecution nor the defendant appealed, and the ruling was finalized on March 26. * February 17: Avian influenza virus infection in pet chicken (chabo) was confirmed in Kokonoe-cho, Oita Prefecture (the second case this year following Yamaguchi). * February 27: Aum Shinrikyo leader Shoko Asahara is given the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

March

* March 4: Famed Yomiuri Giants manager Shigeo Nagashima is hospitalized. * March 13: First segment of the Kyushu Shinkansen opens. * March 17: Tokyo District Court issues an injunction halting the sale of ''

Bungei Shunju Bungei may refer to: * ''Bungei'' (magazine), a Japanese literary magazine * The Bungei Prize, a literary prize of Japan, awarded by ''Bungei'' * Bungeishunjū, a Japanese publishing company known for its literary magazine of the same name * Wilfr ...

'' issues due to a breach of privacy suit by Makiko Tanaka. * March 24: Chinese activists land in the

Senkaku Islands The are a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, administered by Japan. They are located northeast of Taiwan, east of China, west of Okinawa Island, and north of the southwestern end of the Ryukyu Islands. They are known in main ...

and are arrested by Okinawan police. * March 30: Nurse

Daisuke Mori is a Japanese nurse, who was convicted for giving lethal doses of the muscle relaxant drug vecuronium to his patients in a clinic in Izumi-ku, Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. Although he was convicted of only one murder, he is suspected to be a medica ...

is sentenced to life imprisonment.

April

* April 1 ** Japan Airlines and Japan Air System merge. **New Tokyo International Airport is privatized and renamed

Narita International Airport Narita International Airport ( ja, 成田国際空港, Narita Kokusai Kūkō) , also known as Tokyo-Narita, formerly and originally known as , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Haneda Airport ...

. **Teito Rapid Transit Authority becomes Tokyo Metro. * April 7: Three Japanese civilians taken hostage in Iraq. * April 8: Economist and graduate school professor

Kazuhide Uekusa is a Japanese economist, economic analyst, former senior economist at Nomura Research Institute, and chairman of the Three-Nations Research Institute. He was arrested for sexual offenses in 2004 and 2006. Life and career He entered the Univer ...

is arrested for trying to peep under a schoolgirl's skirt on the escalator of JR

Shinagawa Station is a major railway station in the Takanawa and Konan districts of Minato, Tokyo, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East), Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central), and the private railway operator Keikyu. The Tokaido Shinkan ...

May

* May 10 ** Winny developer Isamu Kaneko, assistant instructor at Tokyo University, is arrested on charges of contributory copyright infringement. **

Crown Prince Naruhito is the current Emperor of Japan. He acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne on 1 May 2019, beginning the Reiwa era, following the abdication of his father, Akihito. He is the 126th monarch according to Japan's traditional order of succession. ...

denounces palace officials at a press conference, suggesting that Crown

Princess Masako is as the consort of Emperor Naruhito, who ascended to the Chrysanthemum Throne in 2019. Masako, who was educated at Harvard and Oxford, had a prior career as a diplomat. Early life and education was born on 9 December 1963 at Toranomon ...

is physically and mentally sick. * May 22: Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visits Pyongyang to bring back 5 Japanese youths who were born while their parents were hostages in North Korea.

June

* June 1: An 11-year-old girl kills her classmate at a Sasebo elementary school.

July

* July 1: Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range enlisted as a world heritage site. * July 8: Naha District Court in Okinawa sentences

US Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

Major Michael Brown to a suspended one-year prison term on charge of attempted rape against a Filipina. * July 11: In elections for the Upper House. the LDP suffers a small setback. * July 18: Heavy rain disaster, re-dike collapse and sediment collapse in

Fukui is a Japanese name meaning "fortunate" or sometimes "one who is from the Fukui prefecture". It may refer to: Places * Fukui Domain, a part of the Japanese han system during the Edo period * Fukui Prefecture, a prefecture of Japan located in ...

, Sanjō, Niigata and Tadami, Fukushima, resulting to 20 persons fatalities. * July 21: Koizumi meets Roh Moo-hyun at Jeju Island in South Korea. * July 30: Chikage Ogi becomes the first female Speaker of the House of Councillors.

August

* August 9: An obsolete steam pipe at Mihama Nuclear Plant blows up, killing four workers.

September

* September 3: World Rally Championship held in Japan for the first time. * September 8: Typhoon Songda hit in western Honshu area, according to official document figure, 45 person fatalities, with injures 1324. * September 17: Japanese baseball players announce a weekend strike, the first baseball strike in Japanese history. * September 27: Koizumi reshuffles his cabinet. * September 29–30: Typhoon Meari, according to Fire and Disaster Management Agency official confirmed report, 27 persons were human fatalities and 95 persons wounded.

October

* October 20: Typhoon Tokage makes landfall in Japan. * October 23: The Chūetsu earthquake strikes Niigata Prefecture, causing widespread damage to the area.

November

* November 1:

Bank of Japan The is the central bank of Japan.Louis Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric. (2005). "Nihon Ginkō" in The bank is often called for short. It has its headquarters in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo. History Like most modern Japanese instituti ...

issues new 10,000, 5,000 and 1,000- yen banknotes. * November 2: Japan's first new professional baseball franchise in 50 years is awarded to the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.

December

* December 24: Fukuoka Daiei Hawks are sold to SoftBank and become the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. * December 26: 37 Japanese citizens are among the thousands of people died in the

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...

. The Japanese victims are affected in countries, such as Thailand, Indonesia, India,

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, and the Maldives.

Births

* May 4:

Kanon Tani is a Japanese child actress and tarento. She received a certificate for Guinness World Record on behalf of a fashion show organized by T-ARTS Company Ltd, in which 1,274 participants modelled on a catwalk. She has a younger sister Karin, who was ...

, actress * June 1: Miyu Honda, child actress * June 16:

Shota Taguchi is a Japanese actor. Biography Taguchi was born in Saitama Prefecture. His mother was a big fan of Masaharu Fukuyama. When Taguchi was four years old, while he was not aware, his mother applied and recruited for Amuse's Amuse Kids (a child depar ...

, actor. * June 17:

Fuku Suzuki is a Japanese actor from Tokyo. As a member of the talent agency Theatre Academy, he made his first appearance in 2006 on the NHK children's programme ''Inai Inai Baa!'' before earning a major role in ''Marumo no Okite'' and more recently the l ...

, child actor * June 23: Mana Ashida, child actress * September 25:

Seiran Kobayashi is a Japanese child actress. Career Kobayashi first appeared on TV in a commercial for Calpis in 2009, and subsequently gained popularity as a child actress in Japanese TV dramas such as ''Yōkame no Semi'' and ''Natsu no Koi wa Nijiiro ni K ...

, actress

Deaths

* January 1: Isao Tamagawa, actor * January 24:

Tomio Aoki ''aka'' was a Japanese film actor. Aoki became famous as a child actor after debuting at the age of six in silent films directed by Yasujirō Ozu. His leading role in Ozu's 1929 short comedy ''Tokkan kozo'' gave Aoki his nickname. '' I Was Bor ...

, actor * February 2: Michio Hikitsuchi, aikido instructor * February 6:

Masataka Ida Lt. Col. (5 October 1912 – 6 February 2004) was a young Lieutenant Colonel in the Military Affairs Section of the Japanese Ministry of War, at the end of World War II. He had been stationed on Formosa (Taiwan), but was ordered back to Tokyo ...

, soldier * February 11:

Hitoshi Takagi was a Japanese voice actor. He died 15 days before his 79th birthday at the age of 78 due to partial ischemic heart disease. He was best known for providing the voice of Totoro. Notable voice roles Anime *''Moomin'' and ''New Moomin'' (Moomi ...

voice actor * March 5: Masanori Tokita, football player * March 20:

Chosuke Ikariya was a Japanese comedian and film actor, and leader of the comedy group The Drifters (Japanese band), The Drifters. His nickname was . Life and career 1931–1962: Childhood and early career Chōsuke Ikariya was born with the name on Novembe ...

, comedian and film actor * April 15: Mitsuteru Yokoyama, manga artist (b.

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

) * April 21: Den Fujita, president of McDonald's Japan * May 21:

Toshikazu Kase was a Japanese civil servant and career diplomat. During World War II he was a high-ranking Foreign Ministry official. Hideaki Kase is his son and Yoko Ono is his niece. Biography Kase was born in Chiba, Japan, from a family of upper-class l ...

, civil servant and career diplomat * July 19: Zenkō Suzuki, politician, Prime minister * July 26: Ramo Nakajima, novelist * September 14:

Mamoru Takuma was a Japanese mass murderer who killed eight children in the Osaka school massacre in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, on 8 June 2001. Takuma had a long history of mentally disturbed and anti-social behaviour, and an extensive criminal record includin ...

, murderer (executed) * October 7:

Miki Matsubara was a Japanese composer, lyricist, and singer from Nishi-ku, Sakai, Osaka, Japan. She participated in the opening and ending theme songs of the TV anime "Gu-Gu Gummo" under the name of "Susie Matsubara." Her 1979 debut song " Mayonaka no Doo ...

, singer, lyricist and composer * November 6: Kensaburo Hara, politician * November 17: Ariyama Kaede, murder victim * November 24: Taiji Kase, master of Shotokan karate * November 26: Shōgo Shimada, actor * December 18: Kikuko, Princess Takamatsu

Statistics

* GDP: ¥504 trillion (+1.4%) * Nikkei 225: High 12,163.89; low 10,365.40 * Wealthiest person in Japan:

Nobutada Saji is a Japanese businessman, chief executive of Suntory Ltd, the world's third-largest distiller behind such brands such as Jim Beam and Makers Mark as well as brewer and food manufacturer. He has a net worth of over a billion dollars. Educated ...

(net worth US$6.9 billion) * Yen: High ¥101.83/USD; low ¥114.80/USD

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2004 In Japan Years of the 21st century in Japan

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 ...