2004 in Japan
Encyclopedia
Events in the year 2004 in Japan
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2004 was the population "peak" of Japan—the last year in which the national population increased.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
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2004 was the population "peak" of Japan—the last year in which the national population increased.
Incumbents
- EmperorEmperor of JapanThe Emperor of Japan is, according to the 1947 Constitution of Japan, "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people." He is a ceremonial figurehead under a form of constitutional monarchy and is head of the Japanese Imperial Family with functions as head of state. He is also the highest...
: AkihitoAkihitois the current , the 125th emperor of his line according to Japan's traditional order of succession. He acceded to the throne in 1989.-Name:In Japan, the emperor is never referred to by his given name, but rather is referred to as "His Imperial Majesty the Emperor" which may be shortened to . In... - Prime MinisterPrime Minister of JapanThe is the head of government of Japan. He is appointed by the Emperor of Japan after being designated by the Diet from among its members, and must enjoy the confidence of the House of Representatives to remain in office...
: Junichiro KoizumiJunichiro Koizumiis a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2001 to 2006. He retired from politics when his term in parliament ended.Widely seen as a maverick leader of the Liberal Democratic Party , he became known as an economic reformer, focusing on Japan's government debt and the... - Chief Cabinet SecretaryChief Cabinet Secretary__notoc__The of Japan is a Minister of State who is responsible for directing the Cabinet Secretariat. The main function of Chief Cabinet Secretary is to coordinate the policies of ministries and agencies in the executive branch...
: Yasuo FukudaYasuo Fukudawas the 91st Prime Minister of Japan, serving from 2007 to 2008. He was previously the longest-serving Chief Cabinet Secretary in Japanese history, serving for three and a half years under Prime Ministers Yoshirō Mori and Junichiro Koizumi....
, Hiroyuki HosodaHiroyuki Hosodais a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet . From 2004 to 2005, he was the Chief Cabinet Secretary in Junichiro Koizumi's Cabinets, succeeded by Shinzō Abe on October 31, 2005.... - Governor of Tokyo: Shintaro IshiharaShintaro Ishiharais a Japanese author, actor, politician and the governor of Tokyo since 1999.- Early life and artistic career :Shintarō was born in Suma-ku, Kobe. His father Kiyoshi was an employee, later a general manager, of a shipping company. Shintarō grew up in Zushi...
Events
- January 19: Deployment of Japanese troops to IraqDeployment of Japanese troops to IraqThe Japanese Iraq Reconstruction and Support Group or also known as the refers to a battalion-sized, largely humanitarian contingent of the Japan Self-Defense Forces that was sent to Samawah, Southern Iraq in early January 2004 and withdrawn by late July 2006....
begins as the first set of ground forces arrive in SamawahSamawahSamawah or As Samawah is a city in Iraq, 280 kilometres southeast of Baghdad. .The city of Samawah is the modern capital of the Al Muthanna Governorate. The city is located midway between Baghdad and Basra, at the northern edge of the governorate...
. - February 27: Aum ShinrikyoAum ShinrikyoAum Shinrikyo was a Japanese new religious movement. The group was founded by Shoko Asahara in 1984. The group gained international notoriety in 1995, when it carried out the Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway....
leader Shoko AsaharaShoko Asahara, born on March 2, 1955, is a founder of the controversial Japanese new religious group Aum Shinrikyo. He was convicted of masterminding the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway and several other crimes, for which he was sentenced to death...
is given the death penalty. - March 4: Famed Yomiuri GiantsYomiuri GiantsThe are a professional baseball team based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. The team competes in the Central League in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top level of professional play in Japan. They play their home games in the Tokyo Dome, opened in 1988. The English-language press occasionally calls the...
manager Shigeo NagashimaShigeo Nagashimais a Japanese former professional baseball player and manager.Nagashima was by far the most popular figure in Japanese baseball during his career. His contributions to the development of the sport in Japan are immeasurable.-Biography:...
is hospitalized. - March 13: First segment of the Kyushu ShinkansenKyushu ShinkansenThe ' is a Japanese high-speed railway line between the Japanese cities of Fukuoka and Kagoshima in Kyushu, running parallel to the existing Kagoshima Main Line and operated by the Kyushu Railway Company . The southern 127 km opened on 13 March 2004...
opens. - March 17: Tokyo District Court issues an injunction halting the sale of Bungei Shunju issues due to a breach of privacy suit by Makiko TanakaMakiko Tanakais a Japanese politician, the daughter of former Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka.Tanaka attended high school at Germantown Friends School in the United States and graduated from Waseda University...
. - March 24: Chinese activists land in the Senkaku IslandsSenkaku IslandsThe , also known as the Diaoyu Islands or Diaoyutai Islands or the Pinnacle Islands, are a group of disputed uninhabited islands in the East China Sea...
and are arrested by Okinawan police. - March 30: Nurse Daisuke MoriDaisuke Moriis a Japanese nurse, who was convicted for giving lethal doses of the muscle relaxant drug Vecuronium to his patients in a clinic in Izumi-ku, Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. He was suspected as a medical serial killer, though he was convicted of one murder....
was sentenced to life imprisonment. - April 1: Japan AirlinesJapan Airlinesis an airline headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan. It is the flag carrier of Japan and its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Tokyo International Airport , as well as Nagoya's Chūbu Centrair International Airport and Osaka's Kansai International Airport...
and Japan Air SystemJapan Air Systemwas the smallest of the big three Japanese airlines, headquartered in the JAS M1 Building at Tokyo International Airport in Ōta, Tokyo. In contrast to JAL and ANA, its international route network was very small, but its domestic network incorporated many smaller airports that were not served by...
merge. - April 1: New Tokyo International Airport is privatized and renamed Narita International AirportNarita International Airportis an international airport serving the Greater Tokyo Area of Japan. It is located east of Tokyo Station and east-southeast of Narita Station in the city of Narita, and the adjacent town of Shibayama....
. - April 1: Teito Rapid Transit Authority becomes Tokyo MetroTokyo Metrois one of two rapid transit systems making up the Tokyo subway system, the other being Toei. It is the most used subway system in the world in terms of annual passenger rides.-Organization:...
. - April 7: Three Japanese civilians taken hostage in Iraq.
- April 8: Economist and graduate school professor Kazuhide UekusaKazuhide Uekusais a Japanese economist, economic analyst, former senior economist at Nomura Research Institute, and chairman of the Three-Nations Research Institute Co., Ltd.. He gained notoriety for his sex offense arrests.-Career:He was born and raised in Edogawa, Tokyo...
is arrested for trying to peep under a schoolgirl's skirt on the escalator of JRJapan RailwaysThe Japan Railways Group, more commonly known as , consists of seven for-profit companies that took over most of the assets and operations of the government-owned Japanese National Railways on April 1, 1987...
Shinagawa StationShinagawa Stationis the first major station south ofTokyo Station and is a major interchange for trains operated by JR East, JR Central, and Keikyu. The Tōkaidō Shinkansen and other trains to the Miura Peninsula, Izu Peninsula and the Tōkai region pass through here...
. - May 10: WinnyWinnyWinny is a Japanese peer-to-peer file-sharing program which claims to be loosely inspired by the design principles behind the Freenet network, which keep user identities untraceable...
developer Isamu Kaneko, assistant instructor at Tokyo University, is arrested on charges of contributory copyright infringement. - May 10: Crown Prince NaruhitoNaruhitoNaruhito is a male Japanese given name. People named Naruhito include the following:, eldest son of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, head of the imperial Kanin-no-miya household , actor and voice actor...
denounces palace officials at a press conference, suggesting that Crown Princess Masako is physically and mentally sick. - May 22: Prime Minister Junichiro KoizumiJunichiro Koizumiis a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2001 to 2006. He retired from politics when his term in parliament ended.Widely seen as a maverick leader of the Liberal Democratic Party , he became known as an economic reformer, focusing on Japan's government debt and the...
visits PyongyangPyongyangPyongyang is the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea, and the largest city in the country. Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River and, according to preliminary results from the 2008 population census, has a population of 3,255,388. The city was...
to bring back 5 Japanese youths who were born while their parents were hostages in North KoreaNorth KoreaThe Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
. - June 1: A 11-year-old girl kills her classmate at a SaseboSasebo, Nagasakiis a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. As of 2011, the city has an estimated population of 259,800 and the density of 609 persons per km². The total area is 426.47 km². The locality is famed for its scenic beauty. The city includes a part of Saikai National Park...
elementary school. - July 1: Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain RangeSacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain RangeSacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located on the Kii Peninsula in Japan.- Selection criteria :...
enlisted as a world heritage site. - July 8: Naha District Court in Okinawa sentences US Marine Major Michael Brown to a suspended one-year prison term on charge of attempted rape against a Filipina.
- July 11: In elections for the Upper House. the LDPLiberal Democratic Party (Japan)The , frequently abbreviated to LDP or , is a centre-right political party in Japan. It is one of the most consistently successful political parties in the democratic world. The LDP ruled almost continuously for nearly 54 years from its founding in 1955 until its defeat in the 2009 election...
suffers a small setback. - July 21: Koizumi meets Roh Moo-hyunRoh Moo-hyunRoh Moo-hyun GOM GCB was the 16th President of South Korea .Roh's pre-presidential political career was focused on human rights advocacy for student activists in South Korea. His electoral career later expanded to a focus on overcoming regionalism in South Korean politics, culminating in his...
at Jeju IslandJeju-doJeju-do is the only special autonomous province of South Korea, situated on and coterminous with the country's largest island. Jeju-do lies in the Korea Strait, southwest of Jeollanam-do Province, of which it was a part before it became a separate province in 1946...
in South KoreaSouth KoreaThe Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
. - July 30: Chikage Ogi becomes the first female Speaker of the House of CouncillorsHouse of CouncillorsThe is the upper house of the Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers. If the two houses disagree on matters of the budget, treaties, or designation of the prime minister, the House of Representatives...
. - August 9: An obsolete steam pipe at MihamaMihamaMihama may refer to:*Mihama, Aichi, a town in Aichi Prefecture*Mihama, Fukui, a town in Fukui Prefecture*Mihama, Mie, a town in Mie Prefecture*Mihama, Wakayama, a town in Wakayama Prefecture*Mihama-ku, Chiba, a ward in Chiba, Chiba...
Nuclear Plant blows up, killing four workers. - September 3: World Rally ChampionshipWorld Rally ChampionshipThe World Rally Championship is a rallying series organised by the FIA, culminating with a champion driver and manufacturer. The driver's world championship and manufacturer's world championship are separate championships, but based on the same point system. The series currently consists of 13...
held in Japan for the first time. - September 17: Japanese baseball players announce a weekend strike, the first baseball strike in Japanese history.
- September 27: Koizumi reshuffles his cabinet.
- October 20: Typhoon TokageTyphoon TokageThe name Tokage has been used to name two tropical cyclones in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. The name was contributed by Japan and is the Japanese word for Lacerta or lizard.* 2004's Typhoon Tokage - struck Japan....
makes landfall in Japan. - October 23: The Chūetsu earthquake2004 Chuetsu earthquakeThe occurred at 5:56 p.m. on Saturday, October 23, 2004 . The Japan Meteorological Agency has named it the Heisei 16 Niigata Prefecture Chuetsu Earthquake or The Mid Niigata Prefecture Earthquake of 2004...
strikes Niigata PrefectureNiigata Prefectureis a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Honshū on the coast of the Sea of Japan. The capital is the city of Niigata. The name "Niigata" literally means "new lagoon".- History :...
, causing widespread damage to the area. - November 1: Bank of JapanBank of Japanis the central bank of Japan. The Bank is often called for short. It has its headquarters in Chuo, Tokyo.-History:Like most modern Japanese institutions, the Bank of Japan was founded after the Meiji Restoration...
issues new 10,000, 5,000 and 1,000-yen banknotes. - November 2: Japan's first new professional baseball franchise in 50 years is awarded to the Tohoku Rakuten Golden EaglesTohoku Rakuten Golden EaglesThe is a baseball team founded in 2004; it played its first season in the Japanese Pacific League in 2005. It is simply called Rakuten . The team was created to fill the void left by the merger of the Orix Blue Wave and the Kintetsu Buffaloes, after the 2004 season due to financial difficulties,...
. - December 24: Fukuoka Daiei Hawks are sold to SoftbankSoftBankis a Japanese telecommunications and internet corporation, with operations in broadband, fixed-line telecommunications, e-Commerce, Internet, broadmedia, technology services, finance, media and marketing, and other businesses....
and become the Fukuoka Softbank HawksFukuoka SoftBank HawksThe are a Japanese baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. The team was bought on January 28, 2005 by the SoftBank Corporation.The team was formerly known as the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks. In 1988, Daiei bought the team from Osaka's Nankai Electric Railway Co., and its headquarters were...
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Deaths
- January 1: Isao TamagawaIsao Tamagawawas a Japanese actor. He appeared in the Japanese film Branded to Kill, as Michihiko Yabuhara: the yakuza boss that hires Hanada and seduces his wife. Upon the discovery that his diamond smuggling operation has been burgled, he employs Hanada to execute the guilty parties then adds him to the list...
, actor - January 24: Tomio AokiTomio Aokiaka was a Japanese film actor.Aoki became famous as a child actor after debuting at the age of six in silent films directed by Yasujirō Ozu. His leading role in Ozu's 1929 short comedy Tokkan kozo gave Aoki his nickname. I Was Born, But... , Passing Fancy and An Inn in Tokyo were three other Ozu...
, actor - February 2: Michio HikitsuchiMichio HikitsuchiMichio Hikitsuchi was an aikido instructor and was the chief instructor of the Kumano Juku Dojo, in Shingu, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, for fifty years....
, aikido instructor - February 6: Masataka IdaMasataka IdaLt. Col. ' was a young soldier in the Military Affairs Section of the Japanese Ministry of War, at the end of World War II. He had been stationed on Formosa , but was ordered back to Tokyo early in 1945...
, soldier - February 11: Hitoshi TakagiHitoshi Takagiwas a Japanese voice actor. He died at age 78 due to partial ischemic heart disease.He was most well known for providing the voice of Totoro.-Anime:*Galaxy Express 999 *Gregory Horror Show...
voice actor - March 5: Masanori Tokita, football player
- March 20: Chosuke IkariyaChosuke Ikariyawas a Japanese comedian and film actor, and leader of the Owarai comedy group The Drifters. His nickname was .-1931–1962: Early career:Chōsuke Ikariya was born with the name of on November 1, 1931 in Tokyo, Japan. During the war his family moved from their home in Sumida, Tokyo to the countryside...
, comdedian and film actor - April 21: Den FujitaDen FujitaDen Fujita was a wealthy Japanese founder of McDonald's Japan.- Background :Fujita was born in Osaka, Japan to a Christian mother and father who worked in a foreign company. Fujita, who was entirely ethnically Japanese, was reared differently from most other Japanese children...
, president of McDonald'sMcDonald'sMcDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
Japan - May 21: Toshikazu KaseToshikazu Kasewas a Japanese civil servant and career diplomat. During World War II he was a high-ranking Foreign Ministry official.Kase was born in Chiba, Japan. After passing his Foreign Service Examination in 1925 he left Tokyo Higher Commercial College and attended Amherst College and Harvard as a Research...
, civil servant and career diplomat - July 26: Ramo NakajimaRamo NakajimaRamo Nakajima was a respected Japanese cult novel writer, essayist, copywriter, and also appeared frequently on Japanese TV as an actor...
, novelist - September 14: Mamoru TakumaMamoru Takumawas a Japanese janitor who committed mass murder of 8 people and wounded 15 others in the 2001 Osaka school massacre. He had been convicted and imprisoned for rape before the massacre.- Early life :...
, murderer - October 7: Miki MatsubaraMiki Matsubarawas a Japanese singer, lyricist and composer from Nishi-ku, Sakai, Japan.She is known mainly as a pop singer by some hit songs like "Mayonaka no door", "Neat na gogo san-ji", "The Winner", among others. During her career, she has released 16 singles, 9 albums. Despite her work being mainly...
, singer, lyricist and composer - November 6: Kensaburo Hara, politician
- November 17: Ariyama Kaede, murder victim
- November 24: Taiji KaseTaiji Kasewas a Japanese master of Shotokan karate who was one of the earliest masters responsible for introducing this martial art into Europe. He taught his style of karate, Shotokan Ryu Kase Ha, in France from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s. In his later years, he travelled across the world teaching...
, master of Shotokan karate - November 26: Shōgo ShimadaShōgo Shimada (actor)- Filmography :Filmography of Shōgo Shimada include 49 films from 1951 to 1995:* * * Tora! Tora! Tora! *...
, actor - December 18: Kikuko, Princess Takamatsu
Statistics
- GDP: ¥504 trillion (+1.4%)
- Nikkei 225: High 12,163.89; low 10,365.40
- Wealthiest person in Japan: Nobutada SajiNobutada Sajiis a Japanese businessman, chief executive of Suntory Ltd, Japan's fourth-largest brewer and food manufacturer. He was the wealthiest individual in Japan as of 2004, with a net worth of $6.9 billion; however, a Forbes survey in June 2006 downgraded him to the fourth-richest, with a net worth of $5...
(net worth 6.9 billion USD) - Yen: High ¥101.83/USD; low ¥114.80/USD