2026 in Japan
Events in the year 2026 in Japan.
Incumbents
- Emperor: Naruhito
- Prime Minister: Sanae Takaichi
- Chief Cabinet Secretary: Minoru Kihara
- Chief Justice: Yukihiko Imasaki
- Speaker of the House of Representatives: Fukushiro Nukaga
- President of the House of Councillors: Masakazu Sekiguchi
Events
January
- January 1 – Hachijuni Bank and Nagano Bank merge to form Hachijuni Nagano Bank.
- January 4 – 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 – A bluefin tuna is sold for a record 510 million at the Toyosu Market in Tokyo.
- January 6 –
- *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 – A wildfire breaks out in the mountains of Ōtsuki and Uenohara, Yamanashi, burning at least of forest.
- January 12 – Former mayor Akira Ogawa is re-elected as the mayor of Maebashi in a special election following her resignation in November 2025.
- January 14 –
- *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 –
- *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 –
- *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 – The 2026 Common Test for University Admissions is held across Japan.
- January 20 – A sightseeing helicopter carrying three people, including two Taiwanese nationals, goes missing near Mount Aso.
- January 21 –
- *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 – Hirofumi Yoshimura resigns as governor of Osaka Prefecture.
- January 23 – Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi dissolves the House of Representatives at the start of the regular Diet session.
- January 25 – Takato Ishida wins the 2026 Fukui gubernatorial election.
- January 26 – 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 – 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 – Three suitcases containing 420 million yen in cash are stolen in a robbery near Ueno Station in Tokyo.
February
- February 2 – Japan announces the retrieval of sediment containing rare earth minerals at a depth of below sea level off the coast of Minamitorishima.
Predicted and scheduled events
- February 8 –
- * 2026 Japanese general election is scheduled to be held.
- * 2026 Yamaguchi gubernatorial election is scheduled to be held.
- * 2026 Nagasaki gubernatorial election is scheduled to be held.
- * 2026 Osaka Prefecture gubernatorial election is scheduled to be held.
- * 2026 Osaka mayoral election is scheduled to be held.
- March 8 – 2026 Ishikawa gubernatorial election is scheduled to be held.
- March 31 – NHK Radio 2 is scheduled to be shut down after 95 years of airing.
- April 5 – 2026 Kyoto gubernatorial election is scheduled to be held.
- May 31 – 2026 Niigata gubernatorial election is scheduled to be held.
- Autumn – The restoration of Shuri Castle in Naha, Okinawa is scheduled to be fully completed.
Ongoing
Elections
- 2026 Japanese general election
- 2026 Japanese local elections
- 2026 Osaka gubernatorial election
- 2026 Osaka mayoral election
Arts and entertainment
- 2026 in anime
- 2026 in Japanese music
- 2026 in Japanese television
- List of 2026 box office number-one films in Japan
- List of Japanese films of 2026
- 39th Tokyo International Film Festival
Sports
- Japan at the 2026 Winter Olympics
- September 19 – October 4 – The 2026 Asian Games will be held in Aichi Prefecture, including Nagoya.
- TBA – The 2026 World Lacrosse Women's World Championship will be held in Tokyo.
- March 29 – 2026 Japanese Grand Prix
- July 25-26 – 2026 Tokyo ePrix
- October 4 – 2026 Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix
- May 3 – 162th Tennō Shō Spring
- November 1 – 173rd Tennō Shō Autumn
- December 27 – 71st Arima Kinen
- 2026 F4 Japanese Championship
- 2026 Super Formula Championship
- 2026 Super Formula Lights
- 2026 Super GT Series
- 2026-27 in Japanese football
- 2026 J1 100 Year Vision League
- 2026-27 J1 League
- 2026-27 J2 League
- 2026-27 J3 League
- 2026-27 Japan Football League
- 2026-27 Japanese Regional Leagues
- 2026 Japanese Super Cup
- 2026-27 Emperor's Cup
- 2026-27 J.League Cup
Deaths
January
- January 1 –
- *Yatsushi Iwashita, education support activist
- *Hiroshi Kume, television and radio presenter
- January 2 – Toshio Fujii, politician.
- January 5 – Aoi Fujino, gravure idol
- January 7 – Hiroya Ebina, politician
- January 8 – Hiroshi Nakamura, visual artist
- January 9 – Ai, Western chimpanzee, subject of cognition studies
- January 10 – Ritsuko Nagao, politician
- January 11 –
- *Takashi Ono, mathematician
- *Kōtarō Kodama, politician
- January 20 – Kōzō Shioya, voice actor
- January 21 –
- *Daiwa Major, Thoroughbred racehorse
- *Yōichi Higashi, film director
- January 22 – Hifumi Katō, shogi player
February
- February 1 – Nobuhiko Ochiai, journalist and novelist.
Country overviews
- Japan
- History of Japan
- Outline of Japan
- Government of Japan
- Politics of Japan
- Years in Japan
- Timeline of Japanese history