Events in the year 1941 in Japan. It corresponds to ShÃ
Âwa 16 (æÂÂÃ¥ÂÂ16å¹´) in the Japanese calendar.
Incumbents
Governors
Events
- January 25 – Panjiayu tragedy
- January 30-March 1 – Battle of South Henan
- March – Western Hubei Operation
- March 14-April 9 – Battle of Shanggao
- May 7âÂÂ27 – Battle of South Shanxi
- July 29 – Organo is founded, as predecessor name was Yamanashi Chemical Industry.
- September 6-October 8 – Battle of Changsha (1941)
- September 16 – An express train collision with standing local passenger train in Aboshi Station, Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture. Total 85 persons were fatalities, 71 persons were wounded, according to Railway Ministry of Japan official confirmed report.
- October 22 – Takahito, Prince Mikasa (younger brother of Emperor Hirohito) marries Yuriko Takagi, henceforth Yuriko, Princess Mikasa.
- November Unknown – ToyÃ
 Optical and glass Manufacturing, as predecessor of optical instrument brand, Hoya was founded.
- December 7 – Attack on Pearl Harbor, the beginning of the Pacific War of World War II
- December 7âÂÂ13 – Niihau Incident
- December 8âÂÂ10 – Battle of Guam (1941)
- December 8âÂÂ23 – Battle of Wake Island
- December 8âÂÂ25 – Battle of Hong Kong
- December 8âÂÂFebruary 15, 1942 – Malayan campaign
Births
- January 2 – Kazuyoshi Akiyama, conductor (d. 2025)
- January 3 – Shima Iwashita, actress and the wife of director Masahiro Shinoda
- January 5 – Hayao Miyazaki, film director, producer, screenwriter, animator, author, and manga artist
- January 14 – Yoriko Kawaguchi, politician and former Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs
- January 22 – Rintaro, anime director
- April 11 – Kazuhiro Sugita, government official (d. 2025)
- May 7 – Kinichi Hagimoto, comedian
- June 20 – Kôji Ishizaka, actor
- June 21 – , actress
- June 29 – Chieko Baisho, actress and singer
- July 8 – Masayuki Minami, volleyball player (d. 2000)
- August 9 – Renji Ishibashi, actor
- August 26 – Akiko Wakabayashi, actress
- September 10 – Gunpei Yokoi, creator of Game Boy and Game & Watch handheld systems (d. 1997)
- September 17 – Isao Hashizume, actor
- October 3 – , musician and wife of Akiyuki Nosaka
- October 8 – Yoshiko Mita, actress
- November 21 – Eiji Kanie, voice actor (d. 1985)
- December 10 – Kyu Sakamoto, singer and actor (d. 1985)
Deaths
- January 22 – Hayashi Tadataka, former daimyÃ
 (b. 1848)
- August 22 – Hasegawa Shigure, playwright (b. 1879)
- August 27 – Mitsuko Aoyama, emigrate, wife of Heinrich von Coudenhove-Kalergi (b. 1874)
- September 2 – Kei Okami, physician, first Japanese woman to obtain a degree in Western medicine from a Western university (b. 1859)
- December 11 – Masaaki Iinuma, aviator, flew the first Japanese-built aircraft from Japan to Western Europe (b. 1912)
- December 13 – Shigenori Nishikaichi, military pilot (b. ca.1919)
- December 24 – Sueo Ã
Âe, athlete (killed in action) (b. 1914)
See also
References