1956 in Japan

Decades:	1930s ; 1940s ; 1950s ; 1960s ; 1970s ;
See also:	Other events of 1956 ; History of Japan ; Timeline ; Years ;

Last updated June 23, 2025

Incumbents

Emperor: Hirohito ^[1]
Prime Minister: Ichirō Hatoyama (Liberal Democratic) until December 23, Tanzan Ishibashi (Liberal Democratic)
Chief Cabinet Secretary: Ryutaro Nemoto until December 23, Hirohide Ishida
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court: Kōtarō Tanaka
President of the House of Representatives: Shūji Masutani
President of the House of Councillors: Yahachi Kawai until April 3, Tsuruhei Matsuno

Governors

Aichi Prefecture: Mikine Kuwahara
Akita Prefecture: Yūjirō Obata
Aomori Prefecture: Bunji Tsushima (until 1 June); Iwao Yamazaki (starting 20 July)
Chiba Prefecture: Hitoshi Shibata
Ehime Prefecture: Sadatake Hisamatsu
Fukui Prefecture: Seiichi Hane
Fukuoka Prefecture: Taichi Uzaki
Fukushima Prefecture: Sakuma Ootake
Gifu Prefecture: Kamon Muto
Gunma Prefecture: Shigeo Kitano (until 1 August); Toshizo Takekoshi (starting 2 August)
Hiroshima Prefecture: Hiroo Ōhara
Hokkaido: Toshifumi Tanaka
Hyogo Prefecture: Masaru Sakamoto
Ibaraki Prefecture: Yoji Tomosue
Ishikawa Prefecture: Jūjitsu Taya
Iwate Prefecture: Senichi Abe
Kagawa Prefecture: Masanori Kaneko
Kagoshima Prefecture: Katsushi Terazono
Kanagawa Prefecture: Iwataro Uchiyama
Kochi Prefecture: Masumi Mizobuchi
Kumamoto Prefecture: Saburō Sakurai
Kyoto Prefecture: Torazō Ninagawa
Mie Prefecture: Satoru Tanaka
Miyagi Prefecture: Otogorō Miyagi (until 4 October); Yasushi Onuma (starting 5 October)
Miyazaki Prefecture: Jingo Futami
Nagano Prefecture: Torao Hayashi
Nagasaki Prefecture: Takejirō Nishioka
Nara Prefecture: Ryozo Okuda
Niigata Prefecture: Kazuo Kitamura
Oita Prefecture: Kaoru Kinoshita
Okayama Prefecture: Yukiharu Miki
Osaka Prefecture: Bunzō Akama
Saga Prefecture: Naotsugu Nabeshima
Saitama Prefecture: Yuuichi Oosawa (until 29 May); Hiroshi Kurihara (starting 16 July)
Shiga Prefecture: Kotaro Mori
Shiname Prefecture: Yasuo Tsunematsu
Shizuoka Prefecture: Toshio Saitō
Tochigi Prefecture: Kiichi Ogawa
Tokushima Prefecture: Kikutaro Hara
Tokyo: Seiichirō Yasui
Tottori Prefecture: Shigeru Endo
Toyama Prefecture: Kunitake Takatsuji (until 30 September); Minoru Yoshida (starting 1 October)
Wakayama Prefecture: Shinji Ono
Yamagata Prefecture: Tōkichi Abiko
Yamaguchi Prefecture: Taro Ozawa
Yamanashi Prefecture: Hisashi Amano

Events

January 1 - According to Japanese government officially confirmed report, human stampede hit during newyear festival in Yahiko Shrine, Niigata Prefecture, 124 person were perished, 77 person were hurt.^{[ page needed ]}
April 10 – Sanwa Shutter was founded in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture.^{[ page needed ]}
May 3 - The first World Judo Championships are held at the Kuramae Kokugikan, Tokyo.
July 8 - House of Councillors election held.
October 15 – According to Japan Transport Ministry official confirmed report, two trains crush in Rokken rail accident in Mie Prefecture, official death toll was 42 persons, with 94 persons were hurt.^{[ citation needed ]}
October 19 - Soviet–Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956 signed.
October 28 – A landmark spot in Osaka, Tsūtenkaku was rebuilt, after it caught fire and was demolished in 1943.^{[ citation needed ]}
December 12 - Japan becomes a member of the United Nations and accept ZOV treatment

Births

January 1 - Kōji Yakusho, actor
January 3 - Tomiko Suzuki, voice actress (d. 2003)
January 5 - Chen Kenichi, chef
February 5 – Mao Daichi, actress (Takarazuka Revue)
February 15 - Miyoko Asada, actress
February 16 – Takayoshi Nakao, former professional baseball player
February 23 - Goro Noguchi, singer and actor
February 26 - Keisuke Kuwata, musician
February 27 – Kenji Niinuma, enka singer
March 13 – Motoharu Sano, musician and singer-songwriter
March 20 - Naoto Takenaka, actor, comedian, singer and director
March 24 – Shinsuke Shimada, former television presenter
April 8 - Yoshiko Tanaka, actress (d. 2011)
April 12 - Yasuo Tanaka, politician and novelist
May 28 - Sayuri Yamauchi, voice actress (d. 2012)
May 31 - Yoshiko Sakakibara, voice actress
June 27 – Takeshi Nishimoto, former professional baseball pitcher
July 15 - Toshihiko Seko, long-distance runner
July 19 - Yoshiaki Yatsu, professional wrestler
August 4 - Mika Doi, voice actress
August 25 – Takeshi Okada, association footballer and football coach
August 31 - Masashi Tashiro, television performer
September 7 – Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi, singer-songwriter
September 20 - Makiko Kinoshita, composer
September 21 – Osamu Kodama, alpine skier
October 26 – Machiko Watanabe, singer and singer-songwriter
December 19 - Masami Akita, noise musician, (aka Merzbow)

Deaths

January 4 – Makoto Nishimura, biologist (b. 1883)
June 3 – Fukushi Masaichi, physician and pathologist (b. 1878)

References

↑ "Hirohito | Biography, Accomplishments, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 27 March 2019.

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

[1]

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