2012 in Japan explained

Events in the year 2012 in Japan.

The year 2012 corresponded to the year Heisei 24 (平成24年) in the Japanese calendar. It means the Year of dragon when the 12th day is done it beings the Year of the rat.

Incumbents

• Emperor – Akihito^[1]
• Prime Minister: Yoshihiko Noda (D–Chiba) until December 26, Shinzō Abe (L–Yamaguchi)
• Chief Cabinet Secretary: Osamu Fujimura (D–Osaka) until December 26, Yoshihide Suga (L–Kanagawa)
• Chief Justice of the Supreme Court: Hironobu Takesaki
• President of the House of Representatives: Takahiro Yokomichi (D–Hokkaido) until November 16, Bunmei Ibuki (L–Kyoto) from December 26
• President of the House of Councillors: Kenji Hirata (D–Gifu)
• Diet sessions: 180th (regular, January 24 to September 8), 181st (extraordinary, October 29 to November 16), 182nd (special, December 26 to 28)^[2]

Governors

• Aichi Prefecture

• 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

• Ishikawa Prefecture

Masanori Tanimoto

• Iwate Prefecture: Takuya Tasso
• Kagawa Prefecture: Keizō Hamada
  • Kagoshima Prefecture: Satoshi Mitazono Kanagawa Prefecture

Yuji Kuroiwa

• • Kochi Prefecture: Masanao Ozaki Kumamoto Prefecture

Ikuo Kabashima

• Kyoto Prefecture

• 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

• Oita Prefecture: Katsusada Hirose
• Okayama Prefecture

Masahiro Ishii (until 11 November); Ryuta Ibaragi (starting 11 November)

• Okinawa Prefecture

Hirokazu Nakaima

• Osaka Prefecture

Ichirō Matsui

• Saga Prefecture

• Saitama Prefecture

• Shiga Prefecture

• Shiname Prefecture: Zenbe Mizoguchi
• Shizuoka Prefecture: Heita Kawakatsu
• Tochigi Prefecture: Tomikazu Fukuda
• Tokushima Prefecture: Kamon Iizumi
• Tokyo

Shintarō Ishihara (until 25 October); Naoki Inose (starting 25 October)

• Tottori Prefecture: Shinji Hirai
  • Toyama Prefecture: Takakazu Ishii Wakayama Prefecture: Yoshinobu Nisaka
  • Yamagata Prefecture: Mieko Yoshimura Yamaguchi Prefecture: Sekinari Nii (until 21 August); Shigetarō Yamamoto (starting 21 August)
• Yamanashi Prefecture: Shōmei Yokouchi

Events

• January 1 – A strong (magnitude 7.0), but very deep (370 km) earthquake shakes large parts of Eastern Japan at a JMA-intensity of 4. The quake with an epicenter about 500 km South of mainland Tokyo in the Pacific Ocean near Torishima, Tokyo doesn't cause any reported serious damage or injuries, but can be felt (intensity≥1) from Southern Hokkaidō to Chūgoku.^{[3] [4]}
• January 4 – Nagakute town in the former Aichi county of Aichi became a city.^[5]
• January 13 – In a cabinet reshuffle, Prime Minister Noda replaces five ministers, including two who had been the subject of censure motions by the opposition dominated upper house in December 2011; Katsuya Okada becomes deputy prime minister.^{[6] [7]}
• late January and early February – At least 50 people die in heavy snow and record low temperatures across the country.^{[8] [9]}
• February 5 – Kyoto City mayoral election: In the traditional Communist stronghold, incumbent mayor Daisaku Kadokawa won re-election with support from the major parties against Japanese Communist Party-supported Kazuo Nakamura by 54 to 46 percent of the vote.
• February 10: The central government sets up the reconstruction agency (fukkō-chō) to coordinate the reconstruction efforts after the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 with a central budget, replacing the previous reconstruction headquarters (fukkō taisaku honbu) at the Cabinet Secretariat. Tatsuo Hirano becomes reconstruction minister; Masaharu Nakagawa returns to the cabinet to take over some responsibilities from Katsuya Okada and Tatsuo Hirano.^{[10] [11]}
• February 29: Construction of Tokyo Skytree is completed.^[12]
• March 1 – Low-budget airline Peach launches flights.^[13]
• March 11 – Japan commemorates the first anniversary of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.
• March 25 – Kumamoto gubernatorial election, incumbent Ikuo Kabashima sought re-election with support from the three largest parties DPJ, LDP and Kōmeitō.^[14] He easily beat Communist challenger Keisuke Kuboyama. Turnout hit a record low at 38.4 percent.^{[15] [16]}
• March 31 – Analogue television broadcasts are terminated in the prefectures of Miyagi, Fukushima and Iwate as Japan completed its digital switchover since it was started last July 24, 2011.
• April 1 – Kumamoto City, the capital of Kumamoto, became a City designated by government ordinance.
• April 12 – A car in Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto crashed into a pole and hit multiple pedestrians, resulting in eight dead (including the driver) and twelve injured. The accident, which was later attributed to the driver's epilepsy, was the worst traffic accident in Japan since 1996.^[17]
• May 13 – A hotel fire in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture, killed seven and injured three people.^[18]
• May 22 – Tokyo Skytree, which was completed on 29 February 2012, officially opened to the public.
• June 5 – In a cabinet reshuffle, prime minister Noda replaces five ministers, including two who had been subject to censure by the opposition dominated upper house in April 2012; Satoshi Morimoto becomes the first non-parliamentarian defence minister.^[19]
• June 10 – In the Okinawa prefectural election governor Hirokazu Nakaima's centre-right supporters (LDP, Kōmeitō and independents) fail to win a majority in the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly.^[20]
• July 8 – Kagoshima gubernatorial election: Incumbent governor Yūichirō Itō supported by the major prefectural parties (LDP, DPJ, Kōmeitō, PNP)^[21] beats anti-nuclear activist Yoshitaka Mukohara to win a third term.^{[22] [23]}
• July 21 – Killer Motel horror film is released.^[24]
• July 29 – LDP-Kōmeitō-supported former Cabinet Secretariat and MLIT bureaucrat Shigetarō Yamamoto wins the Yamaguchi gubernatorial election to succeed retiring four-term governor Sekinari Nii. Defeated candidates are energy researcher Tetsunari Iida, ex-Democratic national Representative Tsutomu Takamura and former prefectural bureaucrat Shigeyuki Miwa.^[25]
• September 19 – The Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA, Genshiryoku Kisei Iinkai, lit. "Atomic Power Regulation Commission") and its subordinate agency (Genshiryoku Kisei-chō) launched as an independent atomic regulator supervised by the Ministry of the Environment. They replace the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency of METI, the Japanese Nuclear Safety Commission of the Cabinet Office and departments of other ministries.^[26]
• September 21 – Yoshihiko Noda is reelected as president of the Democratic Party for a full term, now changed to three years, against challengers Kazuhiro Haraguchi, Hirotaka Akamatsu and Michihiko Kano.^[27]
• September 22 – ^[28] Party president Natsuo Yamaguchi of Kōmeitō is re-elected unchallenged as no other candidate has filed a candidacy before the official campaign start on September 14.^[29]
• September 26 – Shinzo Abe succeeds Sadakazu Tanigaki as president of the Liberal Democratic Party (official campaigning started on September 14).
• October 1 – Prime minister Yoshihiko Noda reshuffles his cabinet for the third time;^[30] newly appointed justice minister Keishū Tanaka soon faces calls to resign over a report about an (illegal) political donation from a foreigner and contacts to Yakuza members.^[31]
• October 21 – Niigata governor Hirohiko Izumida, supported by the major non-communist parties (DPJ, LDP, LF, Kōmeitō, SDP),^[32] is reelected for a third term against Communist challenger Shijio Hiwatashi and perennial Smile Party candidate Mac Akasaka.^[33]
• October 28 – Gubernatorial elections in Okayama and Toyama and by-election for the House of Representatives in Kagoshima 3rd district: In Toyama, incumbent Takakazu Ishii is reelected for a third term; in Okayama, former Tenmaya department store president Ryūta Ibaragi succeeds retiring Masahiro Ishii; Kazuaki Miyaji wins the by-election to replace Tadahiro Matsushita, further reducing prime minister Noda's coalition majority after a string of defections.^{[34] [35]}
• November 18 – In the Tochigi gubernatorial election, incumbent Tomikazu Fukuda is reelected for a third term.^[36]
• December 2 – The Sasago road tunnel in Yamanashi Prefecture collapses, resulting in 9 fatalities and 2 injuries.^[37]
• December 16 – Liberal Democratic Party and Kōmeitō win a two-thirds majority of seats in the 46th general election of members of the House of Representatives, Naoki Inose wins the Tokyo gubernatorial election, referendum for ten judges on the Supreme Court, by-elections for several prefectural assemblies.

The Nobel Prize

• Shinya Yamanaka: 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine winner.

Predicted and scheduled events

Electoral calendar

• December 26 – Designation election of the prime minister in the National Diet^[38]

Administrative mergers and status changes

• October 1 – Shiraoka town, South Saitama County (Minami-Saitama-gun), Saitama becomes a city.^{[39] [40]}

Television

See main article: 2012 in Japanese television.

Films

See main article: List of Japanese films of 2012.

Deaths

January

• January 2: Yoshiro Hayashi, 89, golfer (b. 1922) ^[41]

February

• February 16: Chikage Awashima, 87, actress

March

• March 29: Yasuaki Uwabe, 48, perpetrator of the Shimonoseki Station massacre.^[42]

May

• May 29: Kaneto Shindo, 100, film director

July

• July 9: Isuzu Yamada, 95, actress

September

• September 10: Tadahiro Matsushita, 73, politician^[43]
• September 16: Shinichi Nishimiya, 60, diplomat, Ambassador-designate to China (2012).^[44]

See also

• 2012 in Japanese music
• 2012 in Japanese television
• List of Japanese films of 2012

Notes and References

1. Web site: Akihito Biography, Reign, & Facts . Encyclopedia Britannica . 27 March 2019 . en.
2. House of Representatives: Diet sessions
3. [The Japan Times]
4. [Japan Meteorological Agency]
5. Nagakute town: 市制施行準備（平成２４年１月４日「長久手市」誕生に向けて）
6. The Japan Times, January 14: New Noda Cabinet on tax push. Okada to be point man in quest to hike the sales levy
7. The Japan Times, January 14: Noda hoping latest reshuffle bucks trend of dismal failures. Always a gamble, shakeups in last six years have mostly backfired
8. The Japan Times, February 2: 51 deaths laid to blizzards; more snow forecast
9. The Japan Times, February 4: Record lows recorded at 38 locations. Well below zero from Kyushu to Hokkaido and more cold looms
10. Web site: 復興庁. www.reconstruction.go.jp.
11. The Japan Times, February 10: 11 months on, Reconstruction Agency makes official debut
12. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120229x3.html Tokyo Sky Tree Completed
13. News: Kyodo. Cut-rate carrier Peach starts flights. 12 June 2015. The Japan Times. March 2, 2012.
14. Yomiuri Shimbun Kyūshū, December 24, 2011: 熊本知事選で民主も現職支持、事実上の与野党相乗り
15. Kumamoto prefectural electoral commission: Result
16. Yomiuri Shimbun, March 25, 2012: 熊本知事選、現職・蒲島氏が再選
17. [:ja:京都祇園軽ワゴン車暴走事故]
18. [:ja:福山ホテル火災]
19. The Japan Times, June 5: Noda replaces censured ministers. Five new members recruited in bid to get LDP to back sales tax hike
20. The Japan Times, June 11, 2012: Pro-governor bloc fails to gain majority in Okinawa election
21. Jiji Tsūshin, July 9: 現職伊藤氏が３選＝反原発の新人破る－鹿児島知事選
22. The Japan Times, July 9: Kagoshima governor beats antinuclear challenger, secures third term
23. The Wall Street Journal, July 9: Japan Pro-Nuclear Official Wins Vote
24. Web site: Killer Motel . videodetective.com . Video Detective LLC . 3 July 2023.
25. The Japan Times, July 31: Ex-bureaucrat wins Yamaguchi governor race
26. The Japan Times, September 20: New atomic regulator launches, vowing no more disasters
27. The Japan Times, September 21: DPJ re-elects Noda as chief despite rifts. Leader vows to rebuild feuding party, seek end to nuclear power
28. Kōmeitō: 党代表選挙を公告 9月22日の党大会で選出
29. The Wall Street Journal September 14, 2012 公明・山口代表が無投票３選＝井上幹事長ら留任へ
30. The Japan Times, October 2, 2012: Noda shakes up Cabinet third time. Latest lineup includes Tanaka for education, Maehara for policy
31. The Japan Times, October 19, 2012: Tanaka's exit likely as scandal outcry grows. Justice minister enters hospital after ducking Diet summons
32. msn/Sankei News, October 22, 2012: 新潟知事選、泉田氏が３選　マック赤坂氏ら退ける
33. The Japan Times, October 22, 2012: Izumida clinches third term as Niigata governor
34. The Japan Times, October 30, 2012: Okayama elects ex-store boss; Toyama picks incumbent
35. The Japan Times, October 29, 2012: By-election a setback for Noda. LDP tipped to win race in Kagoshima
36. The Japan Times, November 18, 2012: Incumbent Fukuda easily wins Tochigi gubernatorial election
37. [:ja:笹子トンネル天井板落下事故]
38. Yomiuri Shimbun, December 17, 2012: 安倍総裁、２６日に首相指名…石破幹事長は続投
39. Kokudo Chiri Kyōkai/Japan Geographic Data Center: Scheduled municipal mergers
40. Shiraoka town: 市制に向けて
41. http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/golf/news/f-sp-tp1-20120102-884262.html
42. Web site: Matsutani. Minoru. Three hanged; executions are first since '10. 30 March 2012 . The Japan Times. 5 August 2014.
43. The Japan Times, September 10: Japan minister Matsushita found dead at home in possible suicide: police
44. Web site: Newly appointed Japanese ambassador to China dies: Kyodo . 16 September 2012 . chinadaily.com.