1933 in Japan

Incumbents

• Emperor: Hirohito
• Empress consort: Empress Kōjun
• Prime Minister: Saitō Makoto

  Events

• January 1-May 31 - Defense of the Great Wall
• February 21-March 1 - Battle of Rehe
• March 2 - 1933 Sanriku earthquake. Although the earthquake itself does little damage, the associated tsunami, recorded at a height of at Ōfunato, Iwate, caused extensive damage, destroys many homes and causes numerous casualties.
• April 1 - opening of Inariyama-kōen Station
• April 15 - opening of Moro Station and Ogose Station
• May - The 9th Far Eastern Games are held in Tokyo.
• May 10 - Tateishi Electronic Manufacturing, as predecessor of Omron was founded.
• May 31 - Tanggu Truce
• July 12 - opening of Naka-Itabashi Station
• August 1 - opening of Fujimigaoka Station, Inokashira-kōen Station, Kugayama Station, Takaido Station and Hamadayama Station
• September 28 - Isetan Department Store of Shinjuku, officially open, that main transfer shop from Kanda region, Tokyo.
• October 10 - opening of Keisei Ueno Station
• establishment of Tokubetsu-keibi-tai
• Unknown date
• *As One, as predecessor name was Iuchi Seieido.
• *UCC Ueshima Coffee, as predecessor name was Ueshima Shoten.

  Births

• January 2
• * On Kawara, conceptual artist
• * Morimura Seiichi, novelist, author
• January 11 - Mariko Okada, film actress
• February 16 - Yoshishige Yoshida, film director and screenwriter
• February 18 - Yoko Ono, singer, songwriter, and peace activist
• March 1 - Yoko Minamida, film actress
• March 18 - Eikoh Hosoe, photographer and filmmaker
• April 15 - Kōji Yada, voice actor
• April 16 - Takeo Watanabe, musician and composer
• May 10 - Chikage Oogi, actress and politician
• May 15 - Juzo Itami, film director
• May 23 - Shōzō Iizuka, voice actor
• May 29 - Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, businessman
• July 17 - Keiko Awaji, film actress
• August 1 - Masaichi Kaneda, baseball pitcher
• August 9 - Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, actress, and author of children's book
• August 16 - Bunta Sugawara, actor
• September 18 - Hiroshi Suzuki, Olympic swimmer
• October 16 - Nobuyo Oyama, voice actress
• October 20 - Chikara Hashimoto, baseball player
• October 22 - Mitsuko Kusabue, film actress
• November 8 - Ayako Wakao, film actress
• November 11 – Keiko Tanaka-Ikeda, Japanese artistic gymnast
• December 1 - Fujiko F. Fujio, cartoonist
• December 10 - Mako, actor, voice actor and singer
• December 23 - Akihito, 125th Emperor of Japan, fifth child of Emperor Hirohito and Empress Kōjun

  Deaths

• January 23 - Sakai Toshihiko, writer and historian
• February 20 - Takiji Kobayashi, author and novelist
• March 18 - Sakuzō Yoshino, academic, and political scientist
• July 27 - Nobuyoshi Mutō, field marshal, Commander of the Kwantung Army, ambassador
• July 31 - Shimizu Shikin, novelist and women's rights activist
• September 21 - Kenji Miyazawa, poet and author of children's books
• October 15 - Inazō Nitobe, economist, author and educator
• November 3 - Princess Nobuko Asaka, daughter of Emperor Meiji
• November 8 - Uehara Yūsaku, field marshal
• December 8 - Yamamoto Gonnohyōe, admiral and Prime Minister of Japan