Emperor: Hirohito (Emperor Shōwa)
Prime Minister: Yasuhiro Nakasone (L–Gunma, 1st term until 27 December 2nd term from 27 December)
Chief Cabinet Secretary: Masaharu Gotōda (L–Tokushima) until December 27, Takao Fujinami (L–Mie)
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court: Jirō Terata
President of the House of Representatives: Hajime Fukuda (L–Fukui) until November 28 Kenji Fukunaga (L–Saitama) from December 26
President of the House of Councillors: Masatoshi Tokunata (L–national) until July 9, Mutsuo Kimura (L–Okayama) from July 18
Diet sessions: 98th (regular session opened in December 1982, to May 26), 99th (extraordinary, July 18 to July 23), 100th (extraordinary, September 8 to November 28; note that the next regular Diet session was already scheduled to start on December 15 when the House was dissolved in the wake of Kakuei Tanaka's conviction in the Lockheed scandal case), 101st (special, December 26 to 1984)
Korean Air Lines Flight 007
April 15 - Tokyo Disneyland opens.
April 19 - A C-1 transport plane crush off coast Toba, Mie Prefecture, according to official results to 14 person death by accident.
April 26 - A PS-1 transport plane crush runway at Iwakuni Airbase, (present day, Iwakuni Kintaikyo Airport), Yamaguchi Prefecture, according to official death toll number was 11 persons.
May 26 - The 7.8 Mw Sea of Japan earthquake shakes northern Honshu with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). A destructive tsunami is generated that leaves about 100 people dead.
June 26 - House of Councillors election
July 15 - Nintendo's Famicom is released in Japan.
July 24 - A heavy massibie rain, following landslide with devastanding flood in Masuda and Tsuwano, Shimane, which 117 people died.
October 12 - Ex-Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka found guilty of accepting $2 million bribe from Lockheed Corporation, receives 4-year jail sentence.
November 11 - Ronald Reagan first US President to address Diet.
November 28 - In the wake of former Liberal Democratic Party president Kakuei Tanaka's conviction in the Lockheed scandal case, the House of Representatives is dissolved and early elections are called for December.
December 18 - In the 37th general election for the House of Representatives, Liberal Democrats lose their majority for the second time after the "Lockheed election" of 1976. Party president Yasuhiro Nakasone forms the first coalition government in party history with the New Liberal Club. Kakuei Tanaka defends his seat in Niigata 3rd district with a record result.
Arts and entertainment
In anime, the winners of Animage's Anime Grand Prix were the film Crusher Joe for best work, episode 26 (Ai wa nagareru) of The Super Dimension Fortress Macross for best episode, Chirico Cuvie (voiced by Hozumi Gōda) from Armored Trooper Votoms for best male character, Misa Hayase (voiced by Mika Doi) from The Super Dimension Fortress Macross for best female character, Akira Kamiya for best voice actor, Mami Koyama for best voice actress and the opening of Ginga Hyōryū Vifam, Hello Vifam by TAO for best song. For a list of anime released in 1983 see Category:1983 anime.
In film, The Ballad of Narayama by Shōhei Imamura won the Best film award at the Japan Academy Prize, The Family Game by Yoshimitsu Morita won Best film at the Hochi Film Awards and at the Yokohama Film Festival and Tokyo Trial by Masaki Kobayashi won Best film at the Blue Ribbon Awards. For a list of Japanese films released in 1983 see Japanese films of 1983.
In manga, the winners of the Shogakukan Manga Award were Hidamari no Ki by Osamu Tezuka (general), Musashi no Ken by Motoka Murakami (shōnen), Kisshō Tennyo by Akimi Yoshida (shōjo) and Panku Ponk by Haruko Tachiiri (children). Domu: A Child's Dream by Katsuhiro Otomo won the Seiun Award for Best Comic of the Year. For a list of manga released in 1983 see Category:1983 manga.
In music, the 34th Kōhaku Uta Gassen was won by the White Team (men). Takashi Hosokawa won the 25th Japan Record Awards, held on December 31, and the FNS Music Festival.
In television, see: 1983 in Japanese television.
Japan hosted the Miss International 1983 beauty pageant, won by Costa Rican Gidget Sandoval.
In football (soccer), Japan hosted the 1983 Intercontinental Cup between Hamburger SV and Grêmio, won by Grêmio 2-1. Yomiuri won the Japan Soccer League. For the champions of the regional leagues see: 1983 Japanese Regional Leagues.
In volleyball, Japan hosted and won the Men's and Women's Asian Volleyball Championship.
January 14 - Takako Uehara, singer
January 19 - Hikaru Utada, singer and songwriter
January 25 - Yasuyuki Konno, footballer
February 19
Nozomi Sasaki, voice actress
Mika Nakashima, singer and actress
March 20 - Eiji Kawashima, footballer
May 9 - Ryuhei Matsuda, actor
May 12 - Yujiro Kushida, wrestler and mixed martial artist
June 8 - Mamoru Miyano, voice actor
June 17 - Kazunari Ninomiya, actor, idol and singer
July 5 - Kumiko Ogura, badminton player
July 12 - Megumi Kawamura, model
July 24 - Asami Mizukawa, actress
August 30 - Jun Matsumoto, singer and actor
September 22 - Eriko Imai, singer
September 30 - Reiko Shiota, badminton player
October 3 - Hiroki Suzuki, actor
October 25 - Princess Yōko of Mikasa
November 11
Sora Aoi, model
Tatsuhisa Suzuki, voice actor
November 25 - Atsushi Itō, actor
December 28 - Aiko Nakamura, tennis player
January 9: Ichiro Nakagawa, politician
January 15: Masatane Kanda, lieutenant general
March 1: Hideo Kobayashi, author
March 31: Chiezō Kataoka, actor
April 13: Ganjirō Nakamura, film actor
May 4: Shūji Terayama, poet, dramatist, writer, film director, and photographer
July 26: Kimiyoshi Yasuda, film director
September 4: Katsutoshi Nekoda, volleyball player
October 23: Toru Takahashi, race car driver
November 2: Tamura Taijiro, novelist
