Emperor: Hirohito (Emperor Shōwa)
Prime Minister: Yasuhiro Nakasone (L–Gunma, 2nd term)
Chief Cabinet Secretary: Takao Fujinami (L–Mie) until December 28, Masaharu Gotōda (L–Tokushima)
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court: Jirō Terata until November 3, Kōichi Yaguchi from November 5
President of the House of Representatives: Kenji Fukunaga (L–Saitama) until January 24, Michita Sakata (L–Kumamoto)
President of the House of Councillors: Mutsuo Kimura (L–Okayama)
Diet sessions: 102nd (regular session opened in December 1984, to June 25), 103rd (extraordinary, October 14 to December 21), 104th (regular, December 24 to 1986, May 22)
January 28 – A charter bus, carrying students on a ski tour plunges into a river in Nagano, 28 people perished.
March 17 – September 16 – Expo '85 held at Tsukuba, Ibaraki prefecture.
March 31 – A tugboat Kaiyo Maru capsized by rough sea off Kushikino, Kagoshima, Kyushu, which took 26 lives.
May 17 – A gas explosion in Mitsubishi Yubari coal mine, in Yubari, Hokkaido, kill 62 people.
June 23 – 1985 Narita International Airport bombing
July 26 – A massible landslide, following hit Shojusho elderly home in Nagano, 19 persons rescued, with kill 26 people killed and 14 wounded.
August 12 – Japan Airlines Flight 123 crashes into Mount Takamagahara, killing all 15 crew members and 505 passengers.
November 29 – A massible 22 rail facilities damaged in Tokyo and Osaka area, following 120 incident members start to fire in Asakusabashi Station, Sobu Line, Tokyo, which none injures in these cases, which responsible by Middle Core Faction Group opposed to privatisation of seven JR Group railway from Japan National Railways on April 1, 1987.
Arts and entertainment
For the year in anime, see 1985 in anime.
In film, Gray Sunset won the Best film award at the Japan Academy Prize, Ran won Best film at the Blue Ribbon Awards, Sorekara won Best film at the Hochi Film Awards and Love Hotel won Best film at the Yokohama Film Festival. For a list of Japanese films released in 1985 see Japanese films of 1985.
In manga, Bari Bari Densetsu by Shuichi Shigeno (shōnen) and Okashina Futari by Jūzō Yamasaki and Kei Sadayasu and Mahiro Taiken by Naomi Nishi (both tied for general manga) won the Kodansha Manga Award. The winners of the Shogakukan Manga Award were Bokkemon by Takashi Iwashige (general), Hatsukoi Scandal and Tobe! Jinrui II by Akira Oze (shōnen), Zenryaku: Milk House by Yumiko Kawahara (shōjo) and Asari-chan by Mayumi Muroyama (children). Appleseed by Masamune Shirow won the Seiun Award for Best Comic of the Year. For a list of manga released in 1982 see Category:1982 Manga.
In music, the 36th Kōhaku Uta Gassen was won by the Red Team (women). They were: Hidemi Ishikawa, Naoko Kawai, Teresa Teng, Kyōko Koizumi, Yoshie Kashiwabara, Hiromi Iwasaki, Akina Nakamori, Rumiko Koyanagi, Naoko Ken, Nobue Matsuhara, Yū Hayami, Seiko Matsuda, Tomoyo Harada, Miyuki Kawanaka, Kyoko Suizenji, Chiyoko Shimakura, Aki Yashiro, Sayuri Ishikawa, Sachiko Kobayashi and Masako Mori. Masahiko Kondō won the Japan Music Awards and the Nippon Television Music Festival. Akina Nakamori won the 27th Japan Record Awards and the FNS Music Festival with the song Meu amor é. The May edition of the Yamaha Popular Song Contest was won by ROLL-BACK with the song You & Me Tonight.
In television, for dramas initially broadcast in 1985 see: List of Japanese television dramas#1985. For more events see: 1985 in Japanese television.
Japan hosted the Miss International 1985 beauty pageant, won by Venezuelan Nina Sicilia.
Japan hosted the 1985 Summer Universiade, where it came in 6th place in the medals table with 6 golds and a total of 16 medals. The Soviet Union won the most gold and the most total medals.
In badminton, Japan hosted the 1985 World Badminton Grand Prix, won by Han Jian (men's singles) and Li Lingwei (women's singles), both from China. At the Japanese National Badminton Championships, Hiroyuki Hasegawa won the Men's singles, Sumiko Kitada the Women's singles, Shinji Matsuura and Shūji Matsuno the Men's doubles, Kazuko Takamine and Kazue Hoshi the Women's doubles and Akio Tomita and Michiko Tomita the Mixed doubles.
In baseball, the Hanshin Tigers won the 1985 Japan Series against the Seibu Lions. The MVP in the Central League was Randy Bass and in the Pacific League Hiromitsu Ochiai. At the Japanese High School Baseball Championship PL Gakuen won 4-3 against Ube.
In basketball, the All Japan Intercollegiate Basketball Championship was won by Nippon Sport Science.
In figure skating, Japan hosted the 1985 World Figure Skating Championships, with the Soviet Union topping the medals table with the most gold and overall total medals. The winners of the 1984–1985 Japan Figure Skating Championships were Masaru Ogawa (men), Midori Ito (women) and Noriko Sato and Tadayuki Takahashi in ice dancing.
In football (soccer), Japan hosted the final of the 1985 Intercontinental Cup between Juventus F.C. and Argentinos Juniors, won by Juventus 4-2 on penalties. Furukawa Electric (currently the JEF United Ichihara Chiba) won the 1985–86 Japan Soccer League. Nissan Motor Company (currently the Yokohama F. Marinos) won the Emperor's Cup. For the champions of the regional leagues see: Japanese Regional Leagues 1985.
In judo, Japan hosted the 1985 Asian Judo Championships and topped the medals table with the most gold and overall total medals tied with China.
In rugby union, Ireland toured Japan.
In swimming, Japan hosted the first Pan Pacific Swimming Championships.
In tennis, Japan hosted the 1985 Federation Cup, won by Czechoslovakia.
January 5 – Yuka Koide, Japanese model and actress
January 11 – Rie fu, singer-songwriter
January 17 – Riyu Kosaka, J-pop singer
January 28 – Aya Miyama, football player
January 29 – Joji Takeuchi, basketball player
January 29 – Kosuke Takeuchi, basketball player
February 6 – Joji Kato, speedskater
February 6 – Saki Kagami, actress
February 17 – Hiroko Sato, actress, singer
February 28 – Rin Aoki, model and AV actress
March 8 – Mio Takeuchi, actress
March 24 – Haruka Ayase, actress
March 28 – Akiko Suzuki, figure skater
March 31 – Airi & Meiri, gravure idols, AV idols
April 9 – Tomohisa Yamashita, idol, singer
April 21 – Takuro Fujii, swimmer
April 26 – Adachi Yurie, ice hockey player
May 8 – Mashio Miyazaki, actress
May 13 – Yusuke Minato, Nordic combined skier
May 29 – Nozomi Komuro, skeleton racer
June 27 – Hiroyuki Taniguchi, football player
July 3 – Keisuke Minami, actor, singer
July 11 – Aki Maeda, actress, singer
July 11 – Takahisa Nishiyama, football player
July 22 – Akira Tozawa, professional wrestler
August 25 – Naho Emoto, baseball player
September 1 – Kosuke Nakamachi, football player
September 2 – Hiroyuki Oze, baseball player (died 2010)
September 10 – Aya Kamiki, singer
September 10 – Shota Matsuda, actor
September 11 – Kazutaka Murase, football player
September 17 – Saya Misaki, adult film actress (died 2007)
September 20 – Mami Yamasaki, gravure idol
September 23 – Maki Goto, singer, lyricist and former actress
September 24 – Yōhei Kajiyama, football player
September 25 – Asami Tanno, sprinter
October 3 – Megumi Takamoto, voice actress and singer
October 6 – Yasuharu Nanri, figure skater
October 8 – Eiji Wentz, singer, entertainer, and actor
October 13 – Yoshihisa Naruse, baseball player
October 18 – Iori Nomizu, voice actress, actress and singer
October 21 – Yasuhiro Inaba, freestyle wrestler
November 18 – Hiromi Miyake, weightlifter
November 25 – Masatsugu Kawachi, boxer
November 30 – Hikari Mitsushima, actress, singer
December 14 – Nonami Takizawa, actress
December 15 – Madoka Harada, luger
December 16 – Keita Tachibana, singer
December 22 – Yuta Ikeda, golfer
December 26 – Yuu Shirota, actor
December 27 – Daiki Ito, ski jumper
Takayuki Kubota, artist
January 9 – Nichidatsu Fujii, Buddhist monk
January 27 – Masahisa Takenaka, 4th kumicho of the Yamaguchi-gumi
January 31 – Tatsuzō Ishikawa, novelist
March 30
Kenkichi Oshima, athlete
Yaeko Nogami, author
Shizuko Kasagi, singer
April 12 – Seiji Miyaguchi, actor
June 9 – Matsutarō Kawaguchi, novelist
June 24 – Kuninori Marumo, admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy
July 7 – Shōzō Sakurai, general
August 12 – Kyu Sakamoto, singer and actor
August 17 – Matsuo Kishi, film critic, filmmaker
September 11 – Masako Natsume, model and actress
September 27 – Ryūtarō Ōtomo, film actor
October 13 – Eiji Kanie, voice actor
October 21 – Masuiyama Daishirō I, sumo wrestler
October 26 – Kikuko Kawakami, author
November 1 – Ōuchiyama Heikichi, sumo wrestler
December 21 – Kamatari Fujiwara, actor
December 24 – Kouzou Sasaki, politician, chairman of the Japan Socialist Party
