1991 in Japan

Incumbents

• Emperor: Akihito
• Prime Minister: Toshiki Kaifu until November 5, Kiichi Miyazawa
• Chief Cabinet Secretary: Misoji Sakamoto until November 5, Kōichi Katō
• Chief Justice of the Supreme Court: Ryōhachi Kusaba
• President of the House of Representatives: Yoshio Sakurauchi
• President of the House of Councillors: Yoshihiko Tsuchiya until October 4, Yūji Osada
• Diet sessions: 120th, 121st, 122nd

  Events

• January 1: Telephone numbers in Tokyo are expanded from 7 digits to 8 digits
• March 14: A under constructing to Hiroshima Astram Line bridge girder falling accident, kills 14, injures 9.
• April 1: Tokyo Metropolitan Government moved its offices from Marunouchi to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku.
• April 26: Self-Defense Forces dispatched to assist in the Gulf War.
• May 14: Shigaraki train disaster – 42 fatalities, 614 injures in Shiga Prefecture.
• June 3: Mount Unzen in Nagasaki Prefecture saw a pyroclastic flow, resulting in 43 deaths.
• June 15: The International Olympic Committee awards the 1998 Winter Olympics to Nagano, Japan.
• June 20: Tohoku Shinkansen line is extended from Ueno Station to Tokyo Station.
• July 13: 1991 Itoman special breach of trust case, six arrested by Japanese authorities.
• July 31: Lotte Orions baseball team announces it will move to Chiba and become the Chiba Lotte Marines.
• August 5: Aerospatiale SA365N helicopter crash in Muraoka, Mikata District, Hyōgo Prefecture, 8 fatalities.
• August 14 - NTT Docomo was founded, as predecessor name was NTT Mobile Communication.
• September 11: USS Independence is based at Yokosuka, becoming the United States Navy's only forward-deployed aircraft carrier.
• September 27: Typhoon Mireille kills 45 people in Japan.
• October 3: Kaifu resigns as prime minister.
• November 5: Miyazawa announces his first cabinet.

  Births

January

• January 8: Asuka Hinoi, singer
• January 14: Kana Ichikawa, sprinter
• January 19: Yu Takahashi, model and actress

  February

• February 4: Aya Ōmasa, fashion model and actress

  March

• March 4: Aoi Nakamura, actor
• March 10: Kenshi Yonezu, singer-songwriter
• March 14: Michiko Kashiwabara, cross country skier
• March 14: Miu Nakamura, tarento and gravure idol
• March 15: Kii Kitano, gravure idol and actress
• March 28: Rin Asuka, actress

  April

• April 4: Yui Koike, gravure idol and actress
• April 8: Minami Takahashi, singer
• April 11: Erina Mano, J-pop singer
• April 11: Kenta Matsudaira, table tennis player
• April 12: Daisuke Kikuchi, footballer
• April 15: Daiki Arioka, singer
• April 16: Misato Ugaki, announcer
• April 17: Shinsaku Uesugi, FIDE master
• April 29: Misaki Doi, tennis player
• May 3: Narita Brian, racehorse

  May

• May 24: Erika Umeda, singer
• May 26: Takumi Abe, football player
• May 29: Saori Hayami, voice actress and singer

  June

• June 15: Rina Takeda, actress and black belt
• June 18: Rei Okamoto, model and actress
• June 25: Kyousuke Hamao, actor and model
• June 27: Haruka Yamazaki, voice actress and singer
• June 30: Kaho, actress

  July

• July 3: Tomomi Itano, singer, actress and idol
• July 10: Atsuko Maeda, singer
• July 12: Tomoki Kameda, boxer
• July 15: Yuki Kashiwagi, singer, actress and idol
• July 18: Mizuki Yamamoto, model and actress
• July 25: Miyu Nagaoka, volleyball player
• July 27
• *Aive, idol
• *Rena Matsui, singer and idol
• July 28: Rina Aizawa, actress

  August

• August 3: Kaori Kawanaka, archer
• August 16: Yūki Tokiwa, voice actor

  September

• September 17: Ryo Ishikawa, golfer

  October

• October 15: Sayaka Nakaya, idol
• October 16: Miori Takimoto, actress
• October 23: Princess Mako
• October 26: Riho Iida, actress and child model
• October 27: Sōta Murakami, actor and voice actor

  November

• November 12: Takatoshi Abe, track and field athlete
• November 16: Tomomi Kasai, singer
• November 19: Genki Yamamoto, cyclist
• November 22: Saki Shimizu, singer
• November 26: Yoshitomo Tsutsugo, professional baseball player
• November 28: Mayuko Kawakita, actress and model

  December

• December 3: Masahiro Usui, actor
• December 7: Dori Sakurada, actor and singer
• December 19: Sumire Uesaka, voice actress and singer
• December 24: Shion Kokubun, figure skater
• December 30: Kurumi Nara, tennis player

  Deaths

• January 2: Hiroshi Noma, author
• January 29: Yasushi Inoue, author
• February 24: Shingo Kanemoto, voice actor
• May 15: Shintaro Abe, politician
• May 26: Kisaburo Osawa, aikido teacher
• June 3: Takeshi Nagata, earth scientist
• July 5: Nobuo Nakamura, actor
• July 11: Hitoshi Igarashi, scholar
• August 5: Soichiro Honda, founder of Honda Motor Company
• August 8: Mitsuko Yoshikawa, actress
• September 3: Susumu Ishii, second kaicho of Inagawa-kai
• October 22: Hachiro Kasuga, enka singer
• November 12: Keizō Hayashi, civil servant and military general
• November 14: Yoshikata Yoda, screenwriter
• November 23: Ken Uehara, film actor
• November 27: Yō Yoshimura, voice actor

  Statistics

• Yen value: US$1 = ¥124.85