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Decades:	1960s; 1970s; 1980s; 1990s; 2000s;
See also:	Other events of 1981; History of Japan • Timeline • Years

Events in the year 1981 in Japan.

Incumbents

Emperor: Hirohito (Emperor Shōwa)^[1]
Prime Minister: Zenko Suzuki (L–Iwate)
Chief Cabinet Secretary: Kiichi Miyazawa (L–Hiroshima)
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court: Takaaki Hattori
President of the House of Representatives: Hajime Fukuda (L–Fukui)
President of the House of Councillors: Masatoshi Tokunaga (L–national)
Diet sessions: 94th (regular session opened in December 1980, to June 6), 95th (extraordinary, September 24 to November 28), 96th (regular, December 21 to 1982, August 21)

Governors

Aichi Prefecture: Yoshiaki Nakaya
Akita Prefecture: Kikuji Sasaki
Aomori Prefecture: Masaya Kitamura
Chiba Prefecture: Kiichi Kawakami (until 27 February); Takeshi Numata (starting 4 April)
Ehime Prefecture: Haruki Shiraishi
Fukui Prefecture: Heidayū Nakagawa
Fukuoka Prefecture: Hikaru Kamei
Fukushima Prefecture: Isao Matsudaira
Gifu Prefecture: Yosuke Uematsu
Gunma Prefecture: Ichiro Shimizu
Hiroshima Prefecture: Hiroshi Miyazawa (until 29 October); Toranosuke Takeshita (starting 29 October)
Hokkaido: Naohiro Dōgakinai
Hyogo Prefecture: Tokitada Sakai
Ibaraki Prefecture: Fujio Takeuchi
Ishikawa Prefecture: Yōichi Nakanishi
Iwate Prefecture: Tadashi Nakamura [ja]
Kagawa Prefecture: Tadao Maekawa
Kagoshima Prefecture: Kaname Kamada
Kanagawa Prefecture: Kazuji Nagasu
Kochi Prefecture: Chikara Nakauchi
Kumamoto Prefecture: Issei Sawada
Kyoto Prefecture: Yukio Hayashida
Mie Prefecture: Ryōzō Tagawa
Miyagi Prefecture: Sōichirō Yamamoto
Miyazaki Prefecture: Suketaka Matsukata
Nagano Prefecture: Gorō Yoshimura
Nagasaki Prefecture: Kan'ichi Kubo
Nara Prefecture: Shigekiyo Ueda
Niigata Prefecture: Takeo Kimi
Oita Prefecture: Morihiko Hiramatsu
Okayama Prefecture: Shiro Nagano
Okinawa Prefecture: Junji Nishime
Osaka Prefecture: Sakae Kishi
Saga Prefecture: Kumao Katsuki
Saitama Prefecture: Yawara Hata
Shiga Prefecture: Masayoshi Takemura
Shiname Prefecture: Seiji Tsunematsu
Shizuoka Prefecture: Keizaburō Yamamoto
Tochigi Prefecture: Yuzuru Funada
Tokushima Prefecture: Yasunobu Takeichi (until 4 October); Shinzo Miki (starting 5 October)
Tokyo: Shun'ichi Suzuki
Tottori Prefecture: Kōzō Hirabayashi
Toyama Prefecture: Yutaka Nakaoki
Wakayama Prefecture: Shirō Kariya
Yamagata Prefecture: Seiichirō Itagaki
Yamaguchi Prefecture: Toru Hirai
Yamanashi Prefecture: Kōmei Mochizuki

Events

January to March - A heavy massive snowfall with avalanche hit around Japan, according to Japan Fire and Disaster Management Agency confirmed report, 152 peoples lost their lives, 2,158 peoples were wounded.^[2]
March 31 - Pink Lady performs their farewell concert in the same stadium where Candies performed their concert 3 years earlier.
October 10 - Ministry of Education issues jōyō kanji.
October 16 - Gas explosions at a coal mine in Hokutan, Yūbari, Hokkaido kill 93.
The first fully Automated guideway transit driverless people mover train technology in the world, introduced on Port Island Line, Kobe.

Popular culture

Arts and entertainment

In film, Station by Yasuo Furuhata won the Best film award at the Japan Academy Prize, Enrai by Kichitaro Negishi won Best film at the Hochi Film Awards, Muddy River by Kōhei Oguri won Best film at the Blue Ribbon Awards and Something Like It by Yoshimitsu Morita won Best film at the Yokohama Film Festival. For a list of Japanese films released in 1981 see Japanese films of 1981.

In manga, the winners of the Shogakukan Manga Award were Sunset on Third Street by Ryōhei Saigan (general), Dr. Slump by Akira Toriyama (shōnen or shōjo) and Doraemon by Fujiko Fujio (children).^[3] Sanshirō of 1, 2 by Makoto Kobayashi (shōnen) and Ohayō! Spank by Shun'ichi Yukimuro and Shizue Takanashi (shōjo) won the Kodansha Manga Award. Kibun wa mou sensou by Katsuhiro Otomo won the Seiun Award for Best Comic of the Year. For a list of manga released in 1981 see Category:1981 manga.

In music, the 32nd Kōhaku Uta Gassen was won by the White Team (men). Akira Terao won the FNS Music Festival. For other music in 1981, see 1981 in Japanese music.

In television, see: 1981 in Japanese television.

In radio, Japan FM Network, Japan's biggest FM radio network, was established in May 1981.

Sports

In athletics, Japan hosted the 1981 Asian Athletics Championships where it ranked 1st with 18 gold medals.

In football (soccer), Japan hosted the 1981 Intercontinental Cup. Fujita Engineering won the Japan Soccer League. For the champions of the regional leagues see: 1981 Japanese Regional Leagues.

In tennis, Japan hosted the Federation Cup, won by the United States.

Births

January 4: Hitomi Sakamoto, wrestler
January 6: Rinko Kikuchi, actress
January 10: Kumiko Ikeda, long jumper
January 14: Chiharu Niiyama, actress and model
January 18: Naoyuki Daigo, athlete
February 10: Yasuyuki Muneta, judoka
February 12: Takashi Takusagawa, football player
February 21: Jun Kaname, actor
March 6
- Masakazu Fujiwara, long-distance runner
- Mizuki Watanabe, J-pop and rock singer
March 18 – Shohei Tateyama, former professional baseball pitcher
March 23: Takeshi Honda, figure skater
March 31: Ryōko Shintani, voice actress and singer
April 7: Kazuki Watanabe, musician (d. 2000)
April 14: Shinjiro Koizumi, politician
April 18: Mai Hoshimura, musician
April 19: Kazuhiro Maeda, long-distance runner
April 23: Megu Hirose, softball player
May 8: Yasuko Tajima, medley swimmer
May 12: Naohiro Ishikawa, footballer
May 13: Hidenori Kato, footballer
May 22: Fumina Hara, actress and idol
May 23: Ema Tōyama, manga artist
May 24: Sayaka Ando, gravure idol
June 6: Daisuke Miyazaki, handball player
June 8: Ai Nonaka, voice actress
June 18: Yurin, actress, voice actress and singer
July 27: Mari Hoshino, actress and singer
August 4: Ayumi Tanimoto, judoka
August 5: Kou Shibasaki, singer and actress
August 10: Natsumi Abe, singer and actress
August 15: Yoshiko Fujinaga, long-distance runner
August 28: Aira Yuhki, J-pop singer
September 19: Rika Fujiwara, tennis player
September 22: Hiromitsu Miura, Boxer and former mixed martial artist
September 23: Hiroka Yaginuma, wrestler
September 26
- Asuka, wrestler
- Marica Hase, gravure model and pornographic actress
October 6: Chiharu Icho, wrestler
October 8: Ryuji Sainei, actor
October 17: Tsubasa Imai, singer, actor, and dancer
October 25: Hiroshi Aoyama, motorcycle road racer
October 30
- Ayaka Kimura, actress and J-pop singer
- Eri Sendai, voice actress
November 3: Ayako Shoda, wrestler
November 7
- Nana Katase, actress
- Rina Uchiyama, actress and idol
December 8: Naoyuki Kotani, mixed martial artist
December 19: Eriko Sato, actress and model
December 29: Shizuka Arakawa, figure skater^[4]

Deaths

January 8: Shigeru Egami, master of Shotokan karate
February 11: Fusae Ichikawa, feminist, politician and women's suffrage leader
February 25: Gunichi Mikawa, Vice-Admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy
April 9: Ichiro Nakayama, economist
April 12: Prince Asaka Yasuhiko, founder of a collateral branch of the Japanese imperial family
April 27: Koji Sone, judoka
May 7: Hiromichi Yahara, senior staff officer
July 4: Isao Kimura, actor
July 19: Daisuke Itō, film director and screenwriter
July 23: Kazuo Taoka, one of the yakuza Godfathers
August 22: Kuniko Mukōda, screen writer (b. 1929)
September 8: Hideki Yukawa, physicist
September 14: Yasuji Kiyose, composer
September 16: Akira Iwasaki, film critic, historian, and producer
December 28: Seishi Yokomizo, author

References

^ "Hirohito | Biography, Accomplishments, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
^ ja:五六豪雪 (Japanese language) Retrieved date on June 15, 2017.
^ 小学館漫画賞: 歴代受賞者 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on 12 October 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-25.
^ Shizuka Arakawa at the International Skating Union

[1] "Hirohito | Biography, Accomplishments, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 27 March 2019.

[2] :五六豪雪 (Japanese language) Retrieved date on June 15, 2017.

[3] 小学館漫画賞: 歴代受賞者 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on 12 October 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-25.

[4] Shizuka Arakawa at the International Skating Union

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1981 in Japan