1939 in Japan
Events in the year 1939 in Japan. It corresponds to Shōwa 14 in the Japanese calendar.
Incumbents
- Emperor: Hirohito
- Prime Minister:
- *Fumimaro Konoe: until January 5
- *Kiichirō Hiranuma: 5 January - 30 August
- *Nobuyuki Abe: from 30 August
Governors
- Aichi Prefecture: Kotaro Tanaka
- Akita Prefecture: Kaoru Sasaki ; Yukio Tomeoka
- Aomori Prefecture: Masanori Ogawa ; Noburo Suzuki
- Ehime Prefecture: Shizuo Furukawa ; Yoshio Mochinaga
- Fukui Prefecture: Nakano Yoshiro ; Kiyoshi Kimura
- Fukuoka Prefecture: Kyuichi Kodama
- Fukushima Prefecture: Seikichi Kimishima ; Seikichi Hashimoto
- Gifu Prefecture: Miyano Shozo
- Gunma Prefecture: Shozo Tsuchiya ; Kumano Ei
- Hiroshima Prefecture: Ichisho Inuma ; Katsuroku Aikawa
- Ibaraki Prefecture: Shigeru Hamaza ; Tokitsugi Yoshinaga
- Ishikawa Prefecture: Masasuke Kodama then Narita Ichiro
- Iwate Prefecture: Chiyoji Yukizawa
- Kagawa Prefecture: Nagatoshi Fujioka
- Kanagawa Prefecture: Seiichi Ōmura then Ichisho Inuma
- Kumamoto Prefecture: Tomoichi Koyama
- Kochi Prefecture: Fujioka Nagawa ; Shunsuke Kondo
- Kyoto Prefecture: Tota Akamatsuko
- Mie Prefecture: Masatoshi Sato ; Masanari Ogawa
- Miyagi Prefecture: Ryosaku Shimizu
- Miyazaki Prefecture:
- * until 12 April: Jiro Ino
- * 12 April-7 September: Kyuichiro Totsuka
- * starting 7 September: Ryosaku Shimizu
- Nagano Prefecture: Tomita Kenji
- Nagasaki Prefecture: Jitsuzo Kawanishi
- Niigata Prefecture: Yasujiro Nakamura ; Seikichi Kimishima
- Okinawa Prefecture: Fusataro Fuchigami
- Saga Prefecture: Tomoichi Koyama ; Kato
- Saitama Prefecture: Toki Ginjiro
- Shiname Prefecture: Kyuichi Kodama ;...
- Tochigi Prefecture: Adachi Shuuritsu
- Tokyo: Okada Shuzo
- Toyama Prefecture: Kenzo Yano
- Yamagata Prefecture: Takei Yoshitsugu ; Ishiguro Takeshige
Events
- February - Hainan Island Operation
- March - Battle of Xiushui River
- March 1 - According to Japanese government official confirmed report, Japanese Imperial Army ammunition dump explode in Hirakata, Osaka Prefecture, 94 persons were human fatalities, 602 persons were hurt.
- March 17-May 9 - Battle of Nanchang
- April 20-May 24 - Battle of Suixian–Zaoyang
- May 11-September 16 - Battles of Khalkhin Gol
- June - Swatow Operation
- June 1 -Nippon Electric Works and Showa Fertilizer were merger, becomes name was Showa Denko.
- September 13-October 8 - Battle of Changsha (1939)
- Unknown date - Mukogawa Higher Women's School was founded, as predecessor of Mukogawa Women's University.
Births
- February 9 - Tadahiro Matsushita, politician
- February 17 - Toshihiro Nikai, politician
- March 2 - Takako, Princess Suga, youngest child of Emperor Shōwa
- April 9 - Ikuko Tani, actress, voice actress and narrator
- August 13 - Shijaku Katsura, rakugo performer
- September 22 - Junko Tabei, mountaineer, first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest
Deaths
- February 18 - Kanoko Okamoto, author, poet, and Buddhist scholar
- March 29 - Michizō Tachihara, poet and architect
- September 7 - Kyōka Izumi, novelist and Kabuki playwright
- November 11 - Kagaku Murakami, painter and illustrator
- December 25 - Masao Nakamura, major general