1940 in Japan

Incumbents

• Emperor: Hirohito
• Prime Minister:
• *Nobuyuki Abe, until January 16,
• *Mitsumasa Yonai, until July 22,
• *Fumimaro Konoe, from July 22

  Films

• Kaze no Matasaburo
• Totsugu hi made

  Events

• Throughout the entire year - Celebration of year 2600 in Japanese imperial year
• January 15 - A large fire destroys much of hizuoka city center.
• March 16-April 3 - Battle of Wuyuan
• May 1-June 18 - Battle of Zaoyang-Yichang
• September 22-26 - Japanese invasion of French Indochina
• November 25–30 - Central Hubei Operation

  Births

• January 2 - Masahiko Tsugawa, actor
• February 11 - Kinryuu Arimoto, voice actor
• May 13 - Kōkichi Tsuburaya, marathoner
• May 25 - Nobuyoshi Araki, photographer and artist
• June 3 - Koichi Kishi, politician
• July 2 - Ruriko Asaoka, actress
• July 19 - Hanako, Princess Hitachi, wife of Masahito, Prince Hitachi
• August 20 - Gisaburō Sugii, anime director and Nihonga artist
• September 20 - Tarō Asō, 59th Prime Minister of Japan
• October 30 - Hidetoshi Nagasawa, sculptor and architect
• December 4 - Fumio Kyūma, politician

  Deaths

• January 1 - Fusajiro Yamauchi, entrepreneur
• March 8 - Princess Masako Takeda, sixth daughter of Emperor Meiji
• May 11 - Chujiro Hayashi, Reiki practitioner
• June 5 - Tokugawa Iesato, politician
• September 4 - Prince Nagahisa Kitashirakawa, career army officer
• October 6 - Michitarō Komatsubara, general
• November 20 - Hideo Oguma, poet
• November 24 - Saionji Kinmochi, politician, statesman and Prime Minister of Japan