Japan in 2020: Key Events in the Year Ahead
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Japan is gearing up for a busy 2020. The first major event, the opening of the 150-day regular session of the Japanese Diet, took place on January 20. Other occasions in the offing include the opening of a new station on the JR Yamanote Line, a state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Tokyo gubernatorial election, and the Olympics and Paralympics. Following on this year from the imperial succession in 2019, some speculate that Prime Minister Abe Shinzō will resign when the year’s major events are complete. At the same time, Abe’s comment at a meeting of Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers earlier this month that yuzu trees need nine years to bloom suggests he intends to hold the reins of power into 2021, his ninth successive year as prime minister.
| January 20 | Start of regular Diet session. |
| End of January? | Approval of fiscal 2019 supplementary budget. |
| January 31 | Deadline for Britain to leave the European Union. |
| February 23 | First Emperor’s Birthday of the Reiwa era; Emperor Naruhito turns 60. |
| March 8 | Liberal Democratic Party Convention |
| March 14 | Takanawa Gateway Station opens on the JR Yamanote Line. |
| March 26 | Start of Tokyo Olympic Torch Relay in Fukushima Prefecture. |
| End of March? | Approval of 2020 fiscal budget? |
| Spring | Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit Japan as a state guest, possibly in cherry blossom season around late March. |
| Spring | Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako to visit Britain. |
| April 1 | Revised Health Promotion Act comes into full effect, in principle banning smoking in hotels and restaurants (although there are numerous exceptions). |
| April 19 | Ceremonial investiture of Crown Prince Fumihito. |
| April 24 | National Ainu Museum and Park opens in Shiraoi, Hokkaidō. |
| June 6 | Toranomon Hills Station opens on the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line. |
| June 10 | Group of Seven summit at Camp David, near Washington DC. |
| June 17 | End of ordinary Diet session. |
| June 18 | Start of campaigning for Tokyo gubernatorial election. |
| July 5 | Tokyo gubernatorial election. |
| July 24 | Opening ceremony of Tokyo Olympics. Games continue until August 9. |
| August 24 | Prime Minister Abe Shinzō to reach the milestone of 2,799 consecutive days in office, surpassing the record set by Satō Eisaku, his great uncle. |
| August 25 | Opening ceremony of Tokyo Paralympics. Games continue until September 6. |
| September 30 | One year until Prime Minister Abe’s tenure as LDP leader ends, and thereby his premiership. |
| October 21 | One year until end of term in House of Representatives. |
| November 3 | US presidential election. |
| December 26 | Prime Minister Abe to enter his ninth consecutive year in power. |
(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Jiji.)