Events in the year 2006 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), ...

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 ...

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 ...

Junichiro Koizumi Junichiro Koizumi (; , ''Koizumi Jun'ichirō'' ; born 8 January 1942) is a former Japanese politician who was Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2001 to 2006. He retired from politics in 2009. He is ...

( L–Kanagawa) to September 26

Shinzō Abe Shinzo Abe ( ; ja, 安倍晋三, Hepburn: , ; 21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 20 ...

(L–Yamaguchi) *

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 ...

(L–Yamaguchi) to September 26

Yasuhisa Shiozaki is a Japanese politician who served as Chief Cabinet Secretary to Prime Minister Shinzō Abe until August 2007. __FORCETOC__ Early career Born in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, he was an AFS exchange student in high school, graduated with a l ...

(L–Ehime) * 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 ...

to October 15 Nirō Shimada from October 16 * President of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

Yōhei Kōno is a Japanese politician and a former President of the Liberal Democratic Party. He served as Speaker of the House of Representatives from November 2003 until August 2009, when the LDP lost its majority in the 2009 election. Kōno served as sp ...

(L–Kanagawa) * President of the

House of Councillors The is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers. If the two houses disagree on matters of the budget, treaties, ...

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 Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

sessions: 164th (regular, January 20 to June 18), 165th (extraordinary, September 26 to December 19)

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 was the governor of Akita Prefecture. A native of Ōmagari, Akita and graduate of Waseda University, he was first elected to the post in 1997 after serving as mayor of Yokote, Akita since 1991. He ran in House of Councillors election in 2010 a ...

*Aomori Prefecture:

Shingo Mimura is a Japanese Politician who is currently serving as Governor of Aomori Prefecture since June 29, 2003. He previously served as a member of House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries ...

*Chiba Prefecture:

Akiko Dōmoto was the governor of Chiba Prefecture in Japan from 2001 to 2009. A graduate of Tokyo Woman's Christian University , often abbreviated to TWCU or , is an independent Protestant university in Tokyo, Japan. Founding TWCU was established by Nitob ...

*Ehime Prefecture:

Moriyuki Kato was a governor of Ehime Prefecture. He was first elected in 1999 and held the position until he was defeated by Tokihiro Nakamura in 2010. A native of Yawatahama, Ehime and graduate of the University of Tokyo, he joined the Ministry of Educatio ...

*Fukui Prefecture:

Issei Nishikawa is a Japanese politician and a former governor of Fukui Prefecture in Japan. He was elected first in 2003. A native of Asahi, Fukui and graduate of Kyoto University with the B.L. degree in 1968, he joined the Ministry of Home Affairs An inter ...

*Fukuoka Prefecture:

Wataru Asō is the former governor of Fukuoka Prefecture in Japan, first elected in 1995. From 2005-11 he was also President of the . A native of Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka and graduate of Kyoto University, he joined the Ministry of International Trade and Indus ...

*Fukushima Prefecture: ** until 28 September:

Eisaku Satō was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister from 1964 to 1972. He is the third-longest serving Prime Minister, and ranks second in longest uninterrupted service as Prime Minister. Satō entered the National Diet in 1949 as a membe ...

** 28 September-12 November:

Akira Kawate Akira may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Akira'' (franchise), a Japanese cyberpunk franchise ** ''Akira'' (manga), a 1980s cyberpunk manga by Katsuhiro Otomo ** ''Akira'' (1988 film), an anime film adaptation of the manga ** ''Akira'' (vide ...

** starting 12 November:

Yūhei Satō is a former governor of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. He was first elected in November 2006, after the previous governor, Eisaku Satō, was forced to step down after bribery charges. He chose not to seek a third term in the election held in Octo ...

*Gifu Prefecture:

Hajime Furuta is the governor of Gifu Prefecture in Japan, first elected in 2005 and reelected in 2009. A native of Gifu, Gifu, he was chosen as the final torchbearer for the National Sports Festival when it was held in Gifu while he was a senior at Gifu Pre ...

*Gunma Prefecture:

Hiroyuki Kodera is a common masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Hiroki can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: extensive, good fortune, spacious. , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . It is written in hir ...

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 was a Japanese politician and the governor of Hiroshima Prefecture from 1993 to 2009. A native of Minami-ku, Hiroshima and graduate of Keio University, he had served in the House of Councillors in the Diet of Japan since 1989 for one term befor ...

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 ...

Harumi Takahashi is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party and currently a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet (national legislature). She served as governor of the prefecture of Hokkaido for four terms from 2003 to 2019. She graduat ...

*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 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, ...

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 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 official ...

*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:

Satoshi Mitazono is a Japanese politician and journalist who is the former governor of Kagoshima Prefecture. He defeated the incumbent Yūichirō Itō at an election held on 10 July 2016. Early life and education Mitazono was born in Ibusuki, Kagoshima in 1958. I ...

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 ...

Shigefumi Matsuzawa is a Japanese politician and a current member of the House of Councillors for the Kanagawa at-large district in the Diet of Japan. A native of Kawasaki, Kanagawa and graduate of Keio University with a bachelor's degree in Political Science, h ...

*Kochi Prefecture: Daijiro Hashimoto *

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 ...

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 ...

Yoshihiro Murai is a Japanese politician and current governor of Miyagi Prefecture. A native of Toyonaka, Osaka and former serviceman of Japan Self-Defense Forces, he was first elected governor in 2005 after serving in the assembly of the prefecture since 1995. ...

*Miyazaki Prefecture:

Tadahiro Ando was the Governor of Miyazaki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, 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 Square kilometre, km2 ( ...

(until 5 December); Kayoko Saka (starting 5 December) *

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 (until 1 September); Jin Murai (starting 1 September) *Nagasaki Prefecture: Genjirō Kaneko *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 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 ...

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 ...

*Oita Prefecture: Katsusada Hirose *

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 was the governor of Okayama Prefecture in Japan from November 1996 until November 2012. A native of Okayama, Okayama and graduate of the University of Tokyo, he had worked at the Ministry of Construction since 1969 before being elected governor. ...

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.

(until 10 December);

Hirokazu Nakaima is a Japanese bureaucrat, business leader, and politician. He was elected governor of Okinawa Prefecture in 2006. Biography Nakaima was born on August 19, 1939 in Higashinari Ward of Osaka. He is of Ryukyuan descent. Nakaima is descended from ...

(starting 10 December) *

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 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 ...

: 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 is a Japanese politician currently serving as a member of the House of Councillors for the Saitama at-large district after winning a by-election in 2019. He has signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, signaling his opposition to any and all tax i ...

Shiga Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Shiga Prefecture has a population of 1,412,916 (1 October 2015) and has a geographic area of . Shiga Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the north, Gifu Prefecture to the nort ...

: Yoshitsugu Kunimatsu (until 20 July);

Yukiko Kada is a Japanese politician and member of the National Diet of Japan, serving as member of the House of Councillors from Shiga Prefecture since 2019. She was the prefectural governor of Shiga for two terms from 2006 to 2014. She is from Honjō, Sa ...

(starting 20 July) *Shiname Prefecture:

Nobuyoshi Sumita Nobuyoshi (written: 信吉, 信芳, 信義, 信喜, 信由, 経惟) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese photographer and artist *, Japanese chief executive *, Japanese sumo wrestler *, Japanese com ...

*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 Af ...

*Tochigi Prefecture:

Tomikazu Fukuda is the governor of Tochigi Prefecture in Japan, first elected in 2004. A native of Imaichi, Tochigi and graduate of Nihon University, he had served in the city assembly of Utsunomiya, Tochigi since 1983 and then in the Tochigi Prefectural Assembl ...

*Tokushima Prefecture:

Kamon Iizumi is a Japanese politician and the current governor of Tokushima Prefecture in Japan, first elected in 2003. A native of Ikeda, Osaka and graduate of the University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university locat ...

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 ...

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 was the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan from September 2010 through September 2011. He was the governor of Tottori Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Tottori Prefecture ...

*Toyama Prefecture: Takakazu Ishii *Wakayama Prefecture: Yoshiki Kimura (until 2 December); Yoshinobu Nisaka (starting 17 December) *Yamagata Prefecture: Hiroshi Saitō *Yamaguchi Prefecture: Sekinari Nii *Yamanashi Prefecture: Takahiko Yamamoto

Events

January

* January 16 -

prosecutors raid

Livedoor was a Japanese company that functioned as an Internet service provider and operator of a web portal and blog platform before being brought down by a scandal in 2006. The company was founded and led in its first 10 years by Takafumi Horie, known a ...

for suspected violations of securities laws. * January 18 - Following the Livedoor raid, the

Tokyo Stock Exchange The , abbreviated as Tosho () or TSE/TYO, is a stock exchange located in Tokyo, Japan. It is the third largest stock exchange in the world by aggregate market capitalization of its listed companies, and the largest in Asia. It had 2,292 listed co ...

is overloaded with sell orders and is forced to stop trading. * January 23 - Livedoor CEO

Takafumi Horie is a Japanese entrepreneur who founded Livedoor, a website design operation that grew into a popular internet portal. After being arrested and charged with securities fraud in 2006, he severed all connections with the company. His trial began o ...

and three other company officials are arrested and placed in detention.

February

* February 1 - Transit operators in the

Kansai region The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropolita ...

introduce the

PiTaPa is a contactless smart card ticketing and electronic money system used in the Kansai region (and may also be used in some areas of Okayama Prefecture, Hiroshima Prefecture, and Shizuoka Prefecture) of Japan. The name ''PiTaPa'' is an acronym of ...

contactless fare card system. * February 6 - Construction Ministry officials cite

Toyoko Inn Toyoko is a village in the Zam Department of Ganzourgou Province in central Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by ...

for multiple violations of building codes and disability access laws. * February 23 -

Figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

Shizuka Arakawa is a retired Japanese figure skater. She is the 2006 Olympic champion and the 2004 World champion. Arakawa is the first Japanese skater to win an Olympic gold medal in figure skating and the second Japanese skater to win any Olympic medal in fi ...

wins a gold medal in the Ladies' Singles at the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

March

* March 3–5 - Asian round of the

World Baseball Classic The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is an international baseball tournament sanctioned from 2006 to 2013 by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and after 2013 by World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in partnership with Major Leagu ...

is held at the

Tokyo Dome is an indoor stadium in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. It was designed as a baseball stadium following its predecessor, Korakuen Stadium. Construction on the stadium began on May 16, 1985, and it opened on March 17, 1988. It was built on the site of th ...

. * March 4 -

Softbank is a Japanese multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo which focuses on investment management. The Group primarily invests in companies operating in technology, energy, and financial sectors. It also runs the ...

announces its intention to purchase the Japanese subsidiary of

Vodafone Vodafone Group Public limited company, plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Telephone company, telecommunications company. Its registered office and Headquarters, global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It ...

April

* April 7 -

Ichirō Ozawa is a Japanese politician and has been a member of the House of Representatives since 1969, representing the Iwate 3rd district (Iwate 2nd district prior to the 1996 general election and Iwate 4th district prior to the 2017 general election). H ...

is elected president of the

Democratic Party of Japan The was a centristThe Democratic Party of Japan was widely described as centrist: * * * * * * * to centre-left liberal or social-liberal political party in Japan from 1998 to 2016. The party's origins lie in the previous Democratic Part ...

. * April 26 - Takahumi Horie is released from custody. * April 26 - Hidetsugu Aneha is arrested for his role in the Structural Calculation Forgery Problem.

May

* May 1 - The new Corporations Act goes into effect, abolishing

yugen kaisha Japanese aesthetics comprise a set of ancient ideals that include '' wabi'' (transient and stark beauty), '' sabi'' (the beauty of natural patina and aging), and '' yūgen'' (profound grace and subtlety). These ideals, and others, underpin much o ...

and altering

kabushiki kaisha A or ''kabushiki kaisha'', commonly abbreviated K.K. or KK, is a type of defined under the Companies Act of Japan. The term is often translated as "stock company", "joint-stock company" or "stock corporation". The term ''kabushiki gaisha'' in ...

. * May 23 – Japanese foreign minister

Taro Aso Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in Africa ...

visits

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

to meet with Chinese and South Korean diplomats.

June

* June -

Minato Ward 2006 elevator accident The Minato Ward 2006 elevator accident was an incident in June 2006 which shook Japanese public confidence in the safety of elevators around the country. In June 2006, in Minato, Tokyo, a 16-year-old high school student was killed by an elevator ...

, a 16-year-old student killed in

Minato, Tokyo is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is also called Minato City in English. It was formed in 1947 as a merger of Akasaka, Azabu and Shiba wards following Tokyo City's transformation into Tokyo Metropolis. The modern Minato ward exhibits th ...

* June 5 - Yoshiaki Murakami, manager of the Murakami Fund, is arrested for

insider trading Insider trading is the trading of a public company's stock or other securities (such as bonds or stock options) based on material, nonpublic information about the company. In various countries, some kinds of trading based on insider information ...

. * June 15 - A cross-party organization of 135 Diet members led by Taku Yamasaki proposes a secular replacement for

Yasukuni Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded by Emperor Meiji in June 1869 and commemorates those who died in service of Empire of Japan, Japan, from the Boshin War of 1868–1869, to the two Sino-Japanese Wars, First Sino-Japane ...

July

* July 14 -

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 ...

abolishes the zero interest rate policy. * July 20 - A memorandum from an Imperial Household Agency official is published in the ''Nihon Keizai Shimbun'' showing that

Emperor 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 ...

refused to visit

after Class A war criminals were added to its rolls.

August

* August 9 - Beef imported from the United States goes on sale in Japan for the first time in months following a lengthy ban. * August 14 - A blackout occurs throughout Tokyo, Chiba and Saitama during the morning rush hour after a barge-mounted crane disrupts a high-voltage line. Wii console

* August 15 - On the anniversary of the end of World War II, Koizumi makes his final visit to

. * August 16 - A fishing boat is fired upon after crossing into Russian-claimed waters off the east coast of

Hokkaidō 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 ...

September

* September 22 -

's term as president of the Liberal Democratic Party expires.

December

* December 2 - Nintendo's

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...

is released in Japan.

Births

* September 6:

Prince Hisahito of Akishino is the youngest child and only son of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Japan. He is the nephew of Emperor Naruhito and second in line to the throne after his father, Fumihito. Birth Hisahito was born at 08:27 JST (23:27 UTC) ...

Deaths

* January 3:

Shiro Azuma was a Japanese soldier who openly admitted his participation in Japanese war crimes against the Chinese during the Second World War. He was one of the few former soldiers of the Empire of Japan to admit to his participation in the 1937 Nanjing Ma ...

, soldier * April 29:

Yoichi Numata (19 July 1924 – 29 April 2006) was a Japanese film actor. He appeared in 27 films between 1949 and 2001. Selected filmography * ''Man in the Storm'' (1950) * ''Yellow Crow'' (1957) * '' Jigoku'' (1960) * ''The Ghost Cat of Otama Pond'' ( ...

, actor * May 1:

Kikuo Takano was a Japanese poet and mathematician. He was born on Sado Island in 1927. He graduated from Utsunomiya Agricultural College in 1948. He began to write poems from the day after Japan had ended its role in World War II. Being inspired from surreal ...

, poet and mathematician * May 6:

Shigeru Kayano was one of the last native speakers of the Ainu language and a leading figure in the Ainu ethnic movement in Japan. Early life Kayano was born in Nibutani village in Biratori, Hokkaidō, Japan. His family name at birth was Kaizawa, but he ...

, Ainu activist (b.

1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of V ...

) * May 10:

Raizo Matsuno was a Japanese politician. Matsuno was born in Yamaga, Kumamoto, Kumamoto Prefecture in 1917. He served in the Imperial Japanese Navy as an officer at the end of World War II as he was attending Naval Accounting School. Matsuno successively h ...

, politician * May 16:

Takahiro Tamura was a Japanese film actor. He appeared in 100 films between 1954 and 2005. He and his younger brothers Masakazu and Ryō were known as the three Tamura brothers. They were sons of actor Tsumasaburo Bando. Biography Tamura graduated from Dosh ...

, actor * May 29:

Masumi Okada was a professional actor, singer, stand-up comedian, and film producer. Also known by his nickname "Fanfan", he was born in Nice, France, to a Japanese father, Minoru Okada, who was an artist, and a Danish mother, Ingeborg Sevaldsen, who was the ...

, actor * June 1: Shokichi Iyanaga, mathematician * June 13:

Hiroyuki Iwaki (6 September 193213 June 2006) was a Japanese conductor and percussionist. Biography Iwaki was born in Tokyo in 1932. Shortly after he entered an elementary school, he moved to Kyoto due to his father's transferral. He came to play the xyloph ...

, conductor and percussionist * June 17:

Hiroaki Shukuzawa was a Japanese rugby union player and coach, who coached the Japan national rugby union team between 1989 and 1991. As a player, he was capped three times by Japan as a scrum-half, and he also advised the Japan Rugby Football Union. He also h ...

, rugby coach * July 1:

Ryutaro Hashimoto was a Japanese politician who served as the Prime Minister of Japan from 1996 to 1998. He was the leader of one of the largest factions within the ruling LDP through most of the 1990s and remained a powerful back-room player in Japanese politic ...

, prime minister (born

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Fe ...

) * July 7:

Reizō Nomoto was a Japanese voice actor from Tokyo, Japan. His birth name was . On July 7, 2006, Nomoto vomited blood at home and - after having been transported to the hospital - died. The cause of his death is unknown. He was 75 years of age. Notable voice ...

, voice actor * August 6:

Hirotaka Suzuoki was a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator from Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture who graduated from Tokyo Keizai University. His best known roles include ''Mobile Suit Gundam'' ( Bright Noa), '' Captain Tsubasa'' ( Kojirou Hyuga), ''Saint Seiya'' ( ...

, voice actor and actor * August 9: Chinatsu Mori, shot putter * September 13: Shokichi Natsui, judoka * September 17:

Kazuyuki Sogabe Kazuyuki Sogabe ( (formerly ) ''Sogabe Kazuyuki'', April 16, 1948 – September 17, 2006) was a Japanese actor, voice actor, musician and narrator. During his life, he has been attached to Theatre Echo; he was attached to Aoni Production at the t ...

, voice actor * September 25:

Tetsurō Tamba was a Japanese actor with a career spanning five decades. He is best known in the West for his role in the 1967 James Bond film '' You Only Live Twice'' as Tiger Tanaka. Biography Tamba had a part-time job as an interpreter at Supreme Commande ...

, actor * October 1:

Yoshihiro Yonezawa was a Japanese manga critic and author. He is also known for being Comiket's co-founder and president. He died of lung cancer at 53. He won the 2007 Seiun Award in the special category and 2010 Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Special Award. Biog ...

, manga critic and author * October 29:

Reiko Mutō was a Japanese people, Japanese actress and Voice acting in Japan, voice actress from Tokyo, Japan. She is best known for playing the voice of Elizabeth Taylor in Japanese language, Japanese dubbing (filmmaking), dubbed television and films, and ...

, voice actress * November 10:

Taira Hara was a Japanese manga artist and tarento born in Tosayamada (now part of Kami), Kōchi Prefecture, Japan. He was a long-time resident of Koishikawa, Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. He made his professional manga debut in 1963 with his story , publishe ...

, manga artist and ''

tarento Television personalities in Japan, known as in Japanese, are celebrities who regularly appear in mass media in Japan, especially as panelists on variety shows. During the Golden Age of Hollywood, bankable stars in America were described as "tal ...

'' * December 17:

Kyōko Kishida was a Japanese actress, voice actress, and writer of children's books. Career Kishida became an actress in 1950, and starred in a Yukio Mishima production of the 1960 film '' Salome''. Her film and television drama credits number in the hundreds ...

, actress * December 20:

Yukio Aoshima was a Japanese politician who served as Governor of Tokyo from 1995 to 1999. He is also well known as a TV actor, novelist, film director, screenwriter and songwriter. Early life and artistic career Yukio was born in Nihonbashi ward of Tok ...

, politician * December 25:

Hiroaki Hidaka was a Japanese serial killer. Early life Hidaka was born in the Miyazaki Prefecture. He was originally an excellent student, but he failed to enter the University of Tsukuba, his target college. He entered the Fukuoka University instead, but eve ...

Statistics

*Wealthiest person in Japan:

Masayoshi Son Masayoshi Son ( ja, 孫正義, translit=Son Masayoshi, ko, 손정의, translit=Son Jeong-ui) (born 11 August 1957) is a Korean-Japanese billionaire technology entrepreneur, investor, financier and philanthropist. A 3rd generation "Zainichi Kore ...

(net worth US$7 billion)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2006 In Japan Years of the 21st century in Japan