1955 in Japan

Events from the year 1955 in Japan.

Incumbents

 * Emperor: Hirohito
 * Prime Minister: Ichirō Hatoyama
 * Chief Cabinet Secretary: Ryutaro Nemoto
 * Chief Justice of the Supreme Court: Kōtarō Tanaka
 * President of the House of Representatives: Tō Matsunaga until January 24, Shūji Masutani from March 18
 * President of the House of Councillors: Yahachi Kawai

Governors

 * Aichi Prefecture: Mikine Kuwahara
 * Akita Prefecture: Tokuji Ikeda (until 29 April); Yūjirō Obata (starting 30 April)
 * Aomori Prefecture: Bunji Tsushima
 * Chiba Prefecture: Hitoshi Shibata
 * Ehime Prefecture: Sadatake Hisamatsu
 * Fukui Prefecture: Harukazu Obata (until 4 February); Seiichi Hane (starting 26 April)
 * Fukuoka Prefecture: Katsuji Sugimoto (until 7 April); Taichi Uzaki (starting 26 April)
 * Fukushima Prefecture: Sakuma Ootake
 * Gifu Prefecture: Kamon Muto
 * Gunma Prefecture: Shigeo Kitano
 * Hiroshima Prefecture: Hiroo Ōhara
 * Hokkaido: Toshifumi Tanaka
 * Hyogo Prefecture: Masaru Sakamoto
 * Ibaraki Prefecture: Yoji Tomosue
 * Ishikawa Prefecture: Wakio Shibano (until 19 January); Jūjitsu Taya (starting 24 February)
 * Iwate Prefecture: Kenkichi Kokubun (until 29 April); Senichi Abe (starting 30 April)
 * Kagawa Prefecture: Masanori Kaneko
 * Kagoshima Prefecture: Katsushi Terazono
 * Kanagawa Prefecture: Iwataro Uchiyama
 * Kochi Prefecture: Wakaji Kawamura (until 11 December); Masumi Mizobuchi (starting 12 December)
 * Kumamoto Prefecture: Saburō Sakurai
 * Kyoto Prefecture: Torazō Ninagawa
 * Mie Prefecture: Masaru Aoki (until 18 March); Satoru Tanaka (starting 23 April)
 * Miyagi Prefecture: Otogorō Miyagi
 * Miyazaki Prefecture: Nagashige Tanaka (until 30 March); Jingo Futami (starting 23 April)
 * Nagano Prefecture: Torao Hayashi
 * Nagasaki Prefecture: Takejirō Nishioka
 * Nara Prefecture: Ryozo Okuda
 * Niigata Prefecture: Shohei Okada (until 29 April) Kazuo Kitamura (starting 30 April)
 * Oita Prefecture: Tokuju Hosoda (until 27 April); Kaoru Kinoshita (starting 28 April)
 * Okayama Prefecture: Yukiharu Miki
 * Osaka Prefecture: Bunzō Akama
 * Saga Prefecture: Naotsugu Nabeshima
 * Saitama Prefecture: Yuuichi Oosawa
 * Shiga Prefecture: Kotaro Mori
 * Shiname Prefecture: Yasuo Tsunematsu
 * Shizuoka Prefecture: Toshio Saitō
 * Tochigi Prefecture: Juukichi Kodaira (until 5 January); Kiichi Ogawa (starting 7 February)
 * Tokushima Prefecture: Kuniichi Abe (until 30 March); Kikutaro Hara (starting 25 April)
 * Tokyo: Seiichirō Yasui
 * Tottori Prefecture: Shigeru Endo
 * Toyama Prefecture: Kunitake Takatsuji
 * Wakayama Prefecture: Shinji Ono
 * Yamagata Prefecture: Michio Murayama (until 20 January); Tōkichi Abiko (starting 20 February)
 * Yamaguchi Prefecture: Taro Ozawa
 * Yamanashi Prefecture: Hisashi Amano

Events

 * January 28 – Benesse Corporation was founded, as predecessor name was Fukutake Shoten.
 * February 17 - According to Japan Fire and Disaster Management Agency official confirmed report, Seibo no Sono (Our Lady's Garden) fire in Totsuka-ku, Yokohama, total 99 person were death.
 * February 27 - 1955 Japanese general election
 * April Unknown date – Bunka Shutter was founded, as predecessor name was Nippon Bunka Steel Door.
 * April 7 - Radio Tokyo TV (now Tokyo Broadcasting System Television (TBS)) begins broadcasting.
 * April 16–17 - Abe coal mine debris collapse, due to heavy torrential rain hit in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, resulting tn 73 persons death, according to JFDMA official confirmed report.
 * April 21 - Opening of Gokō Station
 * May 11 - Shiun Maru disaster
 * May 14 - According to Japan National Police Agency official confirmed report, a charter bus plunged into the Kitakami River in Iwate Prefecture, resulting in twelve deaths and twenty-eight injured.
 * July 28- According to JFDMA official confirmed report, 36 junior school students died when a high wave hit, during school swimming lesson in Nakakawara beach, Tsu, Mie Prefecture.
 * September 3 - Yumiko-chan incident
 * November 1 - According to JFDMA official confirmed report, Moshiri Coal mine gas explosion hit in Akabira, Hokkaido, official death toll number is 60, with 17 person were wounded.
 * November 15 - Japan Liberal Party and Democratic Party of Japan were unified, ruling Liberal Democratic Party of Japan has started.
 * Establishment of Akkeshi Prefectural Natural Park

Births

 * January 13 - Ran Itō, actress
 * January 15 - Mayumi Tanaka, voice actress
 * January 17 - Mami Koyama, voice actress
 * January 20 - Hiromi Ōta, singer
 * January 22 - Keiko Takahashi, actress
 * January 28 - George Tokoro, television personality and singer-songwriter
 * February 12 - Ai Satō, voice actress
 * February 13 - Akiko Yano, singer-songwriter
 * March 2 - Shoko Asahara, cult leader (Aum Shinrikyo) (d. 2018)
 * March 16 - Jiro Watanabe, boxer
 * March 20 - Mariya Takeuchi, singer-songwriter
 * April 5 - Akira Toriyama, Manga artist (d. 2024)
 * April 7 - Akira Nishino, soccer player and manager
 * April 13 - Hideki Saijo, singer and actor (d. 2018)
 * April 15 - Ryūtarō Nakamura, Anime director (d. 2013)
 * April 23 - Fumi Hirano, voice actress and essayist
 * April 29 - Yūko Tanaka, actress
 * May 9 – Masayuki Kakefu, former professional baseball player
 * May 24 - Rumiko Ukai, voice actress
 * May 25 - Suguru Egawa, baseball player
 * May 26 - Masaharu Morimoto, chef
 * May 30 - Nakamura Kanzaburō XVIII, Kabuki actor (d. 2012)
 * June 1 - Chiyonofuji Mitsugu, sumo wrestler (58th Yokozuna grand champion)
 * June 26 - Yoko Gushiken, boxer
 * July 1 - Sanma Akashiya, comedian and actor
 * August 20 - Agnes Chan, television personality
 * August 30 - Mayumi Muroyama, Manga artist
 * September 4 - Hiroshi Izawa, actor
 * September 24 - Shinbo Nomura, Manga artist
 * October 18 - Hiromi Go, singer
 * October 19 - LaSalle Ishii, television personality
 * October 21 - Yasukazu Hamada, politician
 * October 29 - Etsuko Shihomi, actress
 * November 3 - Yukihiko Tsutsumi, film director
 * November 14 - Koichi Nakano, bicycle rider
 * December 9 - Asashio Tarō IV, sumo wrestler
 * December 16 - Chiharu Matsuyama, singer-songwriter
 * December 24 - Mizuho Fukushima, politician

Deaths

 * February 17 - Ango Sakaguchi, author (b. 1906)
 * October 15 - Fumio Hayasaka, composer (b. 1914)
 * October 25 - Sadako Sasaki, hibakusha (b. 1943)