Events in the year 2026 in Japan.
Incumbents
Events
January
- January 1 â Hachijuni Bank and Nagano Bank merge to form Hachijuni Nagano Bank.
- January 4 â A collision caused by tea leaves spilled from a moving truck involving 12 vehicles in Sano, Tochigi, leaves one person dead and three others injured.
- January 5 â A bluefin tuna is sold for a record 510 million (US$3.2 million) at the Toyosu Market in Tokyo.
- January 6 âÂÂ
- A magnitude 6.4 earthquake hits Tottori and Shimane Prefectures, injuring seven people.
- China bans the export of dual-use items, with military applications, to Japan, citing contentious statements made by the Japanese government regarding tensions with Taiwan.
- January 8 â A wildfire breaks out in the mountains of Ã
Âtsuki and Uenohara, Yamanashi, burning at least of forest.
- January 12 â Former mayor Akira Ogawa is re-elected as the mayor of Maebashi in a special election following her resignation in November 2025.
- January 14 âÂÂ
- The Nikkei 225 sets an all-time high closing at 54,341 points.
- An ACSL SOTEN recon unmanned aerial vehicle of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force goes missing during a training flight in Kirishima, Kagoshima Prefecture.
- January 15 âÂÂ
- Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Yoshihiko Noda and Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito agree to form a new political party.
- Japan and the Philippines sign an agreement allowing their defense forces to exchange logistical support.
- January 16 âÂÂ
- A power outage in Tokyo causes an eight-hour delay in train services, resulting in five people being hospitalized.
- The mayor of Yokohama, Takeharu Yamanaka, issues a public apology after a city official accuses him of making disparaging remarks on staff.
- January 17 â The 2026 Common Test for University Admissions is held across Japan.
- January 20 â A sightseeing helicopter carrying three people, including two Taiwanese nationals, goes missing near Mount Aso.
- January 21 âÂÂ
- Tetsuya Yamagami is sentenced to life imprisonment for the assassination of Shinzo Abe in 2022.
- The No. 6 reactor at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant is reactivated for the first time since 2011.
- January 22 â Hirofumi Yoshimura resigns as governor of Osaka Prefecture.
- January 23 â Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi dissolves the House of Representatives at the start of the regular Diet session.
- January 25 â Takato Ishida wins the 2026 Fukui gubernatorial election.
- January 26 â The Tokyo District Court orders North Korea to pay in compensation to four Zainichi Koreans who were lured to move to the country through propaganda schemes but instead experienced inappropriate conditions before escaping.
- January 27 â Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, the last giant pandas in Japan sent there as part of China's Panda diplomacy, leave the Ueno Zoo.
- January 29 â Three suitcases containing 420 million yen (US$2.7 million) in cash are stolen in a robbery near Ueno Station in Tokyo.
February
March
- March 4 âÂÂ
- Purported Yakuza leader Takeshi Ebisawa is convicted and sentenced by a U.S court to 20 years in prison for trafficking nuclear material, drugs, and weapons.
- The Tokyo High Court upholds an order to dissolve the Unification Church.
- March 5 â Kushiro wetlands megasolar issue: Hokkaido Prefectural Government release a report that arsenic, fluorine, boron level outside the Kushiro-shitsugen National Park exceed the standard limit.
- March 6 âÂÂ
- The health ministry approves the sale of Amchepry, a stem cell medication for Parkinson's disease developed by Sumitomo Pharma, and ReHeart, a heart muscle sheets medication for circulatory issues by Cuorips.
- Japan and Canada sign a strategic agreement to enhance cooperation in the defense, economy and energy sectors.
- The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries confirms a outbreak of avian influenza of the H5N1 strain outbreak at a poultry farm in Abira, Hokkaido.
- March 8 â The 2026 Ishikawa gubernatorial election is held.
- March 15 â Japan announces it will start releasing 80 million barrels of oil from its reserves, the largest such release in the country's history, in response to disruptions in the oil supply caused by the 2026 Iran war.
- March 16 â Two boats carrying high school students on a field trip capsize off Henoko, Okinawa Prefecture, killing two people.
April
Predicted and scheduled events
- April 5 â 2026 Kyoto gubernatorial election is scheduled to be held.
- April 6 â 2026 Social Democratic Party (Japan) leadership election: Run-off vote will be held.
- May 31 â 2026 Niigata gubernatorial election is scheduled to be held.
- July 5 â 2026 Shiga gubernatorial election is scheduled to be held.
- August 9 â 2026 Nagano gubernatorial election is scheduled to be held.
- September 13 â 2026 Okinawa gubernatorial election is scheduled to be held.
- Autumn â The restoration of Shuri Castle in Naha, Okinawa is scheduled to be fully completed.
Ongoing
Elections
Arts and entertainment
Sports
Deaths
January
- January 1 âÂÂ
- Yatsushi Iwashita, education support activist (b. 1949)
- Hiroshi Kume, television and radio presenter (b. 1944)
- January 2 â Toshio Fujii, politician (b. 1942).
- January 5 â Aoi Fujino, gravure idol (b. 1998)
- January 7 â Hiroya Ebina, politician (b. 1959)
- January 8 â Hiroshi Nakamura, visual artist (b. 1932)
- January 9 â Ai, Western chimpanzee, subject of cognition studies
- January 10 â Ritsuko Nagao, politician (b. 1933)
- January 11 âÂÂ
- Takashi Ono, mathematician (b. 1928)
- KÃ
ÂtarÃ
 Kodama, politician (b. 1934)
- January 20 â KÃ
ÂzÃ
 Shioya, voice actor (b. 1955)
- January 21 âÂÂ
- Daiwa Major, Thoroughbred racehorse (b. 2001)
- YÃ
Âichi Higashi, film director (b. 1934)
- January 22 â Hifumi KatÃ
Â, shogi player (b. 1940)
- January 29 â SentoryÃ
« Henri, sumo wrestler (b. 1969)
- January 31 âÂÂ
- Kazuhiko Hasegawa, film director (b. 1946)
- Masaru Ikeda, voice actor (b. 1942)
February
- February 1 â Nobuhiko Ochiai, journalist and novelist (b. 1942)
- February 4 â TÃ
Âsha MeishÃ
Â, musician (b. 1941)
- February 8 âÂÂ
- Tadamasa Goto, leader (b. 1942)
- Tadao Yasuda, sumo wrestler (b. 1963)
- February 10 âÂÂ
- Takamitsu Muraoka, linguist (b. 1938)
- Shutaro Iida, 52, video game programmer (', ') and director (') (b. 1973)
- February 11 â Toshio Motoya, essayist, publisher, and businessman (b. 1943)
- February 17 â Shinya, musician (b. 1970)
March
- March 3 â Masako Ikeda, voice actress (b. 1939)
- March 5 âÂÂ
- Masaru Urata, member of the House of Councillors (1983âÂÂ1989, 1992âÂÂ1998) (b. 1925)
- Yonehiko Kitagawa, voice actor (b. 1931)
- March 6 â Tsutomu Shibayama, anime director (b. 1941)
- March 14 â Shigeaki Mori, historian and atomic bomb survivor (b. 1937)
- March 15 â Wakashimazu Mutsuo, sumo wrestler (b. 1957)
- March 18 â Heisuke Hironaka, mathematician (Hironaka's example, Hironaka decomposition), Fields Medal winner (1970) (b. 1931)
See also
Country overviews
Related timelines for current period
References
External links