2020 in Japan


Events in the year 2020 in Japan.
The first year was largely defined by COVID-19 pandemic that caused the national economy to go into recession, and would continue until October 1, 2021. In addition to various historical events, such as the postponement of Tokyo Olympics and with the end of Shinzo Abe era.

Incumbents

January

  • January 8 – The country's two largest yakuza gang organization are pdeclared "terrorists", the Yamaguchi-gumi, and the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi, which split from the former in August 2015, later it was banned in central and western Japan.
  • January 11 – A volcano erupted on Kuchinoerabu-jima in Kagoshima Prefecture. No immediate injuries were reported.
  • January 15 – The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare reported a confirmed case of novel-coronavirus. It marked the second exported case of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic and the first in Japan. The patient was discharged from the hospital and the Japanese government scaled up a whole-of-government coordination mechanism.
  • January 17 – The silver jubilee of the Great Hanshin earthquake, a memorial service was held in Kobe's Port Island.
  • January 22 – Opposition parties lay into Abe over scandals and Mideast dispatch, a controversial taxpayer-funded LDP party, the scandal over the legalization of casinos, and a possibly dangerous dispatch of a JMSDF unit to the Middle East amid high tensions over Tehran's nuclear program.
  • January 28 – Japan reports first domestic transmission of COVID-19, one of the new cases was that of a bus driver who had driven two groups of Chinese tourists visiting Japan from Wuhan earlier this month.

    February

  • February 1 – Amid COVID-19 fears, Tokyo Olympic organizers try to dampen cancellation rumors. Wuhan coronavirus can be transmitted between humans, posing tougher challenges for the Tokyo organizers to counteract the infectious disease and host a safe and secure games, during China travel ban, 3 years after the Executive Order 13769.
  • February 5 – According to the NPA, 18-year-old woman dies after small landslide in Kanagawa, A teenager was killed Wednesday morning when she was struck by a small landslide while walking through a residential area in the city of Zushi, Kanagawa Prefecture, local police said.
  • February 6 – Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stated that the 2020 Summer Olympics would or would not be postponed due to coronavirus outbreak, then the lawmakers plans to declare 'war' against coronavirus.
  • February 8 – South Koreans least trusting of Japan among six nations surveyed, The proportion of people who trust Japan is lowest in South Korea among six countries covered by a Japanese think tank survey released on Saturday since the 2019–2020 Japan–South Korea trade dispute.
  • February 13
  • *Noriyuki Makihara was arrested for alleged illegal stimulant possession, as police found 0.083 gram of stimulant at his condominium in Tokyo's Minato Ward in April 2018.
  • * Japan announced that a woman in her eighties outside of Tokyo has died in Kanagawa Prefecture. Two taxi drivers also were tested positive.
  • February 16 – Shinzo Abe sees Cabinet approval rating log sharpest fall in two years, The approval rating for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet has fallen to 41.0%, a Kyodo News survey showed Sunday, dropping 8.3 points from the previous poll in January and marking the sharpest fall in nearly two years amid ongoing political scandals, after the parliamentary votes.
  • February 20 – Minister of the Environment Shinjirō Koizumi says he regrets skipping COVID-19 meeting, on the coronavirus outbreak in favor of a new year party held by a group of his supporters in his hometown.
  • February 23 – The Emperor's Birthday for the first time in the Reiwa era, but cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak.
  • February 26 – Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for sports and cultural events to be stopped for two weeks. This comes after Japan confirmed its second local death, amid concerns the 2020 Tokyo Olympics could be cancelled. Hokkaido will close schools from February 27 to March 4, while Tokyo allowed schools to start some classes later.
  • February 27
  • * On February 27, Shinzo Abe asked for schools to close across the country to slow the spread of the virus. The duration of the closure he asked schools to adopt were from March 2 until the end of spring vacations, which usually conclude in early April, later postponed to September.
  • * IOC President Thomas Bach told Japanese media in a conference call that the IOC "is fully committed to a successful Olympic Games in Tokyo starting July 24" due to a coronavirus outbreak.

    March

  • March 1
  • * The Tokyo Marathon, held on March 1, was to be restricted to elite runners and wheelchair athletes. Initially, it was expected that 38,000 people would take part but with this change the number will be reduced to 206 participants.
  • * The JR Central replaced Tōkaidō Shinkansen's 700 Series Shinkansen with a new N700 Series Shinkansen for the 2020 Summer Olympics and the Paralympics, since its opening during the 1964 Summer Olympics, originally on March 8 due to coronavirus pandemic.
  • March 3 – The 2020 Summer Olympics cancellation, postponement not discussed by the IOC president Thomas Bach until March 24.
  • March 4 – The 2020 Summer Olympics torch relay could be adjusted to prevent the spread of the virus.
  • March 5
  • * Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declares 'war' against coronavirus pandemic, like Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and South Korean President Moon Jae-in declared 'war' against coronavirus pandemics. A day after he made a rare call in separate meetings with each opposition leader for cooperation across party lines, the ruling and opposition parties agreed Thursday to vote on temporary two-year legislation on March 12.
  • * The British DFID and the American USAID approved to declare a state of emergency and occupy 6 Asian countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan against coronavirus from China.
  • March 8 – The government will also financially support parents who have been forced to take time off to look after their children due to Abe's abrupt decision to close all schools from last Monday to the start of the new school year in April.
  • March 12 – Japan's House of Representatives and the opposition parties passed a bill Thursday that would allow Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to declare a state of emergency to deal with the coronavirus outbreak in Japan if needed and supported by USAID.
  • March 13 – Japan enacted a time-limited legal change, enabling PM Shinzo Abe, if he deems it necessary, to declare a state of emergency to cope with the spread of the new coronavirus, after US President Donald Trump's telephone calls about the 2020 Summer Olympics and the Paralympics plans.
  • March 14 – The 9th anniversary of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami was celebrated by the Reconstruction Agency, due to coronavirus pandemic.
  • March 15 – The golden jubilee of the Expo '70, towards Expo 2025 in Osaka after the Expo 2020 will be held in October next year in Dubai.
  • March 19
  • * A masked protests against corruption and terrorism in ASEAN, Japan's Deputy Prime Minister Tarō Asō has claimed this year's Olympics in Tokyo are "cursed" amid speculation and suggestions the Games will be postponed or cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
  • * The Pacific Eagles are favored the USMCA agreement, NAFTA remained in force until USMCA was implemented.
  • March 20 – The silver jubilee of the Tokyo subway sarin attack, a memorial service was held at Kasumigaseki Station.
  • March 24 – The 2020 Summer Olympics and the 2020 Summer Paralympics has been postponed to 2021 due to the concerns on the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic and the postponement referendum.
  • March 26 – The IOC and the IPC will set dates for the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics and the Paralympics in about three weeks. For those reasons, a time frame from July to September 2021 has emerged as a strong candidate.
  • 27 March – Five months after the 2019 Shurijo fire, the Japanese government on Friday decided to restore the gutted Shuri Castle in Okinawa by 2026 after embarking on full-fledged reconstruction in 2022, a new museum has been considered during reconstructions.
  • March 30
  • * Calls grew Monday for Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe to declare a state of emergency and a controversial year to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus before it is too late.
  • * The 2020 Summer Olympics and 2020 Summer Paralympics announced their new dates, from 23 July to 8 August 2021 and 24 August to 5 September 2021, respectively at the same time.