2017 in Japan

Decades:	1990s; 2000s; 2010s; 2020s; ;
See also:	Other events of 2017; History of Japan • Timeline • Years

The following is an overview of the year 2017 in Japan.

Incumbents

Emperor: Akihito^[1]
Prime Minister: Shinzō Abe^[2]

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: Masao Uchibori
Gifu Prefecture: Hajime Furuta
Gunma Prefecture: Masaaki Osawa
Hiroshima Prefecture: Hidehiko Yuzaki
Hokkaido: Harumi Takahashi
Hyogo Prefecture: Toshizō Ido
Ibaraki Prefecture: Masaru Hashimoto (until 26 September); Kazuhiko Ōigawa (starting 26 September)
Ishikawa Prefecture: Masanori Tanimoto
Iwate Prefecture: Takuya Tasso
Kagawa Prefecture: Keizō Hamada
Kagoshima Prefecture: Satoshi Mitazono
Kanagawa Prefecture: Yuji Kuroiwa
Kochi: 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: Ryūichi Yoneyama
Oita Prefecture: Katsusada Hirose
Okayama Prefecture: Ryuta Ibaragi
Okinawa Prefecture: Takeshi Onaga
Osaka Prefecture: Ichirō Matsui
Saga Prefecture: Yoshinori Yamaguchi
Saitama Prefecture: Kiyoshi Ueda
Shiga Prefecture: Taizō Mikazuki
Shiname Prefecture: Zenbe Mizoguchi
Shizuoka Prefecture: Heita Kawakatsu
Tochigi Prefecture: Tomikazu Fukuda
Tokushima Prefecture: Kamon Iizumi
Tokyo: Yuriko Koike
Tottori Prefecture: Shinji Hirai
Toyama Prefecture: Takakazu Ishii
Wakayama Prefecture: Yoshinobu Nisaka
Yamagata Prefecture: Mieko Yoshimura
Yamaguchi Prefecture: Tsugumasa Muraoka
Yamanashi Prefecture: Hitoshi Gotō

Events

January

January 22 - TonenGeneral refinery fire in Arida, Wakayama Prefecture, according to Fire and Disaster Management Angency confirmed report, no one injures in this incident.^[3]

March

March 5 - A Bell 412 helicopter crashed into Mt Hachibuse in Nagano Prefecture, According to Japan Transport Ministry official announced, nine rescue workers fatalities.^[4]
March 27 - According to National Police Agency of Japan officials, an avalanche occurred at the climbing course in Nasu Spa Family Sky place in Tochigi Prefecture. 8 people died and 40 more were wounded; most of the victims were high-school students.

April

April 20 - According to Japan National Police Agency confirmed report, a 384 million-yen robbery incident in Tenjin area, Fukuoka, nine person detained in this case.^{[page needed]}

May

May 2 - According to Japan Meteorological Agency confirmed report, a largest scale eruption, with 4000 meter-high in Sakurajima, Kagoshima Prefecture.^[5]

June

June 1 - According to Japan National Police Agency confirmed report, eight person arrested for violating customs law, who brought the equivalent of about 200 kg of gold, about 8.2 million US dollars to the fishing port without permission in Karatsu, Saga Prefecture.^{[page needed]}

July

A debris flow caused by heavy rain in Asakura, Fukuoka Prefecture on 7 July 2017.

July 5 - A heavy torrential rain, followed by a debris flow, hit Asakura, Fukuoka Prefecture and Hita, Oita Prefecture. According to an official of the Japan Fire and Disaster Management Agency, 36 people died, with 21 wounded.^[6]

October

October 22 - 2017 Japanese general election elections were held.
October 30 - Suspected serial killer Takahiro Shiraishi is arrested in Tokyo.^[7]

November

November 1 – Shinzo Abe reappoints his government's cabinet ministers following his re-election as the Japanese prime minister.^[8]
Emperor Akihito announces that he intends to retire on April 30, 2019.^[9]

December

December 20 - Chen Shifeng was sentenced to 20 years in prison after the Jiang Ge Murder Case was solved.
December 31 - American youtuber Logan Paul causes international backlash after filming a video in Aokigahara.

The Nobel Prize

Kazuo Ishiguro: 2017 Nobel Prize in Literature winner.

Arts and entertainment

Sports

Deaths

January

January 3, Shigeru Kōyama, actor (b. 1929)
January 6, Kosei Kamo, tennis player (b. 1932)
January 15, Kozo Kinomoto, football player (b. 1949)
January 17, Tokio Kano, politician (b. 1935)
January 21, Hiroki Matsukata, actor (b. 1942)
January 22, Masaya Nakamura, businessman (b. 1925)
January 25, Shunji Fujimura, actor (b. 1934)

February

February 2, Shunichiro Okano, football player (b. 1931)
February 3
- Shumon Miura, novelist (b. 1926)
- Yoshiro Hayashi, politician (b. 1927)
February 7, Miho Nakayama, comedian (b. 1938)
February 8
- Rina Matsuno, singer (b. 1998)
- Yoshio Tsuchiya, actor (b. 1927)
February 10, Tsuyoshi Yamanaka, swimmer (b. 1939)
February 11, Jiro Taniguchi, manga artist (b. 1947)
February 13, Seijun Suzuki, filmmaker (b. 1923)
February 19, Kyoko Hayashi, author (b. 1930)
February 24, Fumio Karashima, jazz pianist (b. 1948)
February 25, Toshio Nakanishi, musician (b. 1956)

March

March 1
- Hiroshi Kamayatsu, musician (b. 1939)
- Yasuyuki Kuwahara, football player (b. 1942)
March 4, Takashi Inoue, actor (b. 1960)
March 7
- Yoshiyuki Arai, politician (b. 1934)
- Yukinori Miyabe, speed skater (b. 1968)
March 9, Kasugafuji Akihiro, sumo wrestler (b. 1966)
March 13
- Hiroto Muraoka, football player (b. 1931)
- Morihiro Hashimoto, darts player (b. 1977)
March 14, Tsunehiko Watase, actor (b. 1944)
March 19, Tomiko Okazaki, politician (b. 1944)
March 20, Shuntaro Hida, physician (b. 1917)
March 22, Daisuke Satō, writer (b. 1964)

April

April 1
- Shigeaki Uno, political scientist (b. 1930)
- Ikutaro Kakehashi, engineer, entrepreneur (b. 1930)
April 5
- Makoto Ōoka, poet (b. 1931)
- Ryo Kagawa, folk singer (b. 1947)
April 12
- Toshio Matsumoto, film director (b. 1932)
- Peggy Hayama, singer (b. 1933)
April 13, Norio Shioyama, animator (b. 1940)
April 17, Shōichi Watanabe, scholar (b. 1930)
April 22
- Hiroshi Nakai, politician (b. 1942)
- Noritoshi Kanai, businessman (b. 1923)
April 27, Sadanoyama Shinmatsu, sumo wrestler (b. 1938)

May

May 3, Yumeji Tsukioka, actress (b. 1922)
May 7, Yoshimitsu Banno, film director (b. 1931)
May 10, Gaisi Takeuti, mathematician (b. 1926)
May 15, Takeshi Kusaka, actor (b. 1931)
May 18, Tatsuya Nōmi, actor (b. 1969)
May 23, Kaoru Yosano, politician (b. 1938)

June

June 6, Keiichi Tahara, photographer (b. 1951)
June 12, Masahide Ōta, academic, politician (b. 1925)
June 13, Yōko Nogiwa, actress (b. 1936)
June 22, Mao Kobayashi, newscaster (b. 1982)
June 23, Nobuyuki Ōuchi, shogi player (b. 1941)
June 27, Ryoichi Jinnai, businessman (b. 1927)
June 28, Shinji Mori, baseball player (b. 1974)

July

July 4, Masatoshi Yoshino, geographer, climatologist (b. 1928)
July 8, Seiji Yokoyama, musician (b. 1935)
July 11, Keisuke Sagawa, actor (b. 1937)
July 18, Shigeaki Hinohara, physician (b. 1911)
July 24, Michiko Inukai, author, philanthropist (b. 1921)
July 25, Tarō Kimura, politician (b. 1965)

August

August 1, Shōgorō Nishimura, film director (b. 1930)
August 3, Iwao Ōtani, recording engineer (b. 1919)
August 7, Haruo Nakajima, actor (b. 1929)
August 18, Tadayoshi Nagashima, politician (b. 1951)
August 28, Tsutomu Hata, politician (b. 1935)
August 30, Sumiteru Taniguchi, activist (b. 1929)

September

September 7, Tsunenori Kawai, politician (b. 1937)
September 8, Toshihiko Nakajima, actor (b. 1962)
September 18, Kenji Watanabe, swimmer (b. 1969)
September 25, Yoshitomo Tokugawa, photographer (b. 1950)
September 29, Ryūji Saikachi, voice actor (b. 1928)

October

October 4, Yosihiko H. Sinoto, anthropologist (b. 1924)
October 11, Chikara Hashimoto, baseball player (b. 1933)
October 16, Koichi Kishi, politician (b. 1940)
October 18, Taizo Nishimuro, businessman (b. 1935)

November

November 16, Hiromi Tsuru, voice actress (b. 1960)
November 21, Masao Sugiuchi, go player (b. 1920)

December

December 2, Norihiko Hashida, musician (b. 1945)
December 8, Atsutoshi Nishida, businessman (b. 1943)
December 9, Heitaro Nakajima, engineer (b. 1921)
December 14, Tamio Ōki, voice actor (b. 1928)
December 15, Michiru Shimada, screenwriter (b. 1959)
December 20, Kenichi Yamamoto, engineer and businessman (b. 1922)
December 21, Chu Ishikawa, composer (b. 1966)
December 28, Junko Maya, actress (b. 1942)
December 30
- Tatsuro Toyoda, businessman (b. 1929)
- Sansho Shinsui, actor (b. 1947)

Elections

National

October 22: By-elections to the National Diet; 2 vacancies as of July 31, both from the House of Representatives: Ehime 3rd district and Aomori 4th district

Prefectural

January 22: Yamagata gubernatorial (w/o vote)
January 29: Gifu gubernatorial
March 26: Chiba gubernatorial
April 9: Akita gubernatorial
June 25: Shizuoka gubernatorial
July 2: Tokyo legislative, Hyōgo gubernatorial
August 27: Ibaraki gubernatorial^[10]
October 22: Miyagi gubernatorial^[11]
November 12: Hiroshima gubernatorial^[12]

Major municipal

Elections in the 20 designated major cities and the 23 special wards/"cities":

January 29: Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka legislative
February 5: Chiyoda, Tokyo mayoral
March 26: Shizuoka, Shizuoka legislative
April 23: Nagoya, Aichi mayoral
May 21: Saitama, Saitama mayoral^[13]
May 28: Chiba, Chiba mayoral^[14]
July 23: Sendai, Miyagi mayoral^[15]
July 30: Yokohama, Kanagawa mayoral^[16]
September 24: Sakai, Osaka mayoral^[17]
October 1: Okayama, Okayama mayoral^[18]
October 22: Kawasaki, Kanagawa mayoral,^[19] Kōbe, Hyōgo mayoral^[20]
before December 18/November 12 (ends of term; but both elections were held on the same day in 2013): Katsushika, Tokyo mayoral and legislative^[21]

References

^ "Akihito | Biography, Reign, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
^ "Shinzo Abe: Japan ex-PM injured after reported gunshot attack". BBC News. 8 July 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
^ ja:東燃ゼネラル石油#不祥事#コンプライアンス違反など (Japanese Lanmguage) Retrieved date on September 13, 2017.
^ ja:日本の航空事故#2010年代#2017年 (Japanese Lanmguage) Retrieved date on September 13, 2017.
^ ja:桜島#火山活動史#2006年以降－昭和火口活動期 (Japanese Lanmguage) Retrieved date on September 13, 2017.
^ ja:平成29年7月九州北部豪雨 (Japanese Language) Retrieved date on September 13, 2017.
^ Tokyo, Agencies in (October 31, 2017). "Japan police investigate possible serial killer in Tokyo suburb". the Guardian.
^ "NHK World Radio Japan". NHK. Archived from the original on 2017-11-01.
^ Kaori Enjoji and Ben Westcott (December 2017). "Akihito to become first Japanese Emperor to abdicate in 200 years". CNN.
^ Ibaraki prefectural electoral commission: Gubernatorial and assembly by-election 2017
^ Kahoku Shimpō, June 21, 2017: ＜宮城知事選＞10月５日告示、22日投票 Archived 2017-08-16 at the Wayback Machine
^ Hiroshima prefectural electoral commission: Schedule of the 2017 gubernatorial election Archived 2017-07-30 at the Wayback Machine
^ Saitama city electoral commission, January 25 press release: さいたま市長選挙の選挙期日が決まりました Archived 2017-02-02 at the Wayback Machine
^ Chiba city electoral commission: Election schedules
^ Sendai city electoral commission: Election schedules Archived 2017-03-25 at the Wayback Machine
^ Yokohama city electoral commission: 2017 mayoral election schedule Archived 2017-03-25 at the Wayback Machine
^ Sakai city electoral commission: 2017 mayoral and assembly by-election schedule Archived 2017-04-24 at the Wayback Machine
^ Okayama city electoral commission: Election schedules Archived 2017-03-25 at the Wayback Machine
^ Kawasaki city electoral commission: 2017 mayoral and assembly by-election schedule Archived 2017-08-16 at the Wayback Machine
^ Kōbe Shimbun, July 5, 2017: 神戸市長選日程決まる　１０月２２日投開票
^ Katsushika "city" electoral commission: Elections Archived 2017-11-09 at the Wayback Machine

[1] "Akihito | Biography, Reign, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 27 March 2019.

[2] "Shinzo Abe: Japan ex-PM injured after reported gunshot attack". BBC News. 8 July 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2022.

[3] :東燃ゼネラル石油#不祥事#コンプライアンス違反など (Japanese Lanmguage) Retrieved date on September 13, 2017.

[4] :日本の航空事故#2010年代#2017年 (Japanese Lanmguage) Retrieved date on September 13, 2017.

[5] :桜島#火山活動史#2006年以降－昭和火口活動期 (Japanese Lanmguage) Retrieved date on September 13, 2017.

[6] :平成29年7月九州北部豪雨 (Japanese Language) Retrieved date on September 13, 2017.

[7] Tokyo, Agencies in (October 31, 2017). "Japan police investigate possible serial killer in Tokyo suburb". the Guardian.

[8] "NHK World Radio Japan". NHK. Archived from the original on 2017-11-01.

[9] Kaori Enjoji and Ben Westcott (December 2017). "Akihito to become first Japanese Emperor to abdicate in 200 years". CNN.

[10] Ibaraki prefectural electoral commission: Gubernatorial and assembly by-election 2017

[11] Kahoku Shimpō, June 21, 2017: ＜宮城知事選＞10月５日告示、22日投票 Archived 2017-08-16 at the Wayback Machine

[12] Hiroshima prefectural electoral commission: Schedule of the 2017 gubernatorial election Archived 2017-07-30 at the Wayback Machine

[13] Saitama city electoral commission, January 25 press release: さいたま市長選挙の選挙期日が決まりました Archived 2017-02-02 at the Wayback Machine

[14] Chiba city electoral commission: Election schedules

[15] Sendai city electoral commission: Election schedules Archived 2017-03-25 at the Wayback Machine

[16] Yokohama city electoral commission: 2017 mayoral election schedule Archived 2017-03-25 at the Wayback Machine

[17] Sakai city electoral commission: 2017 mayoral and assembly by-election schedule Archived 2017-04-24 at the Wayback Machine

[18] Okayama city electoral commission: Election schedules Archived 2017-03-25 at the Wayback Machine

[19] Kawasaki city electoral commission: 2017 mayoral and assembly by-election schedule Archived 2017-08-16 at the Wayback Machine

[20] Kōbe Shimbun, July 5, 2017: 神戸市長選日程決まる　１０月２２日投開票

[21] Katsushika "city" electoral commission: Elections Archived 2017-11-09 at the Wayback Machine

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