2008 in Japan

Events in the year 2008 in Japan.

Incumbents

• Emperor – Akihito
• Prime Minister – Yasuo Fukuda (Liberal Democratic Party–Gunma) until September 24, Taro Aso (L–Fukuoka)
• Chief Cabinet Secretary: Nobutaka Machimura (L–Hokkaidō) until September 24, Takeo Kawamura (L–Yamaguchi)
• Chief Justice of the Supreme Court: Nirō Shimada until 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, until January 15), 169th (regular, January 18 to June 21), 170th (extraordinary, September 24 to December 25)

Events

• January 31 - Nine people are hospitalized after eating gyōza made at the Tianyang Food Plant in China.^[1]
• February 11 - Okinawa police arrest United States Marine Tyrone Hadnott and charge him with raping a middle-school girl.^[2]
• 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.^[3]
• February 19 - A Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer Atago runs over a fish boat Seitoku Maru at 4.07 am off the coast of Chiba Prefecture.^[4]
• February 22 - The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force resumes fueling warships from the United States and its allies.^[5]
• February 22 - Kazuyoshi Miura is arrested in Saipan on suspicion of involvement with the murder of his wife in 1981.^[6]
• February 25 - The Supreme Court upheld life sentence of Daisuke Mori.^[7]
• 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.^[8]
• June 14 - the 2008 Iwate earthquake strikes northern Honshū, leaving two dead and hundreds injured.^[9]
• June 17 - Serial killer Tsutomu Miyazaki is executed by hanging.^[10]
• July 7 - July 9 - G8 is 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.^[11]
• 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.^[12]
• 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^[13]

Deaths

• January 17: Jinzō Toriumi, screenwriter
• February 22: Tsuneyo Toyonaga, supercentenarian
• 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
• October 27: Frank Nagai, singer
• November 7: Hidetaka Nishiyama, master of Shotokan karate
• December 5: Shūichi Katō, critic
• December 16: Ai Iijima, media personality and AV idol
• Undated: Yoshinao Kodaira, officer and fighter ace

References