# 1956 in Japan

Events in the year 1956 in Japan.

## Incumbents

* Emperor: Hirohito
* 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.
* April 10 – Sanwa Shutter was founded in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture.
* 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.
* 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.
* 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
* 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)