Timeline for April 2018
Society- English
- 日本語
- 简体字
- 繁體字
- Français
- Español
- العربية
- Русский
2
Defense Minister Onodera Itsunori announces that daily activity reports of Ground Self-Defense Force troops dispatched to Iraq have been found, despite government claims that they did not exist. On April 16, when the Ministry of Defense makes the activity logs public, it becomes clear that they include the words sentō (battle) and jūgekisen (gun battle).
Related articles
- “Non-existent” Daily Reports on Japan GSDF Mission in Iraq Found
- GSDF Iraq Mission Logs Mention "Combat," "Stepped-Up Combat" in Samawah
3
Ōtani Shōhei scores a home run on his Major League Baseball home debut for Los Angeles Angels against the Cleveland Indians in Anaheim, California. This is the first of three consecutive games in which he scores home runs, as he becomes the first Japanese player to do so since Matsui Hideki batting for the New York Yankees.
5
Five CV-22 Osprey transport aircraft arrive at Yokota Air Base in suburban Tokyo after having traveled from a US military facility in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. It is the first deployment of Ospreys to a US base in Japan outside Okinawa.
Related article
Anime director Takahata Isao, known for works including Hotaru no haka (Grave of the Fireflies) and Heisei tanuki gassen ponpoko (Pom Poko) dies of lung cancer in a Tokyo hospital at the age of 82.
Related article
9
The Japan Football Association announces that technical director Nishino Akira will replace Vahid Halilhodzic as national soccer team coach.
Related article
Ōta Mitsuru, director-general of the Ministry of Finance's Financial Bureau, tells a House of Councillors meeting that a bureau official asked private school operator Moritomo Gakuen to lie about receiving a discount on a state land sale.
Related article
Defense Minister Onodera tells a meeting of the House of Councillors Audit Committee that more than one year of daily reports of GDSF troops dispatched to peacekeeping operations in South Sudan have been newly discovered.
Related article
10
Ehime Governor Nakamura Tokihiro admits that a prefectural official created a document related to a plan by the educational outfit Kake Gakuen to open a university veterinary school in the prefecture. The document states that Yanase Tadao, former executive secretary to Prime Minister Abe Shinzō, said the plan was a “matter related to the prime minister.” On April 13, another document with the same phrase is found at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries.
Related article
The approval rate for Prime Minister Abe’s cabinet drops 6 percentage points to 38%, according to NHK’s April public opinion poll. The disapproval rate rises by 7 points to 45%, climbing above the approval rate for the first time since October 2017.
Related article
11
A landslide engulfs four households in Nakatsu, Ōita Prefecture. By April 23, six missing people are confirmed as dead.
Related article
12
Toyota subsidiary Hino and German company Volkswagen agree to discuss a comprehensive strategic partnership in the field of commercial vehicles, including trucks and buses. They plan possible cooperation focusing particularly on electric vehicles and other environmental technologies and information technology applications, such as autonomous driving.
Related article
14
Two years after the start of a series of earthquakes in Kumamoto Prefecture, a memorial service is held in the prefecture. More than 300 people attend, including bereaved relatives.
Related article
- Kumamoto Remembers String of Strong Earthquakes 2 Years Ago
- Nearly 40,000 Live in Temporary Housing 2 Years after Kumamoto Quakes
15
Foreign Minister Kōno Tarō talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Tokyo. The two agree to improve bilateral relations through mutual visits of the countries’ leaders and to work closely in dealing with North Korea.
Related article
World Boxing Association middleweight champion Murata Ryōta becomes the first Japanese boxer to defend his title in the division
16
Kawauchi Yūki wins the Boston Marathon amid heavy rain with a time of 2 hours, 15 minutes, 58 seconds. He is the first Japanese winner in 31 years.
Related article
17
Prime Minister Abe meets US President Donald Trump in Palm Beach, Florida. The two leaders agree to maintain the highest pressure on North Korea, targeting its verifiable and irreversible denuclearization. They also discuss the US trade deficit with Japan.
Related articles
- Trump Vows to Raise Abduction Issue at Summit with N. Korea
- Abe, Trump Agree to Start Japan-U.S. Trade Talks
18
Administrative Vice Finance Minister Fukuda Jun’ichi submits his resignation to Finance Minister Asō Tarō after alleged sexual harassment of a female journalist. Asō formally accepts his resignation on April 24. This is the first time a vice finance minister has resigned before completing his term in some 20 years.
Related articles
- Japan Top Finance Bureaucrat Resigns over Sexual Harassment
- Resignation of Scandal-Hit Japanese Finance Official Approved