2013 in Japan

Events

January 9 – Early reports show Japan’s economy is expected to recover slowly in 2013 under "Abenomics," with fiscal stimulus, monetary easing, and a weaker yen.^[2]
January 13 – January 2013 Northwest Pacific bomb cyclone causes 1,600 injuries across Japan.
January 21 – Human Rights Watch sends a letter to newly inaugurated Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urging Japan to lead the establishment of a UN Commission of Inquiry into human rights violations and abductions by North Korea.^[3]

March 15 – Caroline Kennedy arrives in Tokyo as the U.S. Ambassador, three days before the 50th anniversary of JFK’s assassination.^[4]
March 17 – Chiba gubernatorial election: Kensaku Morita retains governorship of prefecture.
March 30 – An Advanced Liquid Processing System begins operating at Fukushima Daiichi to improve the treatment of contaminated water.^[5]

April 28 – By-election for House of Councillors in Yamaguchi – Kiyoshi Ejima is elected to the House.

June to October – 2013 Japanese heatwave, according to Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare official confirmed report, 1,077 person lost to lives, caused by heat stroke, second worst heatwave disaster in Japan.^[6]
June 16 – Shizuoka gubernatorial election – Heita Kawakatsu re-elected.
June 22 – Mount Fuji is formally added to UNESCO’s World Heritage list.^[4]
June 23 – Tokyo legislative election – The Democratic Party of Japan loses control of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly to the Liberal Democratic Party.

August 15 – An explosion at the 2013 Fukuchiyama Firework Festival event kills 3, injures 59.

September 7 – The 125th IOC Session in Buenos Aires, Argentina award the rights to host the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo over Istanbul and Madrid.
September 8 – Ibaraki gubernatorial election – Masaru Hashimoto enters his sixth term as governor.
September 15 – Wladimir Balentien breaks the 49-year-old Nippon Professional Baseball home run record with 60 home runs.^[4]

October 11 – A fire at the Abe Orthopaedic Surgery Hospital in Hakata-ku, Fukuoka kills 10 and injures 5.^[7]^[8]
October – Typhoon Wipha kills at least 17 people in Ōshima, Tokyo; at the request of governor Naoki Inose, GSDF troops are dispatched. On the mainland, the storm causes major traffic disruptions and kills one woman in Machida, Tokyo.^[9]
October 27 – Miyagi gubernatorial election: Incumbent governor Yoshihiro Murai's only challenger is JCP-supported lawyer Masaaki Satō.^[10]

November 10^[11] – Hiroshima gubernatorial election – Hidehiko Yuzaki re-elected.
November 25 – Human Rights Watch urges revisions to Japan’s draft Special Secrets Bill over concerns about press freedom and whistleblower protections.^[12]

December 4 – Washoku is recognized as an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO.^[4]
December 6 – Special Secrecy Law passes the National Diet^[13]
December 19 – Naoki Inose announces his resignation as Governor of Tokyo following allegations of dubious loans from the Tokushukai medical group.^[14]
December 26 – Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visits Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, honoring Japan’s war dead, including convicted war criminals, drawing international criticism from China, South Korea, and the U.S.^[15]

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Deaths

January 15 – Nagisa Oshima, director^[16]
January 19 – Taihō Kōki, sumo wrestler^[17]
February 18 – Chieko Honda, voice actress (b. 1963)^[18]
April 4 – Noboru Yamaguchi, writer^[19]
April 29 – Shinji Maki, comedian
June 12 – Jiroemon Kimura, supercentenarian, oldest man ever, world's oldest living person (b. 1897)
June 13 – Kenji Utsumi, actor^[20]
September 2 – Makoto Moroi, composer
September 19 – Hiroshi Yamauchi, businessman (b. 1927)
October 13 – Takashi Yanase, manga artist^[21]
October 28 – Tetsuharu Kawakami, baseball player (b. 1920)
November 8 – Chiyoko Shimakura, singer and TV presenter^[22]
November 13 – Chieko Aioi, actress
December 30 – Eiichi Ōtaki, musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer^[23]

Incumbents