In January 2021, the Government declared a second state of emergency due to COVID-19 that affected 11 prefectures.
1
The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between Japan and the United Kingdom enters into force.
2
The governors of the prefectures of Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba call for a new state of emergency to be declared due to COVID-19 during a meeting with Minister for Economic Revitalization Nishimura Yasutoshi.
4
The National Police Agency announces that in 2020 there were 2,839 victims of traffic accidents, the lowest figure since this data began to be recorded in 1948. It is the fourth consecutive year that historical minimum figures have been registered and the first in which the number falls below 3,000.
Related article
5
The death sentence for Shiraishi Takahiro is officially confirmed for the murder of nine people in Zama, Kanagawa Prefecture.
7
The Government declares a state of emergency due to COVID-19 for Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba from January 8 to February 7. The suspension of the Go To Travel tourism promotion campaign also extends until February 7.
Related article
10
Historic snowfalls occur in Fukui and Toyama prefectures, as well as elsewhere along the coast of the Sea of Japan. About 1,000 vehicles are trapped on the Hokuriku Highway and 200 on the Tōkai-Hokuriku Highway. The snow also kills some, including people who were removing it from roads and rooftops.
Members of the Self-Defense Forces help clear snow from the Tōkai-Hokuriku Highway on January 10, 2021. (Courtesy of the Defense Ministry General Staff Office; © Jiji)
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare announces that it has discovered a new variant of COVID-19 in four passengers on a flight from Brazil.
12
The non-fiction writer Handō Kazutoshi, known for his history works as Nihon no ichiban nagai hi (The longest day in Japan), passes away at the age of 90.
13
The Government includes the prefectures of Osaka, Kyoto, Hyōgo, Aichi, Gifu, Fukuoka and Tochigi in the declaration of the state of emergency for COVID-19 from January 14 to February 7.
14
The Japan Rugby Union decides to delay the start of the professional league season, which was scheduled to start on January 16, due to more than 60 confirmed infections among players and staff.
15
Tokyo prosecutors indict former Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Yoshikawa Takimori and Akita Yoshiki, former chairman of Akita Foods, on suspicion that Akita gave Yoshikawa 5 million yen in bribes.
Violinist Gotō Midori is one of five honored with the 2020 Kennedy Center Honor for her contribution to American culture through art. He is the second person of Japanese origin to receive this recognition after Ozawa Seiji in 2015.
Gotō Midori plays the violin during a meeting of the International Fund for Agricultural Development held in Rome on February 14, 2019 (© AFP / Jiji)
16
Japan holds for the first time the Common University Entrance Exam which replaces the National University Entrance Exam. Some 530,000 students take this test despite the fact that the state of emergency due to the coronavirus is active in 11 prefectures.
18
Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide delivers his political speech at the opening of the new session of the Diet, in which he states that the Government plans to soon enact the third additional budget for fiscal year 2020 — which includes measures to counter the effects. of the COVID-19 pandemic in the economy — and the budget for fiscal year 2021.
20
Usami Rin wins the Akutagawa Award for Oshi, moyu (Cheering, burning) and Saijō Naka wins the Naoki Award for You’re welcome (The lonely river).
Rail companies in the Tokyo area advance their last train times by up to 30 minutes during the state of emergency.
A notice at Shinbashi station informs about the change in the schedule of the last trains. Picture of January 20, 2021. (© Jiji)
21
Deputy Kawai Anri is sentenced to 16 months in prison and suspended for five years for violating the Election of Public Offices Act during the election campaign for the Upper House in 2019.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Chiba Prefecture report a deadly and highly pathogenic bird flu outbreak at a poultry farm in Yokoshibahikari, within the prefecture. It is the first confirmed outbreak of bird flu in ducks this season.
23
Japan already has 5,077 fatalities from COVID-19 (including cruise ship passengers).
28
Prime Minister Suga has a half-hour conversation with US President Joe Biden in which they agree to strengthen bilateral ties and work closely to tackle climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the first conversation that the Japanese president has with the American leader.
After becoming a free agent, pitcher Tanaka Masahiro announces that he will return to the Rakuten Eagles from the New York Yankees.
(Banner photo: Vaccination campaign trials at Kawasaki City School of Nursing in Kanagawa Prefecture on January 27, 2021. © Jiji.)
– .
