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See also:	Other events of 2006; History of Japan • Timeline • Years

Events in the year 2006 in Japan.

Incumbents

Emperor: Akihito^[1]
Prime Minister: Junichiro Koizumi (L–Kanagawa) to September 26 Shinzō Abe (L–Yamaguchi)
Chief Cabinet Secretary: Shinzō Abe (L–Yamaguchi) to September 26 Yasuhisa Shiozaki (L–Ehime)
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court: Akira Machida to October 15 Nirō Shimada from October 16
President of the House of Representatives: Yōhei Kōno (L–Kanagawa)
President of the House of Councillors: Chikage Ōgi (L–proportional)
Diet sessions: 164th (regular, January 20 to June 18), 165th (extraordinary, September 26 to December 19)

Governors

Aichi Prefecture: Masaaki Kanda
Akita Prefecture: Sukeshiro Terata
Aomori Prefecture: Shingo Mimura
Chiba Prefecture: Akiko Dōmoto
Ehime Prefecture: Moriyuki Kato
Fukui Prefecture: Issei Nishikawa
Fukuoka Prefecture: Wataru Asō
Fukushima Prefecture:
- until 28 September: Eisaku Satō
- 28 September-12 November: Akira Kawate
- starting 12 November: Yūhei Satō
Gifu Prefecture: Hajime Furuta
Gunma Prefecture: Hiroyuki Kodera
Hiroshima Prefecture: Yūzan Fujita
Hokkaido: Harumi Takahashi
Hyogo Prefecture: Toshizō Ido
Ibaraki Prefecture: Masaru Hashimoto
Ishikawa Prefecture: Masanori Tanimoto
Iwate Prefecture: Hiroya Masuda
Kagawa Prefecture: Takeki Manabe
Kagoshima Prefecture: Satoshi Mitazono
Kanagawa Prefecture: Shigefumi Matsuzawa
Kochi Prefecture: Daijiro Hashimoto
Kumamoto Prefecture: Yoshiko Shiotani
Kyoto Prefecture: Keiji Yamada
Mie Prefecture: Akihiko Noro
Miyagi Prefecture: Yoshihiro Murai
Miyazaki Prefecture: Tadahiro Ando (until 5 December); Kayoko Saka (starting 5 December)
Nagano Prefecture: Yasuo Tanaka (until 1 September); Jin Murai (starting 1 September)
Nagasaki Prefecture: Genjirō Kaneko
Nara Prefecture: Yoshiya Kakimoto
Niigata Prefecture: Hirohiko Izumida
Oita Prefecture: Katsusada Hirose
Okayama Prefecture: Masahiro Ishii
Okinawa Prefecture: Keiichi Inamine (until 10 December); Hirokazu Nakaima (starting 10 December)
Osaka Prefecture: Fusae Ōta
Saga Prefecture: Yasushi Furukawa
Saitama Prefecture: Kiyoshi Ueda
Shiga Prefecture: Yoshitsugu Kunimatsu (until 20 July); Yukiko Kada (starting 20 July)
Shiname Prefecture: Nobuyoshi Sumita
Shizuoka Prefecture: Yoshinobu Ishikawa
Tochigi Prefecture: Tomikazu Fukuda
Tokushima Prefecture: Kamon Iizumi
Tokyo: Shintarō Ishihara
Tottori Prefecture: Yoshihiro Katayama
Toyama Prefecture: Takakazu Ishii
Wakayama Prefecture: Yoshiki Kimura (until 2 December); Yoshinobu Nisaka (starting 17 December)
Yamagata Prefecture: Hiroshi Saitō
Yamaguchi Prefecture: Sekinari Nii
Yamanashi Prefecture: Takahiko Yamamoto

Events

January

January 1 - The Stories of Ibis, a Japanese science-fiction light novel is published.^[2]
January 16 - Tokyo prosecutors raid Livedoor for suspected violations of securities laws.
January 18 - Following the Livedoor raid, the Tokyo Stock Exchange is overloaded with sell orders and is forced to stop trading.
January 23 - Livedoor CEO Takafumi Horie and three other company officials are arrested and placed in detention.

February

February 1 - Transit operators in the Kansai region introduce the PiTaPa contactless fare card system.
February 6 - Construction Ministry officials cite Toyoko Inn for multiple violations of building codes and disability access laws.
February 23 - Figure skater Shizuka Arakawa wins a gold medal in the Ladies' Singles at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.

March

March 3–5 - Asian round of the World Baseball Classic is held at the Tokyo Dome.
March 4 - Softbank announces its intention to purchase the Japanese subsidiary of Vodafone.

April

April 7 - Ichirō Ozawa is elected president of the Democratic Party of Japan.
April 26 - Takahumi Horie is released from custody.
April 26 - Hidetsugu Aneha is arrested for his role in the Structural Calculation Forgery Problem.

May

May 1 - The new Corporations Act goes into effect, abolishing yugen kaisha and altering kabushiki kaisha.
May 23 – Japanese foreign minister Taro Aso visits Qatar to meet with Chinese and South Korean diplomats.^[3]^[4]

June

June - Minato Ward 2006 elevator accident, a 16-year-old student killed in Minato, Tokyo
June 5 - Yoshiaki Murakami, manager of the Murakami Fund, is arrested for insider trading.
June 15 - A cross-party organization of 135 Diet members led by Taku Yamasaki proposes a secular replacement for Yasukuni Shrine.

July

July 14 - Bank of Japan abolishes the zero interest rate policy.
July 20 - A memorandum from an Imperial Household Agency official is published in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun showing that Emperor Hirohito refused to visit Yasukuni Shrine after Class A war criminals were added to its rolls.

August

August 9 - Beef imported from the United States goes on sale in Japan for the first time in months following a lengthy ban.
August 14 - A blackout occurs throughout Tokyo, Chiba and Saitama during the morning rush hour after a barge-mounted crane disrupts a high-voltage line.

August 15 - On the anniversary of the end of World War II, Koizumi makes his final visit to Yasukuni Shrine.
August 16 - A fishing boat is fired upon after crossing into Russian-claimed waters off the east coast of Hokkaidō.

September

September 22 - Junichiro Koizumi's term as president of the Liberal Democratic Party expires.

November

November 7 – According to Fire and Disaster Management Agency official report, F3 class tornado hit in Saroma, eastern Hokkaido, nine persons were human fatalities and 23 persons were hurt.^{[citation needed]}