1929 in Japan

Events in the year 1929 in Japan. It corresponds to Shōwa 4 (昭和4年) in the Japanese calendar.

Incumbents

 * Emperor: Hirohito
 * Prime Minister:
 * Tanaka Giichi: until July 2
 * Osachi Hamaguchi: from July 2

Governors

 * Aichi Prefecture: Toyoji Obata (until 5 July); Masao Oka (starting 5 July)
 * Akita Prefecture: Iwao Koinuma (until 5 January); Shinji Kikuchi (starting 5 January)
 * Aomori Prefecture:
 * until 30 January: Tetsuzo Yoshimura
 * 30 January-5 July: Yujiro Shinjo
 * starting 5 July: Mitsuo Hirai
 * Ehime Prefecture: Keizo Ichimura (until 8 November); Shin Kinoshita (starting 8 November)
 * Fukui Prefecture: Joko Obama
 * Fukuoka Prefecture: Saito Morikuni (starting month unknown)
 * Fukushima Prefecture: Aid Kiyoo (until 5 July); Koyanagi Makimamoru (starting 5 July)
 * Gifu Prefecture: Masao Kanazawa (until 5 July); Ken Usawa (starting 5 July)
 * Gunma Prefecture: Omori Keiichi (until 10 September); Hotta Kanae (starting 10 September)
 * Hiroshima Prefecture: Masao Kishimoto (until 5 July); Hiroshi Kawabuchi (starting 5 July)
 * Ibaraki Prefecture: Jiro Morioka (until 5 July); Shozo Ushijima (starting 5 July)
 * Ishikawa Prefecture: Nakano Kunikazu (starting month unknown)
 * Iwate Prefecture: Tojiro Io (until 5 July); Shichiro Niwa (starting 5 July)
 * Kagawa Prefecture: Toshio Motoda (until 5 July); Susumu Tsuboi (starting 5 July)
 * Kanagawa Prefecture: Ikeda Hiroshi (until month unknown); Jiro Yamagata (starting month unknown)
 * Kochi Prefecture: Ichiro Oshima (until 5 July); Tanaka (starting 5 July)
 * Kumamoto Prefecture: Saito Munenori (until month unknown); Omori Kichigoro (starting month unknown)
 * Kyoto Prefecture: Shigeyoshi Omihara (until July); Shinichi Sagami (starting July)
 * Mie Prefecture: Iori Hanada (until 8 November); Keizo Ichimura (starting 8 November)
 * Miyagi Prefecture: Katorataro Ushizu (until 9 October); Michio Yuzawa (starting 9 October)
 * Miyazaki Prefecture: Kunitoshi Yamaoka (until 5 July); Kaoru Ishida (starting 5 July)
 * Nagano Prefecture: Ryo Chiba (until 5 July); Shintaro Suzuki (starting 5 July)
 * Niigata Prefecture: Ozaki Yujiro (until 5 July); Takeo Mimatsu (starting 5 July)
 * Okayama Prefecture: Masao Kishimoto (until month unknown); Minabe Choji (starting month unknown)
 * Okinawa Prefecture: Chōhei Hosokawa (until 5 July); Masao Moriya (starting 5 July)
 * Osaka Prefecture: Yuichiro Chikaraishi
 * Saitama Prefecture:
 * until 6 February: Miyawaki Umekichi
 * 6 February-5 July: Shirane Takekai
 * starting 5 July: Chohei Hosokawa
 * Shiname Prefecture: Rinsaku Yagi
 * Tochigi Prefecture:
 * until 5 July: Takeichi Fujiyama
 * 5 July-8 November: Jiro Morioka
 * starting 8 November: Harada
 * Tokyo:
 * until 9 October: Hiroshi Hiratsuka
 * 5 July-9 October: Kenzo Kakagawa
 * starting 9 October: Torataro Shizuka
 * Toyama Prefecture: Shirane Takesuke (until 8 February); Kozo Yamanaka (starting 8 February)
 * Yamagata Prefecture: Shinohara Eitaro (until 9 October); Kubota Osamu Kosuke (starting 9 October)

Events

 * January 27 – An auto parts brand, Akebono Brake was founded, as predecessor name of Akebono Asbest Manufacturing.
 * April 1 - openings of Kugenuma-Kaigan Station, Satte Station and Tochigi Station
 * April 15 – Hankyu Department Store Osaka Umeda officially open in Kita-ku, Osaka.
 * October 1 - opening of Tōbu-Nikkō Station
 * November 17 - opening of Iwatsuki Station
 * December 15 - opening of Bungo-Mori Station
 * opening of the Beppu Rakutenchi Cable Line
 * founded of Pola Orbis, as predecessor name was Pola Chemical Industries in Shizuoka City.

Films

 * Akeyuku Sora
 * Days of Youth
 * Sakanaya Honda

Births

 * January 1 – Haruo Nakajima, actor, stuntman, and choreographer (d. 2017)
 * January 16 – Shigeru Koyama, actor (d. 2017)
 * January 20 – Masaharu Kawakatsu, zoologist
 * January 23 – Kenji Suzuki, announcer
 * January 26 – Sumiteru Taniguchi, survivor of the Nagasaki atomic bombing, and anti–nuclear weapons activist (d. 2017)
 * January 30 – Isamu Akasaki, physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2021)
 * February 13 – Frankie Sakai, comedian, actor, and musician (d. 1996)
 * February 14
 * Hirokazu Kobayashi, aikidoka (d. 1998)
 * Masamoto Yashiro, businessman
 * March 20 – Kazue Takahashi, voice actress (d. 1999)
 * March 22 – Yayoi Kusama, artist
 * March 28 – Takehiro Irokawa, writer (d. 1989)
 * April 3 – Shinichiro Sakurai, automotive engineer (d. 2011)
 * April 6 – Shoichi Ozawa, actor, radio host and singer (d. 2012)
 * April 10 – Yozo Aoki, football player (d. 2014)
 * May 8 – Miyoshi Umeki, actress (d. 2007)
 * June 1 – Tatsuro Toyoda, businessman (d. 2017)
 * June 4 – Nakamura Tomijūrō V, Kabuki actor (d. 2011)
 * July 5 – Chikao Ohtsuka, voice actor (d. 2015)
 * September 29 – Tōru Ōhira, voice actor (d. 2016)
 * September 30 – Kazuko, Princess Taka, later "Kazuko Takatsukasa", daughter of Emperor Shōwa (d. 1989)
 * October 4 – Chokei Kishaba, Okinawan martial arts master (d. 2000)
 * November 7 – Akio Suzuki, medical scientist, educator (d. 2010)
 * November 17 – Gorō Naya, voice actor (d. 2013)
 * November 28 – Kuniko Mukōda, screenwriter (d. 1981)
 * December 12 – Toshiko Akiyoshi, jazz composer/arranger, bandleader and pianist
 * Unknown – Akihiko Okamura, photographer (d. 1985)

Deaths

 * February 10 – Nagai Nagayoshi, chemist and pharmacologist (b. 1844)
 * March 22 – Inoue Yoshika, Marshal Admiral (b. 1845)
 * April 13 – Gotō Shinpei, politician and scouting pioneer (b. 1857)
 * April 27 – Hōjō Tokiyuki, educator, mathematician and politician (b. 1858)
 * June 29 – Prince Kuniyoshi Kuni, prince and field marshal (b. 1873)
 * July 25 – Shōzō Makino silent film director and producer (b. 1878)
 * August 16 – Tsuda Umeko, educator (b. 1864)
 * August 26 – Ernest Mason Satow, British scholar, diplomat and Japanologist (b. 1843)
 * September 29 – Tanaka Giichi, general and Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1864)
 * October 31 – Senshō Murakami, Buddhist scholar and priest
 * November 22 – Kamakichi Kishinouye, marine biologist and cnidariologist (b. 1867)
 * December 20 – Ryūsei Kishida, painter (b. 1891)