2019 in Japan

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See also:	Other events of 2019 History of Japan  • Timeline  • Years

Events in the year 2019 in Japan.

Incumbents

• Emperor: Akihito (until 30 April),[1] Naruhito (since 1 May)
• Prime Minister: Shinzō Abe

Events

• 2019 Japanese imperial transition
  • 1 January: It was announced that the new era name (元号, gengō) for the period following Heisei will be released on April 1st.[2]
  • 8 January: Heisei era's 30th anniversary for the Emperor Shōwa.
  • 24 February: Jubilee celebrations at the National Theatre of Japan and the 30th anniversary of the death and funeral of Hirohito.
  • 1 April: It was announced that Reiwa (令和) is the new federated era for the future Emperor Naruhito, and is expected to be used from May 1st 2019 onwards.[3]
  • 1 May: Akihito was abdicated as an emperor, Reiwa era begins towards federalism and rise of reformism. [4][5]
  • 22 October: The new federal emperor, Naruhito's enthronement ceremony took place, where he was duly enthroned in an ancient-style proclamation ceremony. [6][7]
• 10 January: Four of the Japanese films in competition entered the 69th Berlin International Film Festival: Whistleblower by Katsuo Fukuzawa, Snow Flower by Kōjirō Hashimoto, Fortuna's Eye by Takahiro Miki, and Samurai Marathon 1855 by Bernard Rose.
• 2 April: Two Japan Self-Defence officers are dispatched to a multinational peacekeeping force in Sinai, Egypt.[8]

• 26 May: U.S. President Donald Trump, during an official state visit to Japan, is the first foreign leader to meet with emperor Naruhito.[9]
• 26 May: According to the official report of the Japan Meteorological Agency, a temperature of 39.5 °C (103.1 °F) was observed in Saroma, Hokkaido, the highest temperature in May in Japan and Hokkaido. The temperature was unseasonably warm, where temperatures of 33 to 38 °C (91 to 100 °F) are usually reached.
• 28 May: According to an official report by the Japan National Police Agency, a stabbing occurred leaving 2 people dead with 18 injured, ending with the 51 year-old perpetrator committing suicide. The killer attacked bystanders, including elementary school students, waiting for bus near Noborito Station, Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture.
• 1 June: According to a report authored by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan, an accident occurred involving 5-car passenger train running in reverse and colliding with a stopped car in Shin-Sugita Station, Kanagawa Prefecture on the Yokohama Seaside Passenger Line leaving 14 people wounded.[10]
• 18 June: 2019 Yamagata earthquake, left 33 people injured. The earthquake, measuring 6.5 on the Richer Scale hit offshore of Tsuruoka, Yamagata Prefecture.
• 19 June: According to Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan, a ten car rapid express commuter train derailed in a collision with a car in Odakyu Line, Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture, resulting in three people injured.
• 20 June: A textile factory fire occurred in Eiheiji, Fukui Prefecture, leaving four people dead, and another four injured.
• 1 July: Japan announces tightening of high-tech exports to South Korea, effective on 4 July, thus begin the trade dispute between the two countries.[11]
• 18 July: Kyoto Animation arson attack, Kyoto Animation's first studio is set ablaze, with 35 people known to be dead.
• 21 July: 2019 Japanese House of Councillors election
• 2 August: Japan announces the removal of South Korea from its list of most trusted trading partners, effective on 28 August 2019.
• 2019 Pacific typhoon season
  • 15 August: Typhoon Krosa, total two persons were fatalities, 55 persons were wounded in around western Honshu, according to JFDMA confirmed report.
  • 9 September: Typhoon Faxai, according to Japanese Government confirmed report, largely power outage hit in Kanagawa and Chiba Prefecture, 934,000 household affected by transmission line and tower damage in Kisarazu, Chiba Prefecture, with three persons (include two of caused by heatstroke) were death, 147 persons were wounded.
  • 22 September: Typhoon Tapah, according to JFDMA confirmed report, one person perished, with 68 persons were wounded in nationwide, a tornado hit in Nobeoka, Miyazaki Prefecture.
  • 4 October: Typhoon Hagibis, according to JFDMA confirmed report, 80 persons killed, 7 persons missing, with 447 persons were wounded in nationwide, a tornado hit in Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture.
• 28 August: According to JFDMA confirmed report, flash flood from torrential rain hit in Takeo, Saga Prefecture, resulting in four persons dead.
• 5 September: According to MLIT confirmed report, an eight car commuter train collision with trailer truck at level crossing at Keikyu Line, Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama, resulting to a truck driver losing his life, 30 persons were hurt.
• 25 October: According to Japan Meteorological Agency official confirmed report, heavy massive rain 60 to 100 mm per an hour, 160 to 260 mm total 12 hours precipitation, and resulting to debris and flash flood and landslide occurs through Boso Peninsula, Chiba Prefecture, and similar hit in Soma, Fukushima Prefecture. Official death toll is ten, another two persons were missing, according to JFDMA confirmed report.
• 31 October: 2019 Shurijo fire, a fire broke down at Shuri Castle, Shuri, Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, later the redevelopment and restoration of building would converted into a new museum after the fire.
• 29 November: The oldest living former 1980s prime minister, Yasuhiro Nakasone died, aged 101.[12]

Arts and entertainment

• 2019 in anime
• 2019 in Japanese music
• 2019 in Japanese television
• List of 2019 box office number-one films in Japan
• List of Japanese films of 2019

Sports

• 2019 Rugby World Cup: The first Rugby World Cup to be held in Asia, South Africa's Springboks won the world cup to become the second team to win three titles after All Blacks, and the first team to win the world cup after a defeat in the group stages to New Zealand's All Blacks.

Deaths

Donald Keene

Machiko Kyō

Atsushi Aoki

Yukiya Amano

Sadako Ogata

Yasuhiro Nakasone

January

• 12 January – Etsuko Ichihara, actress (b. 1936)
• 30 January – Shigeichi Nagano, photographer (b. 1925)

February

• 1 February – Kinryū Arimoto, voice actor (b. 1940)
• 5 February – Fumiko Hori, Nihonga painter (b. 1918)[13]
• 9 February – Junya Sato, film director (b. 1932)
• 10 February – Kōji Kitao, sumo wrestler (b. 1963)
• 24 February – Donald Keene, scholar (b. 1922)

March

• 17 March – Yuya Uchida, singer (b. 1939)
• 26 March – Kenichi Hagiwara, actor (b. 1950)
• 28 March – Fuyumi Shiraishi, voice actress (b. 1936)

April

• 11 April – Monkey Punch, manga artist (b. 1937)
• 16 April – Kiyoshi Kawakubo, voice actor (b. 1929)

May

• 12 May – Machiko Kyō, actress (b. 1924)[14]
• 20 May – Yasuo Furuhata, film director (b. 1934)

June

• 3 June – Atsushi Aoki, Japanese professional wrestler (b. 1977)[15]
• 6 June – Seiko Tanabe, author (b. 1928)
• 10 June – Yuzuru Fujimoto, voice actor (b. 1935)
• 12 June – Tsuruko Yamazaki, artist (b. 1925)[16]
• 26 June – Tadao Takashima, actor (b. 1930)

July

• 9 July – Johnny Kitagawa, businessman (b. 1931)
• 18 July – Yukiya Amano, diplomat (b. 1947)
• 28 July – Yū Shimaka, voice actor (b. 1949)

September

• 2 September – George Abe, author (b. 1937)
• 16 September – Sakahoko Nobushige, sumo wrestler (b. 1961)

October

• 6 October – Masaichi Kaneda, baseball pitcher (b. 1933)
• 13 October – Kanako Naito, volleyball player (b. 1980)
• 24 October - Kaoru Yachigusa, actress (b. 1931)
• 29 October - Sadako Ogata, diplomat, professor (b. 1927)

November

• November 11 – Tadashi Nakamura, voice actor (b. 1929)
• November 12 – Mitsuhisa Taguchi, Japanese footballer (b. 1955)[17]
• November 13 – Yukihiro Takiguchi, actor (b. 1985)
• November 18 – Midori Kiuchi, actress (b. 1950)
• November 29
  • Yasuhiro Nakasone, 45th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1918)[18]
  • Makio Inoue, voice actor (b. 1938)

December

• December 4 – Tetsu Nakamura, physician (b. 1946)
• December 12 – Tatsuo Umemiya, actor (b. 1938)
• December 19 – Yoshio Mochizuki, politician (b. 1947)

References

1. "Akihito | Biography, Reign, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
2. "新元号4月1日公表へ　政府方針". nikkei.com (in Japanese). The Nikkei. 1 January 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
3. "'Reiwa' is Japan's New Imperial Era". Japan Forward. 1 April 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
4. "Japan passes landmark bill for Emperor Akihito to abdicate". BBC News. 8 June 2017.
5. "Japan's new Emperor Naruhito pledges unity". BBC News. 1 May 2019. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
6. "Enthronement ceremony for new emperor mulled for Oct. 22, 2019". Mainichi Shimbun. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 31 December 2017. The government is mulling scheduling the enthronement ceremony for the next emperor for October 2019, months after Crown Prince Naruhito accedes to the Imperial Throne on May 1 that year upon his father Emperor Akihito's abdication, it has been learned.
7. Japan emperor proclaims enthromement in ancient-style ceremony
8. Kyodo, Jiji. "Japan approves plan to send SDF officers to Sinai, on first non-U.N. peacekeeping mission". japantimes.co.jp. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
9. "The Latest: Trump to meet Japan's emperor, talk with Abe". Associated Press. 26 May 2019.
10. 金沢シーサイドライン新杉田駅逆走事故 (Japanese language edition) Retributed date on 23 June 2019
11. "Japan to tighten export rules for high-tech materials to South Korea: media". Reuters. 1 July 2019.
12. "Yasuhiro Nakasone, witness to war and success, turns 100". The Asahi Shimbun. May 27, 2018. Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
13. "孤高の日本画家・堀文子さん100歳逝く | 大磯・二宮・中井". タウンニュース (in Japanese). 2019-02-15. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
14. "Machiko Kyo, internationally acclaimed Japanese actress, dies at 95". Archived from the original on 2019-05-16. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
15. "All Japan Pro Wrestling Star Atsushi Aoki Passes Away After Motorcycle Accident". Wrestlezone. June 3, 2019.
16. Xuan Wei Yap. "ArtAsiaPacific: Obituary Tsuruko Yamazaki19252019". artasiapacific.com. Retrieved 2020-01-10.
17. "田口光久氏死去 サッカー元日本代表ＧＫ" [Mitsuhisa Taguchi died, former Japan national football team GK]. Sankei Shimbun (in Japanese). Sankei Digital. 2019-11-12. Retrieved 2019-11-12.
18. Former Japanese PM Yasuhiro Nakasone dies at 101