2001 in Japan

Years in Japan:	1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Centuries:	20th Century · 21st century · 22nd century
Decades:	1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s 2030s
Years:	1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

2001 was the 13th year of Heisei in Japan.

Incumbents

Junichiro Koizumi became prime minister in April.

February 9: The fishing boat Ehime Maru is struck by a U.S. submarine and sunk.
March 31: Universal Studios Japan opens.
April 1: Sakura Bank and Sumitomo Bank merge to form Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.
April 6: Japanese government institutes new overtime regulations.
April 24: Junichiro Koizumi defeats Ryutaro Hashimoto in LDP polls to become prime minister.
April 26: Koizumi announces his first cabinet, with Makiko Tanaka as foreign minister and Heizo Takenaka as Minister of State for the Economy.
June 8: Osaka school massacre takes place.
July 13: Osaka is removed on the first ballot for the site of the 2008 Summer Olympics.
July 20: Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away premieres; it becomes the first anime film to win an Academy Award.
July 29: Japan upper house election, 2001.
August 13: Koizumi visits Yasukuni Shrine.
September 4: Tokyo DisneySea opens.
September 12: In the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, the Nikkei 225 index drops below 10,000 for the first time since 1984.

Princess Aiko was born in December.

Masashi Tashiro got No. 1 vote in Time magazine's Person of the Year

December 1: Princess Aiko, potential heiress to the Imperial throne, is born.
December 9: Television performer Masashi Tashiro is arrested for peeping in a male bath-house.
December 21: TIME removes Masashi Tashiro from its "Person of the Year" poll after 2channel users vote the "bad boy" performer into first place.