Events in the year 1932 in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Incumbents

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Hirohito , Posthumous name, posthumously honored as , was the 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, from 25 December 1926 until Death and state funeral of Hirohito, his death in 1989. He remains Japan's longest-reigni ...

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

: **

Inukai Tsuyoshi Inukai Tsuyoshi (, 4 June 1855 – 15 May 1932) was a Japanese statesman who was Prime Minister of Japan, prime minister of Japan from 1931 to his assassination in 1932. At the age of 76, Inukai was Japan's second oldest serving prime minister, ...

: until May 15 **

Takahashi Korekiyo Viscount was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan, prime minister of Japan from 1921 to 1922 and Ministry of Finance (Japan), Minister of Finance when he was assassinated. He was also a member of the House of Peers (Japan) ...

: (Acting) May 15 – May 26 **

Saitō Makoto Viscount (27 October 1858 – 26 February 1936) was a Japanese naval officer and politician. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Saitō Makoto"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 809. Upon distinguishing himself during his command of two cruisers in t ...

: from May 26 *

Foreign Minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

: **

: until July ** Uchida Kosai *

Finance Minister A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

Governors

Aichi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,461,111 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the ...

: Yujiro Osaki (until 28 June); Endo Ryusaku (starting 28 June) *Akita Prefecture:

Takeshi Uchida Takeshi ( in hiragana or in katakana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Written forms Forms in kanji can include: *武, "warrior" *毅, "strong" *猛, "fierce" *健, "healthy" *剛, "sturdy" *彪, "spotted" *威, "intimidate" *壮, "robust" * ...

(until 28 June); Takabe Rokuzo (starting 28 June) *

Aomori Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori (city), Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is border ...

: Teizaburo Miyamoto (until 28 June); Taku Yasunobu (starting 28 June) *Ehime Prefecture:

Kume Shigeo is a town located in Shimajiri District, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. The town consists of the islands of Kume, Ōjima, Ōhajima, Torishima, and Iōtorishima. Among the islands, only Kumejima and Ōjima are populated. Kumejima is located appro ...

(until 28 June); Jiro Ichinohe (starting 28 June) *Fukui Prefecture: Keizo Ichimura (until 8 March); Shigeo Odachi (starting 8 March) *Fukushima Prefecture:

Murai Hachiro Murai may refer to: *Murai (surname), Japanese surname *Murai, Singapore, area in Western Water Catchment *Murai Reservoir, Singapore reservoir *Murai Station, Japan railway station See also *''Tirumurai ''Tirumurai'' (Tamil language, ...

(until 28 June); Akagi Tomoharo (starting 28 June) *Gifu Prefecture:

Takehiko Ito Takehiko (written: 武彦, 毅彦, 雄彦 or 岳彦) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: * (born 1969), Japanese sumo wrestler * (1922–1999), Japanese baseball player and manager * (1938–2019), Japanese po ...

(until 28 June); Umekichi Miyawaki (starting 28 June) *Gunma Prefecture:

Masao Kanazawa Masao (written: 正雄, 正夫, 正生, 正男, 正郎, 雅雄, 雅央, 雅夫, 雅勇, 雅男, 昌雄, 昌夫, 昌男, 昌朗, 昌郎, 昌大, 政雄, 政夫, 政男, 政於, 征夫, 優夫, 聖雄, 利生, 将雄, 将夫 or 眞男) is a masculine ...

* Hiroshima Prefecture:

Ryo Chiba Ryo Chiba (March 2, 1884 – November 8, 1963) was a Japanese politician who served as governor of Hiroshima Prefecture from Dec. 1931 to June 1932. He was governor of Nagano Prefecture (1927–1929) and Niigata Prefecture is a Prefectures ...

(until 28 June);

Michio Yuzawa was a bureaucrat and cabinet minister in early Shōwa period Japan. Biography Yuzawa was born in Kamitsuga District, Tochigi in what is now part of the city of Kanuma as the son of a ''kannushi'' (Shinto priest). After his graduation in 1912 ...

(starting 28 June) *

Ibaraki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Ibaraki Prefecture has a population of 2,828,086 (1 July 2023) and has a geographic area of . Ibaraki Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the north, ...

: Seikichi Kimishima (until 18 June);

Abe Kashichi Abe or ABE may refer to: Aviation * Aviation boatswain's mate, equipment, a United States Navy occupational rating * IATA airport code for Lehigh Valley International Airport in State of Pennsylvania, USA People and fictional characters * Shinzo ...

(starting 18 June) *Iwate Prefecture:

Hidehiko Ishiguro Hidehiko (written: 秀彦 or 英彦) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese musician and songwriter *, Japanese jazz saxophonist and bandleader *, Japanese footballer and manager *, Japanese high jump ...

*Kagawa Prefecture: Akira Ito (until 28 June); Seikichi Kimijima (starting 28 June) *

Kanagawa Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

Sukenari Yokoyama Sukenari Yokoyama (January 1, 1884 – March 27, 1963) was a Japanese politician who served twice as governor of Hiroshima Prefecture in 1927–1928 and 1943–1944. Biography He was also governor of Okayama Prefecture (1923-1924), Ishikawa Pref ...

(starting month unknown) *Kochi Prefecture: Kodora Akamatsu (until 4 March); Sakama Osamu (starting 4 March) *

Kumamoto Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Kumamoto Prefecture has a population of 1,748,134 () and has a geographic area of . Kumamoto Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the north, Ōita Prefecture t ...

: Kenichi Yamashita (until 28 June); Keiichi Suzuki (starting 28 June) *

Kyoto Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Kyoto Prefecture has a population of 2,561,358 () and has a geographic area of . Kyoto Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the northeast, Shiga Prefecture ...

(until 28 June); Saito Munenori (starting 28 June) *Mie Prefecture: Hirose Hisatada *

Miyagi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Miyagi Prefecture has a population of 2,265,724 (1 August 2023) and has a geographic area of . Miyagi Prefecture borders Iwate Prefecture to the north, Akit ...

*Miyazaki Prefecture: Gisuke Kinoshita *

Nagano Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,007,682 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture ...

: Ishigaki Kuraji *

Niigata Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture in the Chūbu region of Honshu of Japan. Niigata Prefecture has a population of 2,131,009 (1 July 2023) and is the List of Japanese prefectures by area, fifth-largest prefecture of Japan by geographic area ...

: Toyoji Obata (until 28 June);

(starting 28 June) *

Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan. It consists of three main island groups—the Okinawa Islands, the Sakishima Islands, and the Daitō Islands—spread across a maritime zone approximately 1,000 kilometers east to west an ...

: Jiro Ino *

Osaka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Osaka Prefecture has a population of 8,778,035 () and has a geographic area of . Osaka Prefecture borders Hyōgo Prefecture to the northwest, Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Nara ...

: Saito Munenori (until month unknown); Shinobu Agata (starting month unknown) *

Saga Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. Saga Prefecture has a population of roughly 780,000 and has a geographic area of . Saga Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northeast and Nagasaki Prefect ...

Saburo Hayakawa Saburo Hayakawa (April 8, 1888 – April 19, 1973) was a Japanese politician who served as governor of Hiroshima Prefecture from April 1936 to January 1937. He was born in Kanagawa Prefecture and graduated from the University of Tokyo. He was als ...

Saitama Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (January 1, 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 Square kilometre, km2 ( ...

: Umekichi Miyawaki (until 28 June); Shigezo Fukushima (starting 28 June) *Shiname Prefecture: Rinsaku Yagi (starting 28 June); Masaki Fukumura (starting 28 June) *Tochigi Prefecture: Chokichi Toshima (until 28 June); Nakarai Kiyoshi (starting 28 June) *

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

: **until 12 January: Hasegawa Hisakazu **12 January-27 May: Shohei Fujinuma **starting 27 May: Masayasu Kouksaka *Toyama Prefecture: Keiichi Suzuki (until 28 June); Saito Itsuki (starting 28 June) *Yamagata Prefecture: Sada Kawamura (until 28 June); Ishihara Yajiro (starting 28 June)

Events

*January 9 –

Sakuradamon Incident (1932) The Sakuradamon incident was an unsuccessful assassination attempt against Japanese Emperor Hirohito on January 8, 1932, at the gate Sakuradamon in Tokyo, Empire of Japan. The attack was carried out by Korean independence activist Lee Bong-ch ...

*January 25 – Nippon Bakelight, later Sumitomo Bakelight was founded. *January 25–February 4 –

Defense of Harbin The Defense of Harbin () occurred at the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War, as part of the campaign of the Invasion of Manchuria by forces of the Empire of Japan from 25 January to 4 February 1932. The Japanese took the city only after ...

*January 28–March 3 –

January 28 Incident The January 28 incident or Shanghai incident (January 28 – March 3, 1932) was a conflict between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. It took place in the Shanghai International Settlement which was under international control. Japa ...

*February 20 –

1932 Japanese general election General elections were held in Japan on 20 February 1932.Bernd Martin (2006) ''Japan and Germany in the Modern World'', Berghahn Books, p136 They were the last elections before the May 15 Incident, which marked the temporary end of party politics ...

*May 15 – May 15 Incident *July 15 – Takashimaya Department Store in Osaka Nanba was officially open. *August 12 – Tokyo Takarazuka Cinema Production, as predecessor of

Toho is a Japanese entertainment company that primarily engages in producing and distributing films and exhibiting stage plays. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. ...

was founded. *September 1 –

Topcon is a Japanese manufacturer of optical equipment for ophthalmology and surveying. History 1930s TOPCON was established in September 1932 based the merger of the surveying instruments division of K. Hattori & Co., Ltd. (now known as Seiko ...

was founded. *September 15 – the Japan-Manchukuo Protocol is signed by Japan giving Japanese forces permission to station in

Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially known as the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of Great Manchuria thereafter, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China that existed from 1932 until its dissolution in 1945. It was ostens ...

*December 16 –

Shirokiya Department Store fire was a fire at the Shirokiya Department Store, Tokyo, Japan, on December 16, 1932 which left 14 people dead and 67 people injured. The Shirokiya Department store had eight stories and two underground floors. Floors 4 through 8 caught fire in th ...

*Winter – The

Japanese Communist Party The is a communist party in Japan. Founded in 1922, it is the oldest political party in the country. It has 250,000 members as of January 2024, making it one of the largest non-governing communist parties in the world. The party is chaired ...

make a concerted effort to reestablish its central organization during a time of police repression * Unknown date ** Pharmacy retailer, Matsumoto Kiyoshi founded in

Matsudo file:Matsudo City Hall 2.jpg, 260px, Matsudo City Hall is a Cities of Japan, city in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 499,533 in 242,918 households and a population density of 8,138 persons per km2. The total are ...

Chiba Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama ...

, as predecessor name was Matsumoto Pharmacy Shop. ** Nanzan Secondary School, later

Nanzan University is a Private university, private, Catholic and Mixed-sex education, coeducational higher education institution run by the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) in the Shōwa-ku, Nagoya, Shōwa Ward of Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It is consi ...

was founded in

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

Films

*'' Chûshingura'' - directed by

Teinosuke Kinugasa was a Japanese filmmaker and actor. His best-known films include the Silent film, silent Experimental film, avant-garde films ''A Page of Madness'' and ''Crossroads (1928 film), Crossroads'' and the Academy Awards, Academy Award-winning historic ...

*'' First Steps Ashore'' - directed by Yasujirô Shimazu *'' I Was Born, But...'' - directed by

Yasujirō Ozu was a Japanese filmmaker. He began his career during the era of silent films, and his last films were made in colour in the early 1960s. Ozu first made a number of short comedies, before turning to more serious themes in the 1930s. The most pr ...

*'' Kokushi muso'' - directed by

Mansaku Itami Mansaku Itami (伊丹万作; real name Yoshitoyo Ikeuchi 池内義豊; 2 January 1900 – 21 September 1946) was a Japanese film director and screenwriter known for his critical, sometimes satirical portraits of Japan and its history. H ...

*'' Manmo kenkoku no reimei'' - directed by

Kenji Mizoguchi was a Japanese filmmaker who directed roughly one hundred films during his career between 1923 and 1956. His most acclaimed works include '' The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums'' (1939), '' The Life of Oharu'' (1952), '' Ugetsu'' (1953), and ' ...

*'' Nasanunaka'' - directed by

Mikio Naruse was a Japanese filmmaker who directed 89 films spanning the period 1930 to 1967. Naruse is known for imbuing his films with a bleak and pessimistic outlook. He made primarily Shoshimin-eiga, shōshimin-eiga ("common people drama") films with f ...

*'' Spring Comes from the Ladies'' - directed by Yasujirô Ozu *''

Until the Day We Meet Again is a lost 1932 Japanese film. It was the first sound film directed by Yasujirō Ozu was a Japanese filmmaker. He began his career during the era of silent films, and his last films were made in colour in the early 1960s. Ozu first made a ...

'' - directed by Yasujirô Ozu *''

Uzumaki is a Japanese horror manga series written and illustrated by Junji Ito. Appearing as a serial in Shogakukan's weekly manga magazine '' Big Comic Spirits'' from 1998 to 1999, the chapters were compiled into three bound volumes publis ...

'' - directed by Hiroshi Innami *'' Where Now Are the Dreams of Youth'' - directed by Yasujirō Ozu

Births

*January 11 –

Takkō Ishimori was a Japanese voice actor from Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. He debuted in 1960, and was attached to the talent agency Arts Vision at the time of his death in 2013. He was one of the founding members of Theater Echo. He was best known for voicing ...

, voice actor (d.

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

) *March 7 –

Momoko Kōchi (7 March 1932 – 5 November 1998), born , was a Japanese film, stage and television actress. She is best known for her roles in the original ''Godzilla'', playing the character of Emiko Yamane (a role she reprised in '' Godzilla vs. Destor ...

, actress (d.

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

) *March 31 –

Nagisa Oshima is a Japanese name, Japanese given name used by either sex and is occasionally used as a surname. Written forms Nagisa can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *渚, "beach, strand" *汀, "water's edge/shore" *凪砂, "lu ...

, film director and screenwriter (d.

) *April 3 –

Ineko Arima is a Japanese stage and film actress. She has appeared in films of directors such as Yasujirō Ozu, Mikio Naruse and Kon Ichikawa was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. His work displays a vast range in genre and style, from the anti ...

, film actress *April 4 – Meisei Goto, author (d.

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

) *April 16 –

Shigeko Sasamori Shigeko Sasamori (; Niimoto; June 16, 1932 – December 15, 2024) was a Japanese peace and anti-nuclear activist. She was a survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and an advocate for peace and nuclear disarmament. After receiving reconst ...

, peace and anti-nuclear activist (d.

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

) *June 24 – Hirohisa Fujii, politician and former Finance Minister (d.

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

) *June 25 –

Ichiro Ogimura was a Japanese table tennis player, coach, president of the ITTF and former World No. 1 who won 12 World Championship titles during his career. Ogimura was also a key figure in the Ping Pong Diplomacy events of the early 1970s, as well as be ...

, table tennis player (d.

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

) *August 11 **

Asei Kobayashi was a Japanese composer. He was also a lyricist, actor, and ''multi-tarento''. He could also sing songs and advertisement songs. Kobayashi was represented by Astro Music. He was the director of the Japan Songwriters Association (J-scat). Kobaya ...

, composer and lyricist (d.

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

) **

Keiko Kishi is a Japanese actress, writer, and UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador. Life and career She made her acting debut in 1951 in Noboru Nakamura's film '' Home Sweet Home''. In the 1950s, David Lean proposed her for the main role in '' The Wind Cannot Read ...

, film actress and

UNFPA The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is a UN agency aimed at improving reproductive and maternal health worldwide. Its work includes developing national healthcare strategies and protocols, increasing access to birth control, and leadin ...

Goodwill Ambassador *September 10 –

Yasuo Yamada was a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator. His most famous role was Arsène Lupin III from the ''Lupin III'' series, starting in 1971 and ending in 1995. He was also the official Japanese dubbing voice actor of Clint Eastwood and Jean-Paul ...

, voice actor (d.

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

) *September 18 –

Hisashi Owada is a Japanese former jurist, diplomat and law professor. He served as a judge on the International Court of Justice from 6 February 2003 until 7 June 2018, and was president of the court from 2009 to 2012. He is the father of Empress Masako an ...

, diplomat and law professor *September 30 –

Shintarō Ishihara was a Japanese politician and writer, who served as the Governor of Tokyo from 1999 to 2012. Being the former leader of the radical right Sunrise Party, later merged with Toru Hashimoto's Japan Restoration Party out of which he split his f ...

, Japanese author and politician (d.

) *October 2 –

Masanobu Deme was a Japanese film director. Career Born in Shiga Prefecture, Deme graduated from Waseda University before joining the Tōhō studio in 1957. After serving as an assistant director under such directors as Akira Kurosawa was a Japane ...

, film director (d.

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

) *November 20 **

Umeko Ando was an Ainu singer and mukkuri player. Her participation in Oki Kano's second album ''Hankapuy'', helped her gain recognition. She recorded several albums, including her solo debut album, ''Ihunke'', produced by Oki in 2001, that was praised ...

, Ainu singer and musician (d.

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

) **

Yorozuya Kinnosuke (November 20, 1932 – March 10, 1997) was a Japanese kabuki actor. Born , son of kabuki actor Nakamura Tokizō III, he entered kabuki and became the first in the kabuki tradition to take the name Nakamura Kinnosuke. He took on his guild name ('' ...

kabuki is a classical form of Theatre of Japan, Japanese theatre, mixing dramatic performance with Japanese traditional dance, traditional dance. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily stylised performances, its glamorous, highly decorated costumes ...

actor (d.

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

) *November 23 –

Kunie Tanaka was a Japanese actor. Tanaka first made a name for himself as the lecherous antagonist of the ''Wakadaishō'' series (1961–1981) of films. He is also well-known for his roles in Kinji Fukasaku's yakuza films, namely the ''Battles Without Hon ...

, film actor (d.

) *December 15 –

Tatsuya Nakadai is a Japanese film actor. He was featured in 11 films directed by Masaki Kobayashi, including '' The Human Condition'' trilogy, wherein he starred as the lead character Kaji, plus '' Harakiri'', '' Samurai Rebellion'' and '' Kwaidan''. Nakada ...

, film actor *December 25 –

Jun Etō , known by his pen name , was a Japanese writer and literary critic active in the Shōwa and early Heisei periods. Early life Etō was born in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo; his father was a banker, and his grandfather (originally from Saga ...

, literary critic (d.

)

Deaths

*February 9 –

Junnosuke Inoue was a Japanese financier and statesman of the Taisho and Showa eras. He was the 9th and 11th Governor of the Bank of Japan (BOJ), and Minister of Finance in 1923-1924 and 1929-1931. He was assassinated during the League of Blood Incident in ...

, businessman and banker (assassinated) (b. 1869) *March 5 –

Dan Takuma was a Japanese businessman who was Director-General of Mitsui, one of the leading Japanese zaibatsu (family conglomerates). He was a graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was married to the younger sister of statesman Kaneko Ke ...

, businessman (assassinated) (b. 1858) *March 24 –

Motojirō Kajii was a Japanese writer in the early Shōwa period known for his poetic short stories. Kajii's works included , . and . His poetic works were praised by fellow writers including Yasunari Kawabata and Yukio Mishima. Today his works are admired for ...

, writer (b. 1901) *March 26 – Kigoshi Yasutsuna, general (b. 1854) *May 15 –

, politician and

Prime Minister of Japan The is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its ministers of state. The prime minister also serves as the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self-Defense Force ...

(assassinated) (b. 1855) *May 26 –

Yoshinori Shirakawa Baron was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army. He died from injuries caused by a bomb set by Korean independence activist Yun Bong-gil in Shanghai. Biography Early life and education Shirakawa was born as the third son of an ex-''samurai'' ...

, general, (b. 1869) *June 14 – Yamamoto Yaeko, nurse, wife of

Joseph Hardy Neesima (born ; 12 February 1843 – 23 January 1890), better known by his English name Joseph Hardy Neesima, was a Japanese Protestant missionary and educator of the Meiji era who founded Doshisha English School (later Doshisha University). He w ...

(b. 1845) *July 24 – Hidaka Sōnojō, admiral (b. 1848)

References

{{Asia topic, 1932 in 1930s in Japan

Years of the 20th century in Japan 1932 in Asia