January –
Shōwa financial crisis: In the ensuing
bank run, 37 banks throughout Japan (including the
Bank of Taiwan), and the second-tier zaibatsuSuzuki Shoten, went under. Prime Minister
Wakatsuki attempted to have an emergency decree issued to allow the Bank of Japan to extend emergency loans to save these banks, but his request was denied by the
Privy Council
January 23 –
Okuro Oikawa discovers a new asteroid
1266 Tone at the Tokyo Observatory.
February 8 –
Emperor Taishō is buried in the
Musashi Imperial Graveyard in
Hachiōji, Tokyo. The funeral was held at night and consisted of a 4-mile-long procession in which 20,000 mourners followed a herd of sacred bulls and an ox-drawn cart containing the imperial coffin. The funeral route was lit with wood fires in iron lanterns. The emperor's coffin was then transported to his mausoleum in the western suburbs of Tokyo.[2]
March 7 –
Kita Tango earthquake: with a
moment magnitude of 7.0. Up to 2,956 people were killed 7,806 were injured. Almost all the houses in Mineyama (now part of
Kyōtango) were destroyed as a result. The earthquake was felt as far away as
Tokyo and
Kagoshima.[3]
April 20 – Prime Minister
Wakatsuki Reijirō is forced to resign during the Shōwa financial crisis and is succeeded by
Tanaka Giichi who manages to control the situation with a three-week
bank holiday and the issuance of emergency loans.
August 24 –
Mihonoseki Incident: The
light cruiserJintsuu and the
Momi-class destroyerWarabi, both ships of the
Imperial Japanese Navy, collided at the mouth of Miho Bay. There were 92 naval personnel who were killed when the Warabi sunk, and 28 were killed aboard the Jintsuu. Captain
Keiji Mizushiro (1883–1927) was questioned, but committed suicide before the beginning of the trial.
September 13 –
JVC (Victor Corporation of Japan), as predecessor of
JVCKenwood was founded.[page needed]
December 30 – Japan's first subway line started running between Asakusa station and Ueno station, Tokyo. The line was called Ginza Line in
1953 (Showa 28, 昭和28年).