1988 in Japan-Cedar Herald Index

Events in the year 1988 in Japan. It corresponds to Shōwa 63 (昭和63年) in the Japanese calendar.

Incumbents

Emperor: Shōwa

Prime Minister: Noboru Takeshita (L–Shimane) Chief Cabinet Secretary: Keizo Obuchi (L–Gunma) Chief Justice of the Supreme Court: Kōichi Yaguchi President of the House of Representatives: Kenzaburō Hara (L–Hyōgo) President of the House of Councillors: Masaaki Fujita (L–Hiroshima) until September 30, Yoshihiko Tsuchiya (L–Saitama) Diet sessions: 112th (regular session opened in December 1987, until May 25), 113th (extraordinary, July 19 to December 28), 114th (regular, December 30 to 1989, June 22)

1988 in Japan

Governors

Aichi Prefecture: Reiji Suzuki

Akita Prefecture: Kikuji Sasaki

Aomori Prefecture: Masaya Kitamura

Chiba Prefecture: Takeshi Numata

Ehime Prefecture: Sadayuki Iga

Fukui Prefecture: Yukio Kurita

Fukuoka Prefecture: Hachiji Okuda

Fukushima Prefecture: Isao Matsudaira (until 18 September); Eisaku Satō (starting 19 September) Gifu Prefecture: Yosuke Uematsu Gunma Prefecture: Ichiro Shimizu Hiroshima Prefecture: Toranosuke Takeshita Hokkaido: Takahiro Yokomichi Hyogo Prefecture: Toshitami Kaihara Ibaraki Prefecture: Fujio Takeuchi Ishikawa Prefecture: Yōichi Nakanishi Iwate Prefecture: Kagawa Prefecture: Jōichi Hirai Kagoshima Prefecture: Kaname Kamada Kanagawa Prefecture: Kazuji Nagasu Kochi Prefecture: Chikara Nakauchi Kumamoto Prefecture: Morihiro Hosokawa Kyoto Prefecture: Teiichi Aramaki Mie Prefecture: Ryōzō Tagawa Miyagi Prefecture: Sōichirō Yamamoto Miyazaki Prefecture: Suketaka Matsukata Nagano Prefecture: Gorō Yoshimura Nagasaki Prefecture: Isamu Takada 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: Minoru Inaba Shiname Prefecture: Nobuyoshi Sumita Shizuoka Prefecture: Shigeyoshi Saitō Tochigi Prefecture: Fumio Watanabe Tokushima Prefecture: Shinzo Miki Tokyo: Shun'ichi Suzuki Tottori Prefecture: Yuji Nishio Toyama Prefecture: Yutaka Nakaoki Wakayama Prefecture: Shirō Kariya Yamagata Prefecture: Seiichirō Itagaki Yamaguchi Prefecture: Toru Hirai Yamanashi Prefecture: Kōmei Mochizuki

1988 in Japan

Events

March 13: Seikan Tunnel opens, connecting Hokkaido and Honshu by rail for the first time. March 17: Tokyo Dome completed. April 4 and 5: Rock band Boøwy hold their last concert in Tokyo Dome and break up. April 10: Great Seto Bridge opens. April 16: Studio Ghibli films My Neighbor Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies are released simultaneously. June 18: Asahi Shimbun breaks the Recruit scandal. July 16: The anime film Akira is released. July 21: A heavy torrential rain with debris flow in Kake, Hiroshima Prefecture and Hamada, Shimane Prefecture, According to Fire and Disaster Management Agency of Japan official confirmed report, 27 persons lost their lives, 45 were wounded. July 23: A sports fishing boat, Fuji Maru No. 1, collides with a submarine, Nadashio, in Tokyo Bay, resulting in the former sinking and 30 deaths as well as 17 injuries. September 14: Daiei purchases the Nankai Hawks baseball team: they become the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks. October 3: Anpanman premieres on Nippon TV. October 19: Orix purchases the Hankyu Braves baseball team: they become the Orix Braves. October 23: Super Mario Bros. 3 is released for the Famicom, a slightly modified version is released for the NES in February 1990. December 9: Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa resigns amid the Recruit scandal. December 27: Takeshita announces a realigned cabinet. December 30: According to a Japan National Police Agency official confirmed report, an armored car with 222.5 million yen in cash and 170 million yen in checks was robbed in Suma-ku, Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture. The suspect is escape continue, and still not detained, according to JNPA official.

1988 in Japan