1932 in Japan

Events in the year 1932 in Japan.

Incumbents

 * Emperor: Hirohito
 * Prime Minister:
 * Inukai Tsuyoshi: until May 15
 * Takahashi Korekiyo: (Acting) May 15 – May 26
 * Saitō Makoto: from May 26
 * Foreign Minister:
 * Saitō Makoto: until July
 * Uchida Kosai
 * Finance Minister: Takahashi Korekiyo

Governors

 * Aichi Prefecture: Yujiro Osaki (until 28 June); Endo Ryusaku (starting 28 June)
 * Akita Prefecture: Takeshi Uchida (until 28 June); Takabe Rokuzo (starting 28 June)
 * Aomori Prefecture: Teizaburo Miyamoto (until 28 June); Taku Yasunobu (starting 28 June)
 * Ehime Prefecture: Kume Shigeo (until 28 June); Jiro Ichinohe (starting 28 June)
 * Fukui Prefecture: Keizo Ichimura (until 8 March); Shigeo Odachi (starting 8 March)
 * Fukushima Prefecture: Murai Hachiro (until 28 June); Akagi Tomoharo (starting 28 June)
 * Gifu Prefecture: Takehiko Ito (until 28 June); Umekichi Miyawaki (starting 28 June)
 * Gunma Prefecture: Masao Kanazawa
 * Hiroshima Prefecture: Ryo Chiba (until 28 June); Michio Yuzawa (starting 28 June)
 * Ibaraki Prefecture: Seikichi Kimishima (until 18 June); Abe Kashichi (starting 18 June)
 * Iwate Prefecture: Hidehiko Ishiguro
 * Kagawa Prefecture: Akira Ito (until 28 June); Seikichi Kimijima (starting 28 June)
 * Kanagawa Prefecture: Sukenari Yokoyama (starting month unknown)
 * Kochi Prefecture: Kodora Akamatsu (until 4 March); Sakama Osamu (starting 4 March)
 * Kumamoto Prefecture: Kenichi Yamashita (until 28 June); Keiichi Suzuki (starting 28 June)
 * Kyoto Prefecture: Sukenari Yokoyama (until 28 June); Saito Munenori (starting 28 June)
 * Mie Prefecture: Hirose Hisatada
 * Miyagi Prefecture: Michio Yuzawa
 * Miyazaki Prefecture: Gisuke Kinoshita
 * Nagano Prefecture: Ishigaki Kuraji
 * Niigata Prefecture: Toyoji Obata (until 28 June); Ryo Chiba (starting 28 June)
 * Okinawa Prefecture: Jiro Ino
 * Osaka Prefecture: Saito Munenori (until month unknown); Shinobu Agata (starting month unknown)
 * Saga Prefecture: Saburo Hayakawa
 * Saitama Prefecture: Umekichi Miyawaki (until 28 June); Shigezo Fukushima (starting 28 June)
 * Shiname Prefecture: Rinsaku Yagi (starting 28 June); Masaki Fukumura (starting 28 June)
 * Tochigi Prefecture: Chokichi Toshima (until 28 June); Nakarai Kiyoshi (starting 28 June)
 * Tokyo:
 * until 12 January: Hasegawa Hisakazu
 * 12 January-27 May: Shohei Fujinuma
 * starting 27 May: Masayasu Kouksaka
 * Toyama Prefecture: Keiichi Suzuki (until 28 June); Saito Itsuki (starting 28 June)
 * Yamagata Prefecture: Sada Kawamura (until 28 June); Ishihara Yajiro (starting 28 June)

Events

 * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932)
 * January 25 – Nippon Bakelight, later Sumitomo Bakelight was founded.
 * January 25–February 4 – Defense of Harbin
 * January 28–March 3 – January 28 Incident
 * February 20 – 1932 Japanese general election
 * May 15 – May 15 Incident
 * July 15 – Takashimaya Department Store in Osaka Nanba was officially open.
 * August 12 – Tokyo Takarazuka Cinema Production, as predecessor of Toho was founded.
 * September 1 – Topcon was founded.
 * September 15 – the Japan-Manchukuo Protocol is signed by Japan giving Japanese forces permission to station in Manchukuo
 * December 16 – Shirokiya Department Store fire
 * Winter – The Japanese Communist Party make a concerted effort to reestablish its central organization during a time of police repression
 * Unknown date
 * Pharmacy retailer, Matsumoto Kiyoshi founded in Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture, as predecessor name was Matsumoto Pharmacy Shop.
 * Nanzan Secondary School, later Nanzan University was founded in Nagoya.

Films

 * Chûshingura - directed by Teinosuke Kinugasa
 * First Steps Ashore - directed by Yasujirô Shimazu
 * I Was Born, But... - directed by Yasujirō Ozu
 * Kokushi muso - directed by Mansaku Itami
 * Manmo kenkoku no reimei - directed by Kenji Mizoguchi
 * Nasanunaka - directed by Mikio Naruse
 * Spring Comes from the Ladies - directed by Yasujirô Ozu
 * Until the Day We Meet Again - directed by Yasujirô Ozu
 * Uzumaki - directed by Hiroshi Innami
 * Where Now Are the Dreams of Youth - directed by Yasujirō Ozu

Births

 * March 7 – Momoko Kōchi, actress (d. 1998)
 * March 31 – Nagisa Oshima, film director and screenwriter (d. 2013)
 * April 3 – Ineko Arima, film actress
 * April 4 – Meisei Goto, author (d. 1999)
 * June 24 – Hirohisa Fujii, politician and former Finance Minister (d. 2022)
 * June 25 – Ichiro Ogimura, table tennis player (d. 1994)
 * August 11
 * Asei Kobayashi, composer and lyricist (d. 2021)
 * Keiko Kishi, film actress and UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador
 * September 10 – Yasuo Yamada, voice actor (d. 1995)
 * September 18 – Hisashi Owada, diplomat and law professor
 * September 30 – Shintarō Ishihara, Japanese author and politician (d. 2022)
 * October 2 – Masanobu Deme, film director (d. 2016)
 * November 20
 * Umeko Ando, Ainu singer and musician (d. 2004)
 * Yorozuya Kinnosuke, kabuki actor (d. 1996)
 * November 23 – Kunie Tanaka, film actor (d. 2021)
 * December 15 – Tatsuya Nakadai, film actor
 * December 25 – Jun Etō, literary critic (d. 1999)

Deaths

 * February 9 – Junnosuke Inoue, businessman and banker (assassinated) (b. 1869)
 * March 5 – Dan Takuma, businessman (assassinated) (b. 1858)
 * March 24 – Motojirō Kajii, writer (b. 1901)
 * March 26 – Kigoshi Yasutsuna, general (b. 1854)
 * May 15 – Inukai Tsuyoshi, politician and Prime Minister of Japan (assassinated) (b. 1855)
 * May 26 – Yoshinori Shirakawa, general, (b. 1869)
 * June 14 – Yamamoto Yaeko, nurse, wife of Joseph Hardy Neesima (b. 1845)
 * July 24 – Hidaka Sōnojō, admiral (b. 1848)