February 21 – According to USGS official report, a Richer scale 6.0 earthquake hit on Mount Nijō, Nara Prefecture, according to Japanese government official confirmed report, kills nine persons and injures 59 persons.[3]
February 26–29 – February 26 Incident (二・二六事件, Niniroku Jiken): The Imperial Way Faction engineers a failed coup against the Japanese government; some politicians are killed.
February 27 – Tokyo is placed under martial law (not to be repealed until July 16)
February 29
Prime Minister Keisuke Okada, a target in the February 26 incident, emerges from hiding.
Emperor Hirohito orders the Japanese army to arrest 123 conspirators in Tokyo government offices; 19 of them are executed in July.
Facing overwhelming opposition as the army moved against them, the rebels surrender
March 4 – The Emperor signs an ordinance on March 4 establishing a Special Court Martial (特設軍法会議 tokusetsu gunpō kaigi) to try those involved in the February 26 uprising.[4]
May 18 – Sada Abe strangled her lover with an obi and then cut off his genitals to carry around with her as a souvenir. When the crime was discovered the next day it became a national sensation and would be the subject of many books and movies over the decades to follow.[6]
August 1–August 16 – Japan competes at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. Japan wins six gold medals, four silvers, and eight Bronze.
November 20 – Mitsubishi Osarizawa mine and Nakazawa dam collapse by heavy rain, total 362 persons fatalities in Akita Prefecture, according to Japanese government official confirmed report.[page needed]