Events in the year 1988 in Japan. It corresponds to ShÃ
Âwa 63 (æÂÂÃ¥ÂÂ63å¹´) in the Japanese calendar.
Incumbents
Governors
Events
- February 10: Dragon Quest III is released for the Family Computer. Over one million copies were sold on the first day and around 300 arrests were made among students absent from school to purchase the game.
- March 13: Seikan Tunnel opens, connecting Hokkaido and Honshu by rail for the first time.
- March 17: Tokyo Dome completed.
- April 4 and 5: Rock band Boøwy hold their last concert in Tokyo Dome and break up.
- April 10: Great Seto Bridge opens.
- April 16: Studio Ghibli films My Neighbor Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies are released simultaneously.
- June 18: Asahi Shimbun breaks the Recruit scandal.
- July 16: The anime film Akira is released.
- July 21: A heavy torrential rain with debris flow in Kake, Hiroshima Prefecture and Hamada, Shimane Prefecture, According to Fire and Disaster Management Agency of Japan official confirmed report, 27 persons lost their lives, 45 were wounded.
- July 23: A sports fishing boat, Fuji Maru No. 1, collides with a submarine, Nadashio, in Tokyo Bay, resulting in the former sinking and 30 deaths as well as 17 injuries.
- September 14: Daiei purchases the Nankai Hawks baseball team: they become the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks.
- October 3: Anpanman premieres on Nippon TV.
- October 19: Orix purchases the Hankyu Braves baseball team: they become the Orix Braves.
- October 23: Super Mario Bros. 3 is released for the Family Computer.
- October 29: The Sega Mega Drive is released in Japan.
- December 9: Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa resigns amid the Recruit scandal.
- December 27: Takeshita announces a realigned cabinet.
- December 30: According to a Japan National Police Agency official confirmed report, an armored car with 222.5 million yen in cash and 170 million yen in checks was robbed in Suma-ku, Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture. The suspect is escape continue, and still not detained, according to JNPA official.
Births
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
- September 2: Keisuke Kato, actor and entertainer
- September 7: Daiki Sato, footballer (d. 2010)
- September 8: Rie Kaneto, Olympic swimmer
- September 13: Nobuyuki Tsujii, pianist and composer
- September 18: Yuichi Sugita, tennis player
- September 20
- Arisa Sato, model and weather-caster
- Chiaki SatÃ
Â, actress
- Ayano Ã
Âmoto, singer and dancer
- September 23: Kairi Sane, professional wrestler and actress
- September 25: Mariya Ise, voice actress
- September 26: YÃ
«dai Ã
Âno, professional baseball player
- September 29: Osama Elsamni, football player
October
November
December
Deaths
- January 2: Yukio Kasahara, general (b. 1889)
- March 1: Yoshi KatÃ
Â, actor (b. 1913)
- April 10: Shigeo Sugiura, freestyle swimmer and Olympic gold medalist (b. 1917)
- April 23: Eitaro Ozawa, actor (b. 1909)
- May 23: Aya KitÃ
Â, writer (b. 1962)
- June 14: Prince Kan'in Haruhito, career officer (b. 1902)
- August 4: Toshio Doko, business leader (b. 1896)
- November 4: Takeo Miki, former prime minister (b. 1907)
- November 23: KenzÃ
 Masaoka, anime creator (b. 1898)
- December 16: RyÃ
Âhei Koiso, artist (b. 1903)
- December 24: Mumon Yamada, Rinzai religious leader (b. 1900)
- December 25: ShÃ
Âhei Ã
Âoka, writer (b. 1909)
- December 30: Takeo Fujisawa, businessman, co-founder of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (b. 1910)
Statistics
- Yen value: US$1 = ÃÂ¥122 (low) to ÃÂ¥135 (high)
See also
References