1939 in Japan

Events in the year 1939 in Japan. It corresponds to Shōwa 14 (昭和14年) in the Japanese calendar.

Incumbents

 * Emperor: Hirohito
 * Prime Minister: Fumimaro Konoe until January 5, then Nobuyuki Abe

Governors

 * Aichi Prefecture: Kotaro Tanaka
 * Akita Prefecture: Kaoru Sasaki (until 11 January); Yukio Tomeoka (starting 11 January)
 * Aomori Prefecture: Masanori Ogawa (until 1 March); Noburo Suzuki (starting 1 March)
 * Ehime Prefecture: Shizuo Furukawa (until 15 July); Yoshio Mochinaga (starting 15 July)
 * Fukui Prefecture: Nakano Yoshiro (until 14 April); Kiyoshi Kimura (starting 14 April)
 * Fukuoka Prefecture: Kyuichi Kodama (starting 1940)
 * Fukushima Prefecture: Seikichi Kimishima (until 5 September); Seikichi Hashimoto (starting 5 September)
 * Gifu Prefecture: Miyano Shozo
 * Gunma Prefecture: Shozo Tsuchiya (until 17 April); Kumano Ei (starting 17 April)
 * Hiroshima Prefecture: Ichisho Inuma (until 5 September); Katsuroku Aikawa (starting 5 September)
 * Ibaraki Prefecture: Shigeru Hamaza (until 11 January); Tokitsugi Yoshinaga (starting 11 January)
 * Ishikawa Prefecture: Masasuke Kodama then Narita Ichiro
 * Iwate Prefecture: Chiyoji Yukizawa
 * Kagawa Prefecture: Nagatoshi Fujioka
 * Kanagawa Prefecture: Seiichi Ōmura then Ichisho Inuma
 * Kumamoto Prefecture: Tomoichi Koyama
 * Kochi Prefecture: Fujioka Nagawa (until 17 April); Shunsuke Kondo (starting 17 April)
 * Kyoto Prefecture: Tota Akamatsuko
 * Mie Prefecture: Masatoshi Sato (until 3 January); Masanari Ogawa (starting 1 March)
 * Miyagi Prefecture: Ryosaku Shimizu
 * Miyazaki Prefecture:
 * until 12 April: Jiro Ino
 * 12 April-7 September: Kyuichiro Totsuka
 * starting 7 September: Ryosaku Shimizu
 * Nagano Prefecture: Tomita Kenji
 * Nagasaki Prefecture: Jitsuzo Kawanishi
 * Niigata Prefecture: Yasujiro Nakamura (until 5 September); Seikichi Kimishima (starting 5 September)
 * Okinawa Prefecture: Fusataro Fuchigami
 * Saga Prefecture: Tomoichi Koyama (until 17 April); Kato (starting 17 April)
 * Saitama Prefecture: Toki Ginjiro
 * Shiname Prefecture: Kyuichi Kodama (until 9 April); ... (starting 9 April)
 * Tochigi Prefecture: Adachi Shuuritsu
 * Tokyo: Okada Shuzo
 * Toyama Prefecture: Kenzo Yano
 * Yamagata Prefecture: Takei Yoshitsugu (until 17 April); Ishiguro Takeshige (starting 17 April)

Events

 * February - Hainan Island Operation
 * March - Battle of Xiushui River
 * March 1 – According to Japanese government official confirmed report, Japanese Imperial Army ammunition dump explode in Hirakata, Osaka Prefecture, 94 persons were human fatalities, 602 persons were hurt.
 * March 17-May 9 - Battle of Nanchang
 * April 20-May 24 - Battle of Suixian–Zaoyang
 * May 11-September 16 - Battles of Khalkhin Gol
 * June - Swatow Operation
 * June 1 –Nippon Electric Works and Showa Fertilizer were merger, becomes name was Showa Denko.
 * September 13-October 8 - Battle of Changsha (1939)
 * Unknown date – Mukogawa Higher Women's School was founded, as predecessor of Mukogawa Women's University.

Births

 * February 9 – Tadahiro Matsushita, politician (d. 2012)
 * February 17 – Toshihiro Nikai, politician
 * March 2 – Takako, Princess Suga, youngest child of Emperor Shōwa
 * April 9 – Ikuko Tani, actress, voice actress and narrator
 * August 13 – Shijaku Katsura, rakugo performer (d. 1999)
 * September 22 – Junko Tabei, mountaineer, first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest (d. 2016)

Deaths

 * February 18 – Kanoko Okamoto, author, poet, and Buddhist scholar (b. 1889)
 * March 29 – Michizō Tachihara, poet and architect (b. 1914)
 * September 7 – Kyōka Izumi, novelist and Kabuki playwright (b. 1873)
 * November 11 – Kagaku Murakami, painter and illustrator (b. 1888)
 * December 25 – Masao Nakamura, major general (b. 1892)