2013 in Japan

Events in the year 2013 in Japan.

← 2012 2011 2010 2013 in Japan → 2014 2015 2016
Decades:	1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
See also:	Other events of 2013 History of Japan  • Timeline  • Years

Incumbents

• Emperor: Akihito^[1]
• Prime Minister: Shinzō Abe (L–Yamaguchi)
• Chief Cabinet Secretary: Yoshihide Suga (L–Kanagawa)
• Chief Justice of the Supreme Court: Hironobu Takesaki
• President of the House of Representatives: Bunmei Ibuki (L–Kyoto)
• President of the House of Councillors: Kenji Hirata (D–Gifu) until July 28, Masaaki Yamazaki from August 2
• Diet sessions: 183rd (regular, January 28 to June 26), 184th (extraordinary, August 2 to August 7), 185th (extraordinary, October 15 to December 8)

Governors

• Aichi Prefecture: Hideaki Omura
• Akita Prefecture: Norihisa Satake
• Aomori Prefecture: Shingo Mimura
• Chiba Prefecture: Kensaku Morita
• Ehime Prefecture: Tokihiro Nakamura
• Fukui Prefecture: Issei Nishikawa
• Fukuoka Prefecture: Hiroshi Ogawa
• Fukushima Prefecture: Yūhei Satō
• Gifu Prefecture: Hajime Furuta
• Gunma Prefecture: Masaaki Osawa
• Hiroshima Prefecture: Hidehiko Yuzaki
• Hokkaido: Harumi Takahashi
• Hyogo Prefecture: Toshizō Ido
• Ibaraki Prefecture: Masaru Hashimoto
• Ishikawa Prefecture: Masanori Tanimoto
• Iwate Prefecture: Takuya Tasso
• Kagawa Prefecture: Naruto Uzumaki
• Kagoshima Prefecture: Satoshi Mitazono
• Kanagawa Prefecture: Yuji Kuroiwa
• Kochi Prefecture: Masanao Ozaki
• Kumamoto Prefecture: Ikuo Kabashima
• Kyoto Prefecture: Keiji Yamada
• Mie Prefecture: Eikei Suzuki
• Miyagi Prefecture: Yoshihiro Murai
• Miyazaki Prefecture: Shunji Kōno
• Nagano Prefecture: Shuichi Abe
• Nagasaki Prefecture: Hōdō Nakamura
• Nara Prefecture: Shōgo Arai
• Niigata Prefecture: Hirohiko Izumida
• Oita Prefecture: Katsusada Hirose
• Okayama Prefecture: Ryuta Ibaragi
• Okinawa Prefecture: Hirokazu Nakaima
• Osaka Prefecture: Ichirō Matsui
• Saga Prefecture: Yasushi Furukawa
• Saitama Prefecture: Kiyoshi Ueda
• Shiga Prefecture: Yukiko Kada
• Shiname Prefecture: Zenbe Mizoguchi
• Shizuoka Prefecture: Heita Kawakatsu
• Tochigi Prefecture: Tomikazu Fukuda
• Tokushima Prefecture: Kamon Iizumi
• Tokyo: Naoki Inose (until 24 December); Tatsumi Ando (starting 24 December)
• Tottori Prefecture: Shinji Hirai
• Toyama Prefecture: Takakazu Ishii
• Wakayama Prefecture: Yoshinobu Nisaka
• Yamagata Prefecture: Mieko Yoshimura
• Yamaguchi Prefecture: Tsugumasa Muraoka
• Yamanashi Prefecture: Shōmei Yokouchi

 

Mount Fuji and Tokyo Skytree

Events

January

• 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

• 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

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

June

• 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.

July

• July 21 – 2013 Japanese House of Councillors election, Hyōgo gubernatorial election

August

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

September

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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]

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]

See also

• 2013 in Japanese music
• 2013 in Japanese television
• List of Japanese films of 2013

References

1. "Akihito | Biography, Reign, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
2. "Japan economy to recover slowly in 2013, underpinned by 'Abenomics'". Reuters. 2013-01-09. Retrieved 2025-08-14.
3. "The Central Role of Japan in Addressing Human Rights Abuses in North Korea | Human Rights Watch". 2013-01-21. Retrieved 2025-08-14.
4. Jordan, Alec (2013-12-26). "The stories of the year in 2013 | News". Tokyo Weekender. Retrieved 2025-08-14.
5. Yamaguchi, Mari (2023-08-22). "Events at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant since the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster". AP News. Retrieved 2025-08-14.
6. ja:2013年の猛暑 (日本) (Japanese language) Retrieved date on July 26, 2017.
7. ja:福岡市整形外科医院火災
8. Kyodo; AFP-JIJI (October 11, 2013). "Pre-dawn blaze guts hospital for aged in Fukuoka, kills 10". The Japan Times. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
9. The Japan Times, October 16: Typhoon leaves 18 dead on Tokyo isle, in metro area. 42 still missing on Izu-Oshima as dozens of houses collapse
10. Yomiuri Shimbun, October 10, 2013: 宮城県知事選告示、現職と新人の計2人が届け出
11. Hiroshima electoral commission: 広島県知事選挙及び広島県議会議員補欠選挙の選挙期日等について Archived 2013-10-17 at the Wayback Machine
12. "Japan: Amend "Special Secrets" Bill to Protect Public Interest | Human Rights Watch". 2013-11-25. Retrieved 2025-08-14.
13. "特定秘密保護法が成立...参院、賛成多数で可決". 読売新聞. December 7, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
14. Kameda, Masaaki (March 19, 2013). "Inose calling it quits over money scandal". The Japan Times. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
15. Beech, Hannah (2014-04-17). "Shinzo Abe: The Patriot". TIME. Retrieved 2025-08-14.
16. Bergan, Ronald (15 January 2013). "Nagisa Oshima obituary". the Guardian. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
17. Hongo, Jun (2013-12-28). "In memoriam: Those we lost in 2013". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2025-08-14.
18. "Voice Actress Chieko Honda Passes Away". Anime News Network. 22 February 2013. Archived from the original on 20 October 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
19. "Zero no Tsukaima Author Noboru Yamaguchi Passes Away". Anime News Network. 2013-04-10. Retrieved 2013-03-11.
20. "Fist of the North Star's Raoh Voice Actor Kenji Utsumi Passes Away". Anime News Network. 2025-08-14. Retrieved 2025-08-14.
21. "Search results". The Japan Times. The Japan Times. 2025-08-14. Retrieved 2025-08-14.
22. "Chiyoko Shimakura - Age, Death, Birthday, Bio, Facts & More - Famous Deaths on November 8th - CalendarZ". www.calendarz.com. 2025-08-14. Retrieved 2025-08-14.
23. "大滝詠一さん急死 リンゴ食べている時に - 音楽ニュース" [Eiichi Ohtaki suddenly passed away while eating an apple]. nikkansports.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-08-14.