1957 in Japan

Events in the year 1957 in Japan. It corresponds to Shōwa 32 (昭和32年)) in the Japanese calendar.

Incumbents

 * Emperor: Hirohito
 * Prime Minister: Tanzan Ishibashi (until 31 January), then Kishi Nobusuke

Governors

 * Aichi Prefecture: Mikine Kuwahara
 * Akita Prefecture: Yūjirō Obata
 * Aomori Prefecture: Iwao Yamazaki
 * Chiba Prefecture: Hitoshi Shibata
 * Ehime Prefecture: Sadatake Hisamatsu
 * Fukui Prefecture: Seiichi Hane
 * Fukuoka Prefecture: Taichi Uzaki
 * Fukushima Prefecture: Sakuma Ootake (until 25 July); Zenichiro Satō (starting 25 August)
 * Gifu Prefecture: Kamon Muto
 * Gunma Prefecture: Toshizo Takekoshi
 * Hiroshima Prefecture: Hiroo Ōhara
 * Hokkaido: Toshifumi Tanaka
 * Hyogo Prefecture: Masaru Sakamoto
 * Ibaraki Prefecture: Yoji Tomosue
 * Ishikawa Prefecture: Jūjitsu Taya
 * Iwate Prefecture: Senichi Abe
 * Kagawa Prefecture: Masanori Kaneko
 * Kagoshima Prefecture: Katsushi Terazono
 * Kanagawa Prefecture: Iwataro Uchiyama
 * Kochi Prefecture: Masumi Mizobuchi
 * Kumamoto Prefecture: Saburō Sakurai
 * Kyoto Prefecture: Torazō Ninagawa
 * Mie Prefecture: Satoru Tanaka
 * Miyagi Prefecture: Yasushi Onuma
 * Miyazaki Prefecture: Jingo Futami
 * Nagano Prefecture: Torao Hayashi
 * Nagasaki Prefecture: Takejirō Nishioka
 * Nara Prefecture: Ryozo Okuda
 * Niigata Prefecture: Kazuo Kitamura
 * Oita Prefecture: Kaoru Kinoshita
 * Okayama Prefecture: Yukiharu Miki
 * Osaka Prefecture: Bunzō Akama
 * Saga Prefecture: Naotsugu Nabeshima
 * Saitama Prefecture: Hiroshi Kurihara
 * Shiga Prefecture: Kotaro Mori
 * Shiname Prefecture: Yasuo Tsunematsu
 * Shizuoka Prefecture: Toshio Saitō
 * Tochigi Prefecture: Kiichi Ogawa
 * Tokushima Prefecture: Kikutaro Hara
 * Tokyo: Seiichirō Yasui
 * Tottori Prefecture: Shigeru Endo
 * Toyama Prefecture: Minoru Yoshida
 * Wakayama Prefecture: Shinji Ono
 * Yamagata Prefecture: Tōkichi Abiko
 * Yamaguchi Prefecture: Taro Ozawa
 * Yamanashi Prefecture: Hisashi Amano

Events

 * April 1 – Yoyogi Seminar Cram School was founded.
 * April 12 - According to Japan Coast Guard official confirmed report, a sightseeing boat Kitagawa Maru No 5 capsize by overcrowded off Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture, 113 persons perished, with 49 persons wounded.
 * May 8 - Coca-Cola, full-scale sale start in Japan.
 * June 20 – Toru Takemitsu's Requiem for Strings is first performed, by the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra.
 * July 25–28 - According to Japanese government official confirmed report, heavy massive torrential rain and flood swept hit around Isahaya, Kyushu Island. 992 persons lost their lives in mudslides and flooding.
 * October 27 – According to Fire and Disaster Management Agency has official report, An apartment house caught fire by arsonist relative insurance fraud in Akishima, Tokyo, kills eight persons, injures six persons, Japan National Police Agency official report, a suspicion was arrested on March 8, 1958.
 * November 15 - A first section Nagoya to Sakae of Nagoya Municipal Subway Higashiyama Line operation started in Aichi Prefecture.

Births

 * January 18 – Yōko Akino, actress
 * January 19 – Fumi Saimon, comic artist
 * February 4 – Shigeru Ishiba, politician
 * March 8 – Mitsuko Horie, voice actress and singer
 * March 10 – Yoshitaka Katori, former professional baseball pitcher
 * March 13 – Yoshihiko Takahashi, former professional baseball pitcher
 * April 19 – Nobuteru Ishihara, politician and son of Noriko and Shintaro Ishihara
 * May 8 – Rino Katase, actress
 * May 20 – Yoshihiko Noda, politician and Prime Minister of Japan
 * May 22 – Shinji Morisue, gymnast
 * June 1 – Yasuhiro Yamashita, chairman of Japan Olympic Comnitee and former judo-ka
 * June 10 – Hidetsugu Aneha, architect
 * June 24 – Hiroshi Ono, video game artist (d. 2021)
 * July 12 – Kazunori Shinozuka, former professional baseball player
 * July 17 – Shinobu Ōtake, actress
 * July 29 – Fumio Kishida, 100th Prime Minister of Japan
 * August 29 – Shirō Sagisu, composer
 * September 12 – Keiko Toda voice actress
 * September 16 – Hideo Higashikokubaru, former governor of Miyazaki Prefecture and comedian
 * October 10 – Rumiko Takahashi, manga artist
 * October 16 – Tsuneyuki Nakajima, golfer
 * October 25 – Atsushi Ōnita, politician and former wrestler
 * October 30 – Jackie Sato, professional wrestler (d. 1999)
 * November 25 – Akinobu Okada, former baseball manager and player
 * December 15 – Chō, voice actor
 * December 17 – Masako Natsume, actress (d. 1985)
 * December 19 – Jūrōta Kosugi, voice actor

Deaths

 * January 18 – Tomitaro Makino, pioneering botanist (b. 1862)
 * January 25
 * Ichizō Kobayashi, businessman, founded Hankyu Hanshin Holdings (b. 1873)
 * Kiyoshi Shiga, physician and bacteriologist (b. 1871)
 * January 26 – Mamoru Shigemitsu, diplomat and politician (b. 1887)
 * September 22 – Toyoda Soemu, Japanese admiral (b. 1885)