1991 in Japan

← 1990 1989 1988 1991 in Japan → 1992 1993 1994
Decades:	1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s
See also:	Other events of 1991 List of years in Japan

Events in the year 1991 in Japan.

Incumbents

• Emperor: Akihito
• Prime Minister: Toshiki Kaifu (L–Aichi) until November 5, Kiichi Miyazawa (L–Hiroshima)
• Chief Cabinet Secretary: Misoji Sakamoto (L–Ishikawa) until November 5, Kōichi Katō (L–Yamagata)
• Chief Justice of the Supreme Court: Ryōhachi Kusaba
• President of the House of Representatives: Yoshio Sakurauchi (L–Shimane)
• President of the House of Councillors: Yoshihiko Tsuchiya (L–Saitama) until October 4, Yūji Osada (L–proportional)
• Diet sessions: 120th (regular session opened in December 1990, to May 8), 121st (extraordinary, August 5 to October 4), 122nd (extraordinary, November 5 to December 21)

Events

• March 14: A under constructing to Hiroshima Astram Line bridge girder falling accident, kills 14, injures 9.
• April 1: Tokyo Metropolitan Government moved its offices from Marunouchi to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku.
• April 26: Self-Defense Forces dispatched to assist in the Gulf War.
• May 14: Shigaraki train disaster - 42 fatalities, 614 injures in Shiga Prefecture.
• June 3: Mount Unzen in Nagasaki Prefecture saw a pyroclastic flow, resulting in 43 deaths.
• June 20: Tohoku Shinkansen line is extended from Ueno Station to Tokyo Station.
• July 13: 1991 Itoman special breach of trust case, six arrested by Japanese authorities.
• July 31: Lotte Orions baseball team announces it will move to Chiba and become the Chiba Lotte Marines.
• August 5: Aerospatiale SA365N helicopter crash in Muraoka, Mikata District, Hyōgo Prefecture, 8 fatalities.
• September 11: USS Independence is based at Yokosuka, becoming the United States Navy's only forward-deployed aircraft carrier.
• September 27: Typhoon Mireille kills 45 people in Japan.
• October 3: Kaifu resigns as prime minister.
• November 5: Miyazawa announces his first cabinet.

Births

January

• January 8: Asuka Hinoi, singer
• January 19: Yu Takahashi, model and actress

February

• February 4: Aya Ōmasa, fashion model and actress

March

• March 4: Aoi Nakamura, actor
• March 14: Michiko Kashiwabara, cross country skier
• March 14: Miu Nakamura, tarento and gravure idol
• March 15: Kii Kitano, gravure idol and actress
• March 28: Rin Asuka, actress

April

• April 4: Yui Koike, gravure idol and actress
• April 8: Minami Takahashi, singer
• April 11: Erina Mano, J-pop singer
• April 11: Kenta Matsudaira, table tennis player
• April 12: Daisuke Kikuchi, footballer
• April 15: Daiki Arioka, singer
• April 17: Shinsaku Uesugi, FIDE master
• April 29: Misaki Doi, tennis player
• May 3: Narita Brian, racehorse (died 1998)

May

• May 24: Erika Umeda, singer
• May 26: Takumi Abe, football player
• May 29: Saori Hayami, voice actress and singer

June

• June 15: Rina Takeda, actress and black belt
• June 18: Rei Okamoto, model and actress
• June 25: Kyousuke Hamao, actor and model
• June 30: Kaho, actress

July

• July 3: Tomomi Itano, singer, actress and idol
• July 10: Atsuko Maeda, singer
• July 12: Tomoki Kameda, boxer
• July 15: Yuki Kashiwagi, singer, actress and idol
• July 25: Miyu Nagaoka, volleyball player
• July 27
  • Aive, idol
  • Rena Matsui, singer and idol
• July 28: Rina Aizawa, actress

August

• August 16: Yūki Tokiwa, voice actor

September

• September 17: Ryo Ishikawa, golfer

October

• October 15: Sayaka Nakaya, idol
• October 16: Miori Takimoto, actress
• October 23: Princess Mako
• October 26: Riho Iida, actress and child model
• October 27: Sōta Murakami, actor and voice actor

November

• November 12: Takatoshi Abe, track and field athlete
• November 16: Tomomi Kasai, singer
• November 22: Saki Shimizu, singer

December

• December 3: Masahiro Usui, actor
• December 7: Dori Sakurada, actor and singer
• December 24: Shion Kokubun, figure skater
• December 30: Kurumi Nara, tennis player

Deaths

• January 2: Hiroshi Noma, author
• January 29: Yasushi Inoue, author
• February 24: Shingo Kanemoto, voice actor
• May 15: Shintaro Abe, politician
• May 26: Kisaburo Osawa, aikido teacher
• June 3: Takeshi Nagata, earth scientist
• July 5: Nobuo Nakamura, actor
• July 11: Hitoshi Igarashi, scholar
• August 5: Soichiro Honda, founder of Honda Motor Company
• August 8: Mitsuko Yoshikawa, actress
• September 3: Susumu Ishii, second kaicho (Godfather) of Inagawa-kai
• October 22: Hachiro Kasuga, enka singer
• November 12: Keizō Hayashi, civil servant and military general (b. 1907)
• November 14: Yoshikata Yoda, screenwriter
• November 23: Ken Uehara, film actor
• November 27: Yō Yoshimura, voice actor

Statistics

• Yen value: US$1 = ¥124.85 (December 31)