1958 in Japan

1958 in Japan
Events in the year 1958 in Japan. It corresponds to Shōwa 33 (昭和33年) in the Japanese calendar.
Incumbents
Emperor: Hirohito
Prime minister: Nobusuke Kishi
Chief Cabinet Secretary: Kiichi Aichi until June 12, Munenori Akagi
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court: Kōtarō Tanaka
President of the House of Representatives: Shūji Masutani until April 25, Nirō Hoshijima from June 11 until December 13, Ryōgorō Katō
President of the House of Councillors: Tsuruhei Matsuno
Governors
Aichi Prefecture: Mikine Kuwahara
Akita Prefecture: Yūjirō Obata
Aomori Prefecture: Iwao Yamazaki
Chiba Prefecture: Hitoshi Shibata
Ehime Prefecture: Sadatake Hisamatsu
Fukui Prefecture: Seiichi Hane
Fukuoka Prefecture: Taichi Uzaki
Fukushima Prefecture: Zenichiro Satō
Gifu Prefecture: Kamon Muto (until 16 October); Yukiyasu Matsuno (starting 17 October)
Gunma Prefecture: Toshizo Takekoshi
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: Yasushi Onuma
Miyazaki Prefecture: Jingo Futami
Nagano Prefecture: Torao Hayashi
Nagasaki Prefecture: Takejirō Nishioka (until 14 January); Katsuya Sato (starting 2 March)
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: Hiroshi Kurihara
Shiga Prefecture: Kotaro Mori (until 6 December); Kyujiro Taniguchi (starting 7 December)
Shiname Prefecture: Yasuo Tsunematsu
Shizuoka Prefecture: Toshio Saitō
Tochigi Prefecture: Kiichi Ogawa
Tokushima Prefecture: Kikutaro Hara
Tokyo: Seiichirō Yasui
Tottori Prefecture: Shigeru Endo (until 10 November); Jirō Ishiba (starting 3 December)
Toyama Prefecture: Minoru Yoshida
Wakayama Prefecture: Shinji Ono
Yamagata Prefecture: Tōkichi Abiko
Yamaguchi Prefecture: Taro Ozawa
Yamanashi Prefecture: Hisashi Amano
Events
January 26 – According to Japan Coast Guard official confirmed report, a passenger ferry Nankai Maru capsized Kii Channel, between Wakayama City to Tokushima City, total 167 persons drowned.
March 1 – Two medium-size airlines, FarEastern Airways of Japan and Nippon Helicopter Transport, are merged to become All Nippon Airways (ANA) which begins operation in Japan.
March 9 – The Kanmon Tunnel opens, connecting Honshu and Kyushu by road for the first time.
April Unknown date – Ohyama Blow Manufacturing, as predecessor of Iris Ohyama was founded.
May 2 – Nagasaki Flag incident - Ultra-nationalists pull down a Chinese flag hanging outside an exhibition of postage stamps in Nagasaki, freezing relations between China and Japan.
May 22 – General election of 1958 - The Liberal Democratic Party win 298 out of 467 seats.
June 24 – According to official Japanese government confirmed report, a large scale eruption in Mount Aso, Kumamoto Prefecture, killed a total of twelve persons, and wounded 28.
August 2 – An All Nippon Airways Douglas DC-3 plunges in the sea close to the Izu Islands, killing all 33 occupants of the aircraft.
August 25 – Instant noodles go on sale for the first time in Japan.
September 27 – Typhoon Ida kills at least 1,269 in Honshu.
October 14 – Construction of Tokyo Tower is completed.
November 10 – According to Japan Meteorological Agency official confirmed report, a large scale erupted in Mount Asama, Gunma Prefecture, ash height maximum 8,000 meters.
December 23 – Tokyo Tower is opened to the public for the first time, at a final cost of ¥2.8 billion ($8.4 million in 1958).
December 27 – National Health Care Act of 1958.
unknown date - The Japanese 10 yen coin ceases having serrated edges after a 5-year period beginning in 1953. All 10 yen coins since have smooth edges.
Births
January 5 – Junko Yagami, singer and songwriter
January 20 – Masuo Amada, voice actor
January 30 – Sayuri Ishikawa, enka singer
February 1 – Ryō Horikawa, voice actor
February 4 – Saburō Tokitō, singer and actor
February 11 – Shinobu Satouchi, voice actor
March 10 – Hiroshi Yanaka, voice actor
April 1 – Hiromi Kawakami, author and writer
April 7 – Shinobu Adachi, voice actress
April 12 – Hyōichi Kōno, adventurer (d. 2001)
April 14 – Junko Sakurada, actress and singer
April 21 – Yoshito Usui, manga artist, creator of Crayon Shin-chan (d. 2009)
May 2 – Yasushi Akimoto, record producer, lyricist and television writer
June 14 – Masami Yoshida, javelin thrower (d. 2000)
June 20 – Teiyū Ichiryūsai, voice actress
July 5 – Kyoko Terase, voice actress
July 22 – Tatsunori Hara, professional-baseball coach and player
August 2 – Shō Hayami, voice actor and singer
August 15 – Chiharu Suzuka, voice actress
September 8
Mitsuru Miyamoto, voice actor
Reiko Terashima, manga artist and illustrator
October 15 – Masako Katsuki, voice actress
October 23 – Hiroyuki Kinoshita, actor and voice actor
October 24 – Hatsuhiko Tsuji, professional baseball m coach and former player
November 12 – Hiromi Iwasaki, singer
November 27 – Tetsuya Komuro, music producer and songwriter
December 2 – Mina Asami, actress
December 26 – Mieko Harada, actress
Date unknown
Yoshiteru Otani, cartoonist
Deaths
April 2 – Jōsei Toda, educator and peace activist (b. 1900)
September 20 – Ogasawara Naganari, admiral and naval strategist (b. 1867)
See also
List of Japanese films of 1958
References
1950s in Japan
1958 by country
Years of the 20th century in Japan
1958 in Asia