2008 in Japan explained

Events in the year 2008 in Japan.

Incumbents

• Emperor: Akihito^[1]
• Prime Minister: Yasuo Fukuda (Liberal Democratic Party–Gunma) to September 24 Taro Aso (L–Fukuoka)
• Chief Cabinet Secretary: Nobutaka Machimura (L–Hokkaidō) to September 24 Takeo Kawamura (L–Yamaguchi)
• Chief Justice of the Supreme Court: Nirō Shimada to November 21 Hironobu Takesaki from November 25
• President of the House of Representatives: Yōhei Kōno (L–Kanagawa)
• President of the House of Councillors: Satsuki Eda (D–Okayama)
• Diet sessions: 168th (extraordinary session continued from 2007, to January 15), 169th (regular, January 18 to June 21), 170th (extraordinary, September 24 to December 25)

Governors

• Aichi Prefecture

• • Akita Prefecture: Sukeshiro Terata Aomori Prefecture: Shingo Mimura
    • • • • Chiba Prefecture: Akiko Dōmoto Ehime Prefecture: Moriyuki Kato Fukui Prefecture: Issei Nishikawa Fukuoka Prefecture: Wataru Asō Fukushima Prefecture: Yūhei Satō Gifu Prefecture: Hajime Furuta
  • Gunma Prefecture: Masaaki Osawa Hiroshima Prefecture

• Hokkaido

Harumi Takahashi

• Hyogo Prefecture: Toshizō Ido
• Ibaraki Prefecture

• Ishikawa Prefecture

Masanori Tanimoto

• Iwate Prefecture: Takuya Tasso
  • • Kagawa Prefecture: Takeki Manabe Kagoshima Prefecture: Satoshi Mitazono Kanagawa Prefecture

• • Kochi Prefecture: Masanao Ozaki Kumamoto Prefecture

Yoshiko Shiotani (until 16 April); Ikuo Kabashima (starting 16 April)

• Kyoto Prefecture

• • Mie Prefecture: Akihiko Noro Miyagi Prefecture

Yoshihiro Murai

• • Miyazaki Prefecture: Hideo Higashikokubaru Nagano Prefecture

• • Nagasaki Prefecture: Genjirō Kaneko Nara Prefecture: Shōgo Arai
• Niigata Prefecture

• Oita Prefecture: Katsusada Hirose
• Okayama Prefecture

• Okinawa Prefecture

Hirokazu Nakaima

• Osaka Prefecture

Fusae Ōta (until 5 February); Tōru Hashimoto (starting 6 February)

• Saga Prefecture

• Saitama Prefecture

• Shiga Prefecture

• Shiname Prefecture: Zenbe Mizoguchi
  • Shizuoka Prefecture: Yoshinobu Ishikawa Tochigi Prefecture: Tomikazu Fukuda
• Tokushima Prefecture: Kamon Iizumi
• Tokyo

• Tottori Prefecture: Shinji Hirai
  • Toyama Prefecture: Takakazu Ishii Wakayama Prefecture: Yoshinobu Nisaka
    • Yamagata Prefecture: Hiroshi Saitō Yamaguchi Prefecture: Sekinari Nii Yamanashi Prefecture: Shōmei Yokouchi

Events

• January 31 – Nine people are hospitalized after eating gyōza made at the Tianyang Food Plant in China.^[2]
• February 11 – Okinawa police arrest United States Marine Tyrone Hadnott and charge him with raping a middle-school girl.^[3]
• February 19
  • Kei Nishikori wins an ATP title. At age 18, he is the youngest player to win the title after Lleyton Hewitt won it at age 16 in 1998.^[4]
  • A Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer Atago collides with fishing boat Seitoku Maru at 4:07 am, off the coast of Chiba Prefecture.^[5]
• February 22
  • The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force resumes fueling warships from the United States and its allies.^[6]
  • Kazuyoshi Miura is arrested in Saipan on suspicion of involvement with the murder of his wife in 1981.^[7]
• February 25 – The Supreme Court upheld life sentence of Daisuke Mori.^[8]
• June 8 – The Akihabara massacre takes place in Tokyo. A man kills seven in an attack on a crowd using a truck and a dagger.^[9]
• June 14 – the 2008 Iwate earthquake strikes northern Honshū, leaving two dead and hundreds injured.^[10]
• June 17 – Serial killer Tsutomu Miyazaki is executed by hanging.^[11]
• July 7 – July 9 – G8 summit hosted by Japan.
• September 6 – Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda announces his resignation.
• September 24 – The Diet elects Taro Aso Prime Minister.
• October – Toyota launches yet another Avensis at the 2008 Paris Motor Show to be built in Britain.
• October 1 – Arson claims 15 lives in a pre-dawn fire at an adult-video shop in Osaka.^[12]
• October 10 (U.S. Pacific Daylight Time) – Kazuyoshi Miura commits suicide in Los Angeles while under arrest on suspicion of involvement in the murder of his wife.^[13]
• October 17 – Japan won their tenth nonpermanent seat for 2009 and 2010 sessions on the United Nations Security Council, defeating Iran by 158 votes to 32 in elections in the General Assembly^[14]

The Nobel Prize

• Yoichiro Nambu, Makoto Kobayashi (physicist), Toshihide Maskawa: 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics winners.

Deaths

• January 16: Tamako Kataoka, painter
• January 17: Jinzō Toriumi, screenwriter
• February 13: Kon Ichikawa, film director
• February 29: Kenji Yanagiya, fighter ace of the Imperial Japanese Army
• March 3: Taichirō Hirokawa, voice actor and narrator
• March 11: Akemi Negishi, actress
• April 2: Momoko Ishii, author
• June 6: Saeko Himuro, novelist, essayist, and playwright
• June 9: Kan Mukai, film director, cinematographer, producer and screenwriter
• June 17: Tsutomu Miyazaki, serial killer
• June 18: Miyuki Kanbe, model and actress
• June 27: Daihachi Oguchi, drummer
• August 2: Fujio Akatsuka, manga artist
• August 4: Eri Kawai, singer
• August 11: Arase Nagahide, sumo wrestler
• August 14: Seiji Aochi, ski jumper
• August 16: Masanobu Fukuoka, microbiologist
• October 10: Kazuyoshi Miura, businessman
• October 27: Frank Nagai, singer
• November 7: Hidetaka Nishiyama, master of Shotokan karate
• November 10: Kiyoshi Itō, mathematician
• December 5: Shūichi Katō, critic
• December 16: Ai Iijima, media personality and AV idol
• Undated: Yoshinao Kodaira, officer and fighter ace

See also

• 2008 in Japanese music
• 2008 in Japanese television
• List of Japanese films of 2008

Notes and References

1. Web site: Akihito Biography, Reign, & Facts . Encyclopedia Britannica . 27 March 2019 . en.
2. News: 10 sick after eating tainted 'gyoza' from China . 2008-01-31 . 2008-02-14 . The Japan Times . Reiji . Yoshida.
3. News: Okinawa rape case sparks resentment . 2008-02-13 . 2008-02-13 . Kaho . Shimizu . The Japan Times. https://web.archive.org/web/20080213193116/http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20080213a1.html. 13 February 2008 . live.
4. News: Nishikori defeats Blake, captures first ATP title . 2008-02-20 . 2008-02-19 . The Japan Times.
5. News: JCG hints destroyer was at fault in collision . 2008-02-20 . 2008-02-27.
6. News: MSDF refueling mission resumed . The Japan Times . 2008-02-22 . 2008-02-22.
7. News: Arrest warrant says Japanese businessman orchestrated wife's killing in Los Angeles . International Herald Tribune . 2008-03-13.
8. Web site: Top court dismisses nurse's protest over life sentence for murdering patient . HDR Japan . 2008-03-12 . 2008-03-21 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110711154526/http://www.hdrjapan.com/option%2Ccom_myblog/show%2CTop-court-dismisses-nurses-protest-over-life-sentence-for-murdering-patient.html/Itemid%2C67/ . 2011-07-11 .
9. News: Japan: Killer of seven gave online warning of Tokyo rampage. The Guardian. 2008-06-10. 2008-06-17 . London . Justin . McCurry. https://web.archive.org/web/20080613104630/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/10/internationalcrime.japan. 13 June 2008 . live.
10. http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/06/13/japan.earthquake/index.html Strong earthquake rattles Japan
11. https://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUST7560220080617 Japan hangs serial killer of young girls and 2 others
12. Web site: Fire kills 15 in Japanese video shop – CNN.com.
13. http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/t10014680971000.html# NHKニュース　ロス疑惑 三浦元社長が自殺
14. News: 3 Nations Win Security Council Seats. Neil. MacFarquhar. The New York Times . October 17, 2008. NYTimes.com.