1939 in Japan explained

Events in the year 1939 in Japan. It corresponds to Shōwa 14 (昭和14年) in the Japanese calendar.

Incumbents

• Emperor

Hirohito^[1]

• Prime Minister

Fumimaro Konoe until January 5, then Nobuyuki Abe

Governors

• Aichi Prefecture

Kotaro Tanaka

• Akita Prefecture: Kaoru Sasaki (until 11 January); Yukio Tomeoka (starting 11 January)
• Aomori Prefecture: Masanori Ogawa (until 1 March); Noburo Suzuki (starting 1 March)
• Ehime Prefecture: Shizuo Furukawa (until 15 July); Yoshio Mochinaga (starting 15 July)
• Fukui Prefecture: Nakano Yoshiro (until 14 April); Kiyoshi Kimura (starting 14 April)
• Fukuoka Prefecture: Kyuichi Kodama (starting 1940)
• Fukushima Prefecture: Seikichi Kimishima (until 5 September); Seikichi Hashimoto (starting 5 September)
• Gifu Prefecture: Miyano Shozo
• Gunma Prefecture: Shozo Tsuchiya (until 17 April); Kumano Ei (starting 17 April)
• Hiroshima Prefecture

Ichisho Inuma (until 5 September); Katsuroku Aikawa (starting 5 September)

• Ibaraki Prefecture

Shigeru Hamaza (until 11 January); Tokitsugi Yoshinaga (starting 11 January)

• Ishikawa Prefecture

• • • Iwate Prefecture: Chiyoji Yukizawa Kagawa Prefecture: Nagatoshi Fujioka Kanagawa Prefecture

• Kumamoto Prefecture

Tomoichi Koyama

• Kochi Prefecture: Fujioka Nagawa (until 17 April); Shunsuke Kondo (starting 17 April)
• Kyoto Prefecture

• Mie Prefecture: Masatoshi Sato (until 3 January); Masanari Ogawa (starting 1 March)
• Miyagi Prefecture

• Miyazaki Prefecture:
  • • • until 12 April: Jiro Ino 12 April-7 September: Kyuichiro Totsuka
  • starting 7 September: Ryosaku Shimizu
• Nagano Prefecture

• • Nagasaki Prefecture: Jitsuzo Kawanishi Niigata Prefecture

Yasujiro Nakamura (until 5 September); Seikichi Kimishima (starting 5 September)

• Okinawa Prefecture

Fusataro Fuchigami

• Saga Prefecture

Tomoichi Koyama (until 17 April); Kato (starting 17 April)

• Saitama Prefecture

Toki Ginjiro

• Shiname Prefecture: Kyuichi Kodama (until 9 April); ... (starting 9 April)
  • Tochigi Prefecture: Adachi Shuuritsu Tokyo

Okada Shuzo

• Toyama Prefecture: Kenzo Yano
• Yamagata Prefecture: Takei Yoshitsugu (until 17 April); Ishiguro Takeshige (starting 17 April)

Events

• February - Hainan Island Operation
• March - Battle of Xiushui River
• March 1  - According to Japanese government official confirmed report, Japanese Imperial Army ammunition dump explode in Hirakata, Osaka Prefecture, 94 persons were human fatalities, 602 persons were hurt.
• March 17-May 9 - Battle of Nanchang
• April 20-May 24 - Battle of Suixian–Zaoyang
• May 11-September 16 - Battles of Khalkhin Gol
• June - Swatow Operation
• June 1  - Nippon Electric Works and Showa Fertilizer were merger, becomes name was Showa Denko.
• September 13-October 8 - Battle of Changsha (1939)
• Unknown date  - Mukogawa Higher Women's School was founded, as predecessor of Mukogawa Women's University.

Births

• February 9  - Tadahiro Matsushita, politician (d. 2012)
• February 17  - Toshihiro Nikai, politician
• March 2  - Takako, Princess Suga, youngest child of Emperor Shōwa
• April 9  - Ikuko Tani, actress, voice actress and narrator
• August 13  - Shijaku Katsura, rakugo performer (d. 1999)
• September 22  - Junko Tabei, mountaineer, first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest (d. 2016)

Deaths

• February 18  - Kanoko Okamoto, author, poet, and Buddhist scholar (b. 1889)
• March 29  - Michizō Tachihara, poet and architect (b. 1914)
• September 7  - Kyōka Izumi, novelist and Kabuki playwright (b. 1873)
• November 11  - Kagaku Murakami, painter and illustrator (b. 1888)
• December 25  - Masao Nakamura, major general (b. 1892)

See also

• List of Japanese films of the 1930s

Notes and References

1. Web site: Hirohito Biography, Accomplishments, & Facts . Encyclopedia Britannica . 27 March 2019 . en.