2021 in Japan was largely defined by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

and its impact on the country from one year on, in addition to various other historical events such as the postponement of the

2020 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

and the economic recovery resulting from the pandemic. However, the pandemic was officially end by the early October 2021, as the country lifted the fourth and final

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...

up and ahead of the endemic phase.

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), ...

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. ...

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 ...

Yoshihide Suga is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2020 to 2021. He had served as Chief Cabinet Secretary during the second administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe fro ...

(until October 4),

Fumio Kishida is a Japanese politician serving as Prime Minister of Japan and president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) since 2021. A member of the House of Representatives, he previously served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2012 to 2017 and ...

(from October 4) *

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 ...

Katsunobu Katō is a Japanese politician who serves as the Minister of Health, Labour, and Welfare since August 2022, previously serving from from 2019 to 2020 and from 2017 to 2018. He also served as Chief Cabinet Secretary from 2020 to 2021. Belonging to the L ...

(until October 4),

Hirokazu Matsuno is a Japanese politician who currently serves as the Chief Cabinet Secretary since October 2021. He is serving in the House of Representatives as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. Career A native of Kisarazu, Chiba and graduate of Was ...

(from October 4) *

Chief Justice of Japan The is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of Japan and is the head of the judicial branch of the Japanese government. The Chief Justice is ceremonially appointed by the Emperor of Japan after being nominated by the Cabinet Cabinet or The C ...

Naoto Ōtani is a Japanese jurist and lawyer who served as the 19th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Japan from 2018 to 2022. Early life and education Ōtani was born in Akabira, Hokkaido, Japan. He graduated from the University of Tokyo, Faculty of L ...

* Speaker of the House of Representatives:

Tadamori Ōshima is a Japanese politician served as the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan from 2015 to 2021. A member of the Liberal Democratic Party, he previously served as the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and the Minist ...

*President of the House of Councillors:

Akiko Santō is a Japanese politician who served as the President of the House of Councillors of Japan from 2019 to 2022. A member of the Liberal Democratic Party, she previously served as the Vice President of the House of Councillors from 2007 to 2010. ...

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 ...

Hideaki Omura Hideaki (ひであき) is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Hideaki can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *秀秋, "excellent", "autumn" *英秋, "outstanding", "autumn" *秀明, "excellent", "bright" ...

*Akita Prefecture:

Norihisa Satake is a Japanese politician. A former two-term mayor of Akita City in Akita Prefecture, first elected in 2001, he is currently the Governor of Akita Prefecture after winning election on April 12, 2009. He is the 21st head of the North Satake branc ...

*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:

Toshihito Kumagai Toshihito is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Toshihito can be written using different combinations of kanji characters. Some examples: *敏仁, "agile, humanity" *敏人, "agile, person" *俊仁, "talented, humanity" *俊人, ...

*Ehime Prefecture:

Tokihiro Nakamura is a Japanese politician and the current governor of Ehime Prefecture, located in the Shikoku region of Japan. He succeeded Moriyuki Kato in the 2010 Ehime gubernatorial election. Nakamura has previously served as the mayor of Matsuyama, the larg ...

*Fukui Prefecture:

Tatsuji Sugimoto is a Japanese politician. He studied at Todai. He has served as governor of Fukui Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Fukui Prefecture has a population of 778,943 (1 June 2017) and has a geographic ...

*Fukuoka Prefecture: Seitaro Hattori *Fukushima Prefecture:

Masao Uchibori is a Japanese politician and the current governor of Fukushima Prefecture in Japan. He previously served as the vice-governor of his predecessor Yūhei Satō is a former governor of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. He was first elected in Nov ...

*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 ...

*Gunma Prefecture:

Ichita Yamamoto is a Japanese politician who has been the governor of Gunma Prefecture since July 2019. He was a neoconservative Neoconservatism is a political movement that began in the United States during the 1960s among liberal hawks who became dise ...

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 ...

Hidehiko Yuzaki is a Japanese politician and the current governor of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. Early life and education Yuzaki was born October 4, 1965 in Saeki-ku, Hiroshima. He received his B.L. degree from the University of Tokyo in 1990 and his M. ...

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 ...

Naomichi Suzuki is a Japanese politician who currently serves as Governor of Hokkaidō. He previously served as mayor of Yūbari city for two consecutive terms from 2011 to 2019. He had also served in Regional Sovereignty Strategy Office of Cabinet Office a ...

*Hyogo Prefecture:

Motohiko Saitō is a Japanese politician and the 53rd 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 ...

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, ...

: Kazuhiko Ōigawa * Ishikawa:

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:

Takuya Tasso is a Japanese politician and the current governor of Iwate Prefecture. He is a native of Morioka and graduate of the University of Tokyo. Biography Tasso joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1988, receiving a master's degree in internat ...

*Kagawa Prefecture:

Keizō Hamada is a former Japanese politician and finance bureaucrat and a former governor of Kagawa Prefecture in the Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million ( ...

*Kagoshima Prefecture:

Kōichi Shiota is a Japanese politician currently serving as the governor of Kagoshima Prefecture. Political career Shiota served in the industrial ministry for around 30 years before running as governor in the 2020 Kagoshima gubernatorial elections. His ca ...

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 ...

Yuji Kuroiwa Yuji or Yu Ji may refer to: * Yuji Naka, is a Japanese video game programmer, designer and producer * Yu Ji (painter), a Qing dynasty painter and calligrapher * Yūji, a common masculine Japanese given name * Consort Yu (Xiang Yu's wife) (虞姬; ...

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 ...

Ikuo Kabashima is a Japanese politician and the current governor of Kumamoto Prefecture. He has been governor since 2008. Ikuo Kabashima received a bachelor's and master's degrees in Animal Science and Agricultural Economics from the University of Nebraska. He ...

*Kochi Prefecture: Seiji Hamada * Kyoto Prefecture:

Takatoshi Nishiwaki is a Japanese politician and the current Governor of Kyoto Prefecture. Governor of Kyoto Nishiwaki won the 2018 gubernatorial election, defeating his sole opponent Kazuhito Fukuyama, with 55.90% of the vote. In the race, Nishiwaki was backed ...

*Mie Prefecture:

Eikei Suzuki is a Japanese politician and the former governor of Mie Prefecture located in Kansai region of Japan.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:

Shunji Kōno (born September 8, 1964) is a Japanese politician and the governor of Miyazaki Prefecture in Japan. In 2014, he was re-elected for a second term as the Miyazaki governor.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 ...

: Shuichi Abe *Nagasaki Prefecture: Hōdō Nakamura *Nara Prefecture:

Shōgo Arai is a Japanese politician and the current governor of Nara Prefecture in Japan, first elected in 2007. A graduate of the University of Tokyo, he joined the Ministry of Transport, attending Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs Syracuse ...

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 ...

Hideyo Hanazumi is a Japanese politician serving as the Governor of Niigata Prefecture, following his election in June 2018. Prior to his election, Hanazumi served as a vice commandant in the Japan Coast Guard and as Vice Governor of Niigata. Governor of N ...

*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 ...

Ryuta Ibaragi is a Japanese politician, businessman and the governor of Okayama Prefecture is a 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Ichirō Matsui is a Japanese businessman and politician who is the current mayor of Osaka, leader of the Osaka Restoration Association (ORA) and one of the presidents of Nippon Ishin no Kai alongside Nobuyuki Baba. Early life Matsui attended public elementary ...

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 ...

Yoshinori Yamaguchi is a Japanese politician and the current governor of Saga Prefecture located in Kyushu region of Japan. On August 12, 2019. the special ''Natsu no Saga'', a documentary on the ''Zombie Land Saga is an anime television series produc ...

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 ...

Motohiro Ōno is a Japanese politician and the current governor of Saitama Prefecture in Japan. He assumed office replacing Kiyoshi Ueda is a Japanese politician currently serving as a member of the House of Councillors for the Saitama at-large district ...

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 ...

Taizō Mikazuki is a Japanese politician and the current governor of Shiga Prefecture, having been elected to the position in July 2014. He previously served in the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature) as a member of the Democratic Party ...

*Shiname Prefecture:

Tatsuya Maruyama is a Japan, Japanese politician and current governor of Shimane Prefecture. Political career He ran for office as an independent during the Shimane gubernatorial election in 2019, winning 43.58% of the vote. In February 2020, he criticized ...

*Shizuoka Prefecture:

Heita Kawakatsu has been the governor of Shizuoka Prefecture since 2009 and is currently serving his fourth term. He completed his D.Phil at wolfson college, Oxford, under Professor Peter Mathias and was Professor of Economics History at Waseda University, Tokyo ...

*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, he had worked at the Ministry of Home Affairs An interior ministry (so ...

*Tokyo Prefecture:

Yuriko Koike is a Japanese politician who currently serves as the Governor of Tokyo since 2016. She graduated from the American University in Cairo in 1976 and was a member of the House of Representatives of Japan from 1993 until 2016, when she resigned to ...

*Tottori Prefecture:

Shinji Hirai is a Japanese politician, the governor of Tottori Prefecture in Japan, first elected in 2007. He graduated from the University of Tokyo with the B.L. degree in 1984 and joined the Ministry of Home Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes calle ...

*Toyama Prefecture: Hachiro Nitta *Wakayama Prefecture: Yoshinobu Nisaka *Yamagata Prefecture:

Mieko Yoshimura is governor of Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. She was elected on January 25, 2009. She defeated the sitting governor of Yamagata Prefecture, Hiroshi Saitō in an upset. A native of Ōe, Yamagata, she worked at a help-wanted advertising company bef ...

*Yamaguchi Prefecture:

Tsugumasa Muraoka is a Japanese politician and the current governor of Yamaguchi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Yamaguchi Prefecture has a population of 1,377,631 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of ...

*Yamanashi Prefecture:

Kotaro Nagasaki is a Japanese politician serving in the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature) as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. A native of Tokyo and graduate of the University of Tokyo he joined the Ministry of Finance in 1991. ...

Ongoing events

COVID-19 pandemic in Japan Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

Japan–South Korea trade dispute The Japan–South Korea trade dispute, also known as the Japan–South Korea economic war, is an ongoing economic conflict between Japan and South Korea. There are different cited causes behind the conflict. The Japanese government removed Sou ...

Events by month

January

* January 1 –

and

delivered 2021 New Year's message to bring the COVID-19 under control and pledged to host the postponed

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

. * January 2 ** The governors of Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures considered to declare another state of emergency over COVID-19 resurgence, Economic Revitalization Minister

Yasutoshi Nishimura is a Japanese politician who has served as the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry since August 2022. Nishimura previously served as Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Liberal Democratic Party ...

who in charge of COVID-19 response. ** The world's oldest person,

Kane Tanaka was a Japanese supercentenarian who, until her death at the age of , was the world's oldest verified living person following the death of Chiyo Miyako on 22 July 2018. She is the oldest verified Japanese person and the second-oldest verified ...

celebrated her 118th birthday in southwestern Japan on Saturday. * January 4 ** The

Nikkei 225 The Nikkei 225, or , more commonly called the ''Nikkei'' or the ''Nikkei index'' (), is a stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). It has been calculated daily by the '' Nihon Keizai Shimbun'' (''The Nikkei'') newspaper since 1950 ...

in Tokyo was off 0.4% at 27,344.87 after Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced the government is considering declaring a state of emergency for Tokyo and three surrounding prefectures due to surging virus caseloads. ** The government considered declaring a nationwide state of emergency over COVID-19 resurgence, the countdown clock for the postponed Tokyo Olympics hit 200 days to go. * January 5 ** Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to declare another state of emergency in Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures as the COVID-19 resurgence on Thursday, while the government reported more than 4,900 cases. ** New car sales in Japan slumped 11.5% in 2020 from a year earlier amid the pandemic, marking the largest fall in nine years, data from industry bodies showed Tuesday. While tuna gone cut price ¥20 million at Tokyo's

Toyosu Market The is a wholesale market in Tokyo, located in the Toyosu area of the Kōtō ward. There are two markets for seafood, one for general wholesale and one for bidding, and one market for fruits and vegetables, with each in its own building. Tourist ...

during New Year auction. ** The

Constitutional Democrats ) , newspaper = ''Rech'' , ideology = ConstitutionalismConstitutional monarchismLiberal democracyParliamentarism Political pluralismSocial liberalism , position = Centre to centre-left , international = , colours ...

Social Democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...

, and the

Communists Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a so ...

prepared to form a pacifist coalition, despite to the anti-

Suga Cabinet The Suga Cabinet governed Japan under the leadership of Prime Minister of Japan, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga from 16 September 2020 to 4 October 2021. The government was a coalition between the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), Liberal Democra ...

protests and riots. After the Japanese government warned about a new national lockdown in the European Union and the United Kingdom.

February

* February 13 –

2021 Fukushima earthquake An intense and deadly seismic event struck offshore east of Tōhoku, Japan. The 7.3 or 7.1 earthquake occurred on a Saturday night at 23:07 JST (14:07 UTC) on 13 February at a focal depth of . It had a maximum JMA intensity of ''Shindo' ...

March

* March 11 – The 10th anniversary of the

2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12 * one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''El ...

. * March 20 -

March 2021 Miyagi earthquake On March 20, 2021 at 18:09 JST (09:09 UTC). The magnitude 6.9 or 7.0 earthquake struck offshore east of Tōhoku, Japan at a depth of to . It had a maximum JMA intensity of ''Shindo'' 5+ while on the Mercalli intensity scale, it earned a ...

* March 25 – The

2020 Summer Olympics torch relay The 2020 Summer Olympics torch relay was held from 12 March 2020 and ended on 23 July 2021. After being lit in Olympia, Greece, the torch was handed over to the Olympic shooting Gold medallist Anna Korakaki, who became the relay originating Oly ...

restarted in

Fukushima Prefecture Fukushima Prefecture (; ja, 福島県, Fukushima-ken, ) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Fukushima Prefecture has a population of 1,810,286 () and has a geographic area of . Fukushima Prefecture borders Miya ...

April

* April 13 – The decision to dump radioactive water of the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean over the course of 30 years finally obtains the approval of the Japanese cabinet. * April 19 –

Rockfish Rockfish is a common term for several species of fish, referring to their tendency to hide among rocks. The name rockfish is used for many kinds of fish used for food. This common name belongs to several groups that are not closely related, and ca ...

in Fukushima is banned from export after detecting

caesium Caesium (IUPAC spelling) (or cesium in American English) is a chemical element with the symbol Cs and atomic number 55. It is a soft, silvery-golden alkali metal with a melting point of , which makes it one of only five elemental metals that a ...

over legal limit, likely caused by the discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Nuclear Plant. This is the first ban since the lifting of ban on all Fukushima fish in February 2020.

May

* May 1 – A F2 scale tornado hit houses, building, utility polls and

tea plantation Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northe ...

s in

Makinohara 270px, Makinohara City Hall is a city located in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 45,813 in 16980 households and a population density of 410 persons per km². The total area of the city was . Geogra ...

Shizuoka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,637,998 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Prefecture to the northea ...

. According to a local government official confirmed report, three persons were lightly injured and 102 houses and buildings were damaged. * May 27 – According to a

Japan Coast Guard The is the coast guard of Japan. The Japan Coast Guard consists of about 13,700 personnel and is responsible for the protection of the coastline of Japan under the oversight of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Th ...

official confirmed report, a

chemical tanker A chemical tanker is a type of tanker ship designed to transport chemicals in bulk. As defined in MARPOL Annex II, chemical tanker means a ship constructed or adapted for carrying in bulk any liquid product listed in chapter 17 of the Internat ...

''Ulsan Pioneer'' and cargo ship ''Byakko'' (白虎) collided in Kurushima strait, Seto Island Sea,

Ehime Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Ehime Prefecture has a population of 1,342,011 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 5,676 km2 (2,191 sq mi). Ehime Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the northeast, Toku ...

. Nine persons were rescued, and there were three fatalities.

June

July

*July 3 –

2021 Atami landslide Following torrential rainfall, a landslide was triggered which swept through the Izusan neighbourhood of Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan on 3 July 2021. 27 people died during the landslide and three injured. The city received of rainfall in a ...

*July 23 –

: The

2020 Summer Olympics opening ceremony The opening ceremony of the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 23 July 2021 at Olympic Stadium, Tokyo, and was formally opened by Emperor Naruhito. As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proceedings combined the formal and ceremonial o ...

takes place at the

Japan National Stadium The Japan National Stadium, officially named and formerly known as or , is a multi-purpose stadium used mostly for association football in Kasumigaoka, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. The facility served as the main stadium for the opening and c ...

August

*August 6 – According to a Japan National Police Agency report, a thirty-six years old suspect attacked passengers with a knife on a

commuter train Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are consi ...

Odakyu Line , commonly known as Odakyū, is a major railway company based in Tokyo, Japan, best known for its ''Romancecar'' series of limited express trains from Tokyo to Odawara, Enoshima, Tama New Town, and Hakone. The Odakyu Electric Railway Company fo ...

Setagaya is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is also the name of a neighborhood and administrative district within the ward. The ward calls itself Setagaya City in English. Its official bird is the azure-winged magpie, its flower is the fringed orch ...

, Tokyo. He was detained by local police on the same day and 10 passengers were wounded. It is considered a terrorist attack. *August 11 to 17 – 2021 August Japan flood, a torrential massive rain and

flash flood A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice or snow flowing o ...

hit

Saga is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square (video game company), Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, ...

Kyushu Island is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...

, and caused a

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...

to hit around Kyushu,

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separ ...

, resulting in 12 deaths and 16 injuries, according to a Japan Fire and Disaster Management Agency official confirmed report. *August 12 – The 2020 Summer Paralympics torch relay started nationwide. *August 13 – According to Japan Meteorological Agency official confirmed report, a largest volcano erruption hit in

Fukutoku-Okanoba is a submarine volcano that is part of the Volcano Islands in the Bonin Islands of Japan. It is located northeast of the island of South Iwo Jima. Geography The volcano is part of a larger elongated submarine volcano with two peaks and wit ...

Bonin Islands The Bonin Islands, also known as the , are an archipelago of over 30 subtropical and tropical islands, some directly south of Tokyo, Japan and northwest of Guam. The name "Bonin Islands" comes from the Japanese word ''bunin'' (an archaic readi ...

. According to Japan National Institute of Advanced Industrial and Science general manager Kazuhiro Ishimura said on 23 October, the volcano ash height estimate on 16,000 to 19,000 meters (52,493 to 62,335 foot) and 100 million cubic square meters ash volume, second largest volume ash erruption in territory of Japan's history. *August 24 ** Senior member of the

Yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ...

Satoru Nomura is a Japanese Yakuza from Fukuoka Prefecture. He is the fifth president of the yakuza group Kudo-kai. Early life Nomura was born in 1946 as the sixth and youngest child in a rich peasant family. As a teenager, he was addicted to gambling and de ...

, is

sentenced to death 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 ...

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...

, for ordering four assaults, one of which was deadly. Nomura has denied participating in the crimes. It is the first time that a senior member of Japan's Yakuza has been sentenced to death
(BBC)
** The 2020 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony takes place at the

September

*September 1 – The Digital Agency is launched to speed up digitalisation of governmental services. *September 3 – Prime Minister Suga announced he will not stand in the

2021 Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) leadership election The 2021 Liberal Democratic Party leadership election was held on 29 September 2021 to elect the next President of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan. The winner of the election, Fumio Kishida, became the Prime Minister of Japan, and led the ...

. *September 26 – According to Japan Meteorological Agency official confirmed report, a height of 5,400 meters (17,700 foot) eruption records on

Suwanosejima , native_name_link = , image_caption = , image_size = , map_image = Tokara-eilanden.png , map_caption = , location = East China Sea , coordinates = , archipelago = Tokara Islands , total_islands ...

Tokara Islands The is an archipelago in the Nansei Islands, and are part of the Satsunan Islands, which is in turn part of the Ryukyu Archipelago. The chain consists of twelve small islands located between Yakushima and Amami-Oshima. The islands have a total ...

Kagoshima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu and the Ryukyu Islands. Kagoshima Prefecture has a population of 1,599,779 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 9,187 km2 (3,547 sq mi). Kagoshima Prefecture borders Kumamoto P ...

, where highest height of observation history. *September 29 – Fumio Kishida, the foreign minister of outgoing Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, is elected the Liberal Democratic Party's new president, paving the way for him to be Japan's next leader.

October

*October 1 – Japan becoming the first country who transition to the endemic phase. *October 3 – According to Wakayama mayor Masahiro Obana, a Musota Waterpipe Bridge suddenly severely deteriorated and damaged across Kino River, where 138,000 persons (60,000 households) suspend supply and not be possible to resume water supply function of the aqueduct and resident until December 2021. *October 4 –

becomes Japan's 100th Prime Minister, with a new Cabinet mostly made up of newcomers formed. Elections for 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 ...

will also be held on October 31. *October 7 – According to USGS report, a Richer Scale 5.9 earthquake hit around

Tokyo Metropolitan Area The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, consisting of the Kantō region of Japan (including Tokyo Metropolis and the prefectures of Chiba, Gunma, Ibaraki, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Tochigi) as well as the pre ...

, according to Japan Fire and Disaster Management Agency official confirmed report, 47 persons were wounded, due affective moderate quake. *October 22 –

Princess Mako , formerly , is a former member of the Japanese imperial family. She is the eldest child of Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko, niece of Emperor Naruhito, and granddaughter of Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko. ...

celebrates her last royal birthday, before turning bourgeois out of love. *October 31 – According to Japan National Police Agency official confirmed report, A twenty-four years old suspected to knife attack to passengers and arson, during run to Hachioji bound commuter train, Keio Line, Chofu,

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 ...

, total 17 passengers injures.

November

*November 1 – A popular idol group, V6 disbands.

December

*December 17 – 2021 Osaka building fire *December 21 – Three death-row inmates were

hanged Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging in ...

, first executions taken place in 2 years. *December 25 – A first dual-mode vehicle service,

Awa-Kainan Station is a junction passenger railway station located in the town of Kaiyō, Kaifu District, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. It is operated jointly by JR Shikoku and the third-sector Asa Seaside Railway and has the station number "M27". Lines Awa-Ka ...

Cape Muroto is a headland at the southeastern tip of the Japanese island of Shikoku, in the city of Muroto, Kōchi Prefecture. Extending into the Pacific Ocean and situated in within Muroto-Anan Kaigan Quasi-National Park, the cape has been designated a ...

, via

Kannoura Station is a railway station on the Asatō Line in Tōyō, Aki District, Kōchi Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by the third sector Asa Kaigan Railway and bears the station number "TK30". DMV commenced operation from 2021, so this station has bec ...

Asatō Line The is a Japanese railway line connecting Kaifu Station, Kaiyō, Tokushima, Kaiyō and Kannoura Station, Tōyō, Kōchi, Tōyō. Together with Shikoku Railway Company, JR Shikoku's Mugi Line, it has the official nickname . This is the only railwa ...

Shikoku Island is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...

, for regular operation start in the world during the

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

period, according to Awa Searide Railway official confirmed report.

The Nobel Prize

Syukuro Manabe is a Japanese-American meteorologist and climatologist who pioneered the use of computers to simulate global climate change and natural climate variations. He was awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics jointly with Klaus Hasselmann and Giorg ...

: 2021

Nobel Prize in Physics ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then " ...

winner.

Arts and entertainment

* 2021 in anime * 2021 in Japanese music * 2021 in Japanese television * List of 2021 box office number-one films in Japan *

List of Japanese films of 2021 This is a list of Japanese films that are scheduled to release in 2021. Highest-grossing films The following is a list of the 10 highest-grossing Japanese films released at the Japanese box office during 2021. Film releases January – March ...

Sports

(Japan) * 2021 F4 Japanese Championship *

2021 Super Formula Championship The 2021 Japanese Super Formula Championship was the forty-ninth season of premier Japanese open-wheel car, open-wheel motor racing, and the ninth under the moniker of Super Formula. Naoki Yamamoto (racing driver), Naoki Yamamoto entered the 2021 s ...

2021 Super Formula Lights The 2021 Super Formula Lights Championship was the second Super Formula Lights Championship season, after the Japanese Formula 3 Championship was rebranded following the end of the 2019 season. It featured drivers competing in Formula 3 cars with ...

2021 Super GT Series The 2021 Super GT Series was a motor racing championship based in Japan for grand touring cars. The series is sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and run by the GT Association (GTA). It was the twenty-ninth season of the Japan Au ...

* 2021 in Japanese football *

2021 J1 League The 2021 J1 League, also known as the for sponsorship reasons, was the 29th season of the J1 League, the top Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1993. The league began on 26 February and ended ...

2021 J2 League The 2021 J2 League, also known as the for sponsorship reasons, was the 23rd season of J2 League, the top Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1999. The league started on 27 February 2021 and ended ...

2021 J3 League The 2021 J3 League, referred to as the for sponsorship reasons, was the 8th season of J3 League under its current name. Roasso Kumamoto won the J3 title for the first time in their history, in their debut campaign at the J3 League, just three y ...

2021 Japan Football League The was the eighth season of the nationwide fourth tier of Japanese football, and the 23rd season since the establishment of Japan Football League. Clubs For the first time, 17 clubs have taken part in the JFL season. Last year no relegations we ...

2021 Japanese Regional Leagues The Japanese Regional Leagues, the fifth tier of the Japanese association football league system, played a regular season in 2021. Chūgoku Hokkaido The tournament was terminated on Aug 26 due to the restrictions caused by COVID-19 pandemic. L ...

2021 Japanese Super Cup The 2021 Japanese Super Cup (known as Fuji Xerox Super Cup 2021 for sponsorship reasons) was the 28th Japanese Super Cup since its reestablishment, and the 36th overall. It was held on 20 February 2021 between the 2020 J1 League champions and 2020 ...

2021 Emperor's Cup The 2021 Emperor's Cup (Emperor's Cup JFA 101st Japan Football Championship (Japanese: 天皇杯 JFA 第101回全日本サッカー選手権大会)) was the 101st annual Japanese national football cup tournament, which began on 22 May 2021 and ende ...

* 2021 J.League Cup

Deaths

Nobel Prize 2010-Press Conference KVA-DSC 7398

Toshihide Masukawa-press conference Dec 07th, 2008-4

Sonny Chiba Photo Op GalaxyCon Raleigh 2019

January

*January 1 –

Seizō Fukumoto (3 February 1943 – 1 January 2021) was a Japanese actor. Biography He started acting at age 15 in Kyoto, the capital of Japanese cinema. A specialist in film and television jidaigeki set in the Edo period, he most often played a rōnin, but in ...

, actor (b. 1943) *January 29 –

Tochinoumi Teruyoshi was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Aomori. He was the sport's 49th ''yokozuna'', earning promotion in 1964. He was somewhat overshadowed by his ''yokozuna'' contemporaries Taihō and Kashiwado, but he was a noted technician and ear ...

, sumo wrestler (b. 1938)

February

*February 8 –

Shūichirō Moriyama , known by the stage name , was a Japanese actor and voice actor. He was the official Japanese dub-over artist of actors Telly Savalas (with whom he met several times), Jean Gabin, Spencer Tracy, and Lino Ventura. Overview On 23 July 1999, h ...

, actor (b. 1934) *February 17 –

Tetsurō Sagawa was a Japanese actor and voice actor from Tateyama, Chiba. He was a graduate of Waseda University. Filmography Film *'' Dai Ninjutsu Eiga: Watari'' (Nagato Fujibayashi) *''Fūrinkazan'' ( Nobutomo Akiyama) *'' Onmitsu Dōshin Ōedo Sōsamō'' ...

, actor (b. 1937) *February 25 –

Masako Sugaya (August 21, 1937 – February 25, 2021) was a Japanese voice actress who has worked primarily in anime. She died on February 25, 2021. Filmography Anime Television * ''Perman'' (1967), Ganko * '' Under Sea Boy Marine'' (1969), Kurikuri * '' ...

, voice actress (b. 1937)

March

*March 1 –

Kirinji Kazuharu Kirinji Kazuharu, real name Kazuharu Tarusawa (9 March 1953 – 1 March 2021) was a sumo wrestler from Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. He made his professional debut in 1967, reaching the top ''makuuchi'' division in 1974. His highest rank was ...

, sumo wrestler (b. 1953) *March 15 –

Yasuo Ōtsuka was a Japanese animator who worked with Toei Animation, Nippon Animation, TMS Entertainment, and Studio Ghibli. He was considered to be one of Japan's foremost animators, and he was an important mentor to both Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata. ...

, animator (b. 1931) *March 24 **

Toshihiko Koga was a Japanese judoka, 9th degree black belt and Olympic champion who competed in the -71 kg and -78 kg divisions. Koga is regarded as having perhaps the greatest ippon seoi nage ever. He died of cancer on March 24, 2021 at the age of ...

, judoka (b. 1967) **

Kunie Tanaka was a Japanese actor. Tanaka first made a name for himself as the lecherous antagonist of the ''Wakadaishō'' series (1961–1981) of films. He is also well-known for his roles in Kinji Fukasaku's yakuza films, namely the ''Battles Without Honor ...

, actor (b. 1932)

April

*April 1 –

Isamu Akasaki was a Japanese engineer and physicist, specializing in the field of semiconductor technology and Nobel Prize laureate, best known for inventing the bright gallium nitride (GaN) p-n junction blue LED in 1989 and subsequently the high-brightness G ...

, engineer (b. 1929) *April 3 –

Masakazu Tamura was a Japanese film and theatre actor. Profile Masakazu Tamura was born 1 August 1943 in Kyoto, Japan to Japanese actor Tsumasaburō Bandō. Tsumasaburō Bandō died when Tamura was only nine years old. His brothers Takahiro and Ryō are also ...

, actor (b. 1943) *April 4 –

Sugako Hashida was a Japanese scriptwriter. She is known particularly for writing the NHK Asadora ''Oshin'', and was considered Japan's most successful TV drama scriptwriter. She established Hashida Cultural Foundation. Her real name was . Life Hashida was bor ...

, screen writer (b. 1925) *April 11 –

Daisuke Ryu Daisuke Ryu (Japanese: 隆大介, Korean: 장명남, Jang Myeong-nam, hanja: 張明男; 14 January 1957 – 11 April 2021) was a Japanese actor of Korean descent. He won the Japanese "best new actor" Blue Ribbon Award for his performance as the ...

, actor (b. 1957) *April 17 – Osamu Kobayashi, illustrator (b. 1964) *April 24 –

Shunsuke Kikuchi was a Japanese composer who was active from the early 1960s until 2017. He specialized in incidental music for media such as television and film. Kikuchi was regarded as one of Japan's most highly demanded film and TV composers, working princi ...

, composer (b. 1931) *April 25 –

Toshiro Kandagawa was a Japanese chef, known primarily for his strict following of classic Japanese cooking styles. Career Kandagawa entered the cooking profession at the age of 16 when he was hired on as an apprentice cook at the restaurant ''Nadaman'' (なだ ...

, chef (b. 1939) *April 30 –

Takashi Tachibana is a social activist, journalist, accountant and politician who is the founder and leader of . A former assemblyman for the Funabashi City Assembly and the Katsushika Ward Assembly, he was elected to the House of Councillors in the July 20 ...

, journalist (b. 1940)

May

*May 6 –

Kentaro Miura was a Japanese manga artist. He was best known for his acclaimed dark fantasy series '' Berserk'', which began serialization in 1989 and continued until his death. As of 2021, ''Berserk'' had more than 50 million copies in circulation, making i ...

, manga artist (b. 1966) *May 30 –

Asei Kobayashi was a Japanese composer. He was also a lyricist, actor, and ''multi-tarento''. He could also sing songs and advertisement songs. Kobayashi was represented by Astro Music. He was the director of the Japan Songwriters Association (J-scat). Kobaya ...

, composer (b. 1932)

June

*June 6 –

Ei-ichi Negishi was a Japanese chemist who was best known for his discovery of the Negishi coupling. He spent most of his career at Purdue University in the United States, where he was the Herbert C. Brown Distinguished Professor and the director of the Negis ...

, chemist *June 18 –

Takeshi Terauchi , also known as Terry, was a Japanese instrumental rock guitarist. His preferred guitar was a black Mosrite with a white pickguard. His guitar sound was characterized by frenetic picking, heavy use of tremolo picking and frequent use of his gu ...

, guitarist (b. 1939) *June 21 –

Nobuo Hara Nobuo Tsukahara, better known as Nobuo Hara (November 19, 1926 – June 21, 2021) was a Japanese jazz saxophonist and bandleader. Hara was born in Toyama. He played in a military band during World War II and in a Tokyo officers' club after the wa ...

, jazz saxophonist (b. 1926) *June 30 –

Yasunori Oshima was a Japanese professional baseball outfielder, first baseman and third baseman, and coach in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He played for the Chunichi Dragons and Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, Nippon Ham Fighters from 1971 to 1994. He ...

, baseball player (b. 1950)

July

*July 2 –

Kōbō Kenichi Kōbō Kenichi (born as Kenichi Mineyama; August 18, 1973 – July 2, 2021) was a Japanese sumo wrestler. His highest rank was ''maegashira'' 9. Career Kōbō made his professional debut in March 1989 at the age of 15. He worked his way quickly ...

, sumo wrestler (b. 1973) *July 22 –

Zentaro Watanabe , was a Japanese musician and music producer. He debuted as a musician in 1986 as the guitarist for the band Shijin no Chi, later forming the duo Oh! Penelope with former bandmate Mutsuji Tsuji. Since the mid-1990s, Watanabe worked as a music pr ...

, musician (b. 1963) *July 23 –

Toshihide Maskawa was a Japanese theoretical physicist known for his work on CP-violation who was awarded one quarter of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics "for the discovery of the origin of the broken symmetry which predicts the existence of at least three famili ...

, theoretical physicist (b. 1940) *July 28 –

Satsuki Eda was a Japanese politician who was the first opposition member to serve as the President of the House of Councillors in Japan. Eda had served for three terms in the House of Councillors before his election as President on 7 August 2007, after the ...

, politician (b. 1941) *July 31 - Sanpei Satō, cartoonist (b. 1929)

August

*August 2 –

Hideki Hosaka (August 5, 1971 – August 2, 2021) was a Japanese professional wrestler, who is best known for his work in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling, and Pro Wrestling Zero-One. Career Early career (1991–1993) An amateur wrest ...

, professional wrestler (b. 1971) *August 3 – Yūsuke Kinoshita, baseball player (b. 1993) *August 14 –

Jerry Fujio ; 26 June 1940 – 14 August 2021) was a Japanese singer, actor and ''tarento''. Born to a British mother and Japanese father in Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municip ...

, singer (b. 1940) *August 16 – Hiroshi Sakagami, author (b. 1936) *August 19 –

Sonny Chiba , known internationally as Sonny Chiba, was a Japanese actor and martial artist. Chiba was one of the first actors to achieve stardom through his skills in martial arts, initially in Japan and later before an international audience. Born in Fuku ...

, actor (b. 1939)

September

*September 3 –

Shinichiro Sawai was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Career Born in Hamamatsu, Sawai studied German at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. Graduating in 1961, he joined the Toei Company as an assistant director and worked under such directors as ...

, film director (b. 1938) *September 17 –

Wataru Takeshita was a Minister for Reconstruction and a Japanese politician serving in the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature) as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. A native of Kakeya, Shimane and graduate of Keio University he wa ...

, politician (b. 1946) *September 24 –

Takao Saito was a Japanese manga artist, although he rejected the term and considered his work gekiga. He was best known for '' Golgo 13'', which has been serialized in ''Big Comic'' since 1968, making it the oldest manga still in publication. ''Golgo ...

, manga artist (b. 1936) *September 30 –

Koichi Sugiyama was a Japanese composer, conductor, and orchestrator. He was best known for composing the music for the '' Dragon Quest'' franchise, along with several other video games, anime, film, and television shows. Classically trained, Sugiyama was ...

, composer (b. 1931)

October

*October 12 – Chie Nakane, anthropologist (b.

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 * ...

) *October 14 –

Mayumi Moriyama was a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). Early life and education Moriyama was born in Tokyo on 7 November 1927. Her father was a businessman, who ...

, politician and former

(b.

) *October 17 ** Toshihiro Iijima, television producer (b.

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

) ** Gorō Maeda, comedian(b. 1942)

November

*November 3 –

Yasuro Kikuchi was a Japanese amateur Go player. Biography Kikuchi founded the prestigious ''Ryokusei Academy'' in 1975, which has become one of the most prolific Go schools in Japan. Some of the most famous players to come out of the academy include Kikuyo A ...

, go player (b. 1929) *November 4 – Tatsuhiko Kawashima, the father of princess Kawashima Kiko (b. 1940). *November 8 –

Kazuko Hosoki was a Japanese fortune teller, as well as the author of over 100 books. In addition to her regular celebrity appearances on Japanese television, she was known for her belief that ancestor worship is central to Japanese identity. Biography Hosoki ...

, fortune teller (b. 1938) *November 9 –

Jakucho Setouchi (15 May 1922 – 9 November 2021; born formerly known as was a Japanese Buddhist nun, writer, and activist. Setouchi wrote a best-selling translation of '' The Tale of Genji'' and over 400 fictional biographical and historical novels. In 1997 ...

, Buddhist nun (b. 1922) *November 12 –

Takeshi Koba was a professional baseball player and manager in Japan, and the manager of Tokyo International University's baseball team. Early life Because baseball was popular in the city, Koba started playing it when he was in primary school. Soon he drea ...

, baseball player (b. 1936) *November 13 –

Emi Wada was an Academy Award-winning theatrical, movie and ballet costume designer from Japan. Life and career Wada was born in Kyoto Prefecture. At 20, she married Ben Wada, a television director. Wada had initially gone to school to become a painte ...

, costume designer (b. 1937) *November 28 –

Nakamura Kichiemon II was a Japanese actor, kabuki performer and costume designer. He was a so-called Living National Treasures of Japan, Living National Treasure. Nakamura Kichiemon was a formal kabuki stage name. The actor's grandfather first appeared using the ...

, kabuki actor (b. 1944)

December

*December 3 –

Jōji Yanami was a Japanese actor, Voice acting in Japan, voice actor and narrator who was affiliated with Aoni Production. Some of his major voice roles included the ''Dragon Ball'' anime series, which he narrated and voiced Dr. Briefs, Kaiō-sama ( King K ...

, voice actor (b. 1931) *December 8 –

Mitsutoshi Furuya was a Japanese manga artist. He made his debut as a manga artist in 1955 with kashi-hon manga. He started as an assistant of Osamu Tezuka in 1958, but was primarily known for starting out as an assistant of Fujio Akatsuka five years later. He w ...

, manga artist (b. 1936) *December 18 –

Sayaka Kanda was a Japanese actress and singer. She was the only child of actor Masaki Kanda and pop singer Seiko Matsuda. Early life Kanda was born in Chiyoda, Tokyo. She was the only child of actor Masaki Kanda and Seiko Matsuda. Her paternal grandmoth ...

, actress and singer (b.

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

)

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2020s in Japan Years of the 21st century in Japan

Incumbents

Governors

Ongoing events

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January

February

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Arts and entertainment

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See also

Country overviews

Related timelines for current period

References

External links