Events in the year 1914 in Japan. It corresponds to Taishō 3 (大正3年) in the Japanese calendar.
Incumbents Emperor: Taishō Prime Minister: Yamamoto Gonnohyōe Ōkuma Shigenobu
Governors Aichi Prefecture: Matsui Shigeru Akita Prefecture: Toyosuke Haneda (until 28 May); Saburo Sakamoto (starting 28 May) Aomori Prefecture: Takeo Tanaka (until 28 April); Matsujiro Obama (starting 28 April) Ehime Prefecture: Renarto Fukamachi Fukui Prefecture: Teru Kagawa (until 9 June); Sato Kozaburo (starting 9 June) Fukushima Prefecture: Ota Masahiro Gifu Prefecture: Shimada Gotaro Gunma Prefecture: Muneyoshi Oshiba (until 28 April); Miyake Gennosuke (starting 28 April) Hiroshima Prefecture: Terada Yushi Hyogo Prefecture: Seino Chotarno Ibaraki Prefecture: Keisuke Sakanaka Ishikawa Prefecture: Kiichirō Kumagai (until month unknown) Iwate Prefecture: Sadajiro Tsutsumi (until 9 January); Rinpei Otsu (starting 9 January) Kagawa Prefecture: Kogoro Kanokogi (until 9 June); Takeji Kawamura (starting 9 June) Kochi Prefecture: Kinjiro Nagai (until 9 June); Toki Kahei (starting 9 June) Kumamoto Prefecture: Akahoshi Futoshi (until 28 April); Kawakami Shinhare (starting 28 April) Kyoto Prefecture: Shoichi Omori Mie Prefecture: Magoichi Tahara (until 28 April); Eitaro Mabuchi (starting 28 April) Miyagi Prefecture: Mori Masataka (until 28 April); Magoichi Tahara (starting 28 April) Miyazaki Prefecture: Tadakazu Ariyoshi Nagano Prefecture: Ichiro Yoda (until 28 April); Yuichiro Chikaraishi (starting 28 April) Niigata Prefecture: Ando Kensuke (until 28 April); Keisuke Sakanaka (starting 28 April) Okinawa Prefecture: Takuya Takahashi (until 9 June); Kyūgorō Ōmi (starting 9 June) Osaka Prefecture: Marques Okubo Toshi Takeshi Saga Prefecture: Fuwa (until 9 June); Raizo Wakabayashi (starting 9 June) Saitama Prefecture: Soeda Keiichiro (until 9 June); Akira Sakaya (starting 9 June) Shiname Prefecture: Takaoka Naokichi (until 28 April); Ichiro Oriharami (starting 28 April); Tochigi Prefecture: Okada Bunji (until 5 June); Shin Kitagawa (starting 5 June) Tokyo: Munakata Tadash (until 21 April); Kubota Kiyochika (starting 21 April) Toyama Prefecture: Tsunenosuke Hamada Yamagata Prefecture: Iwataro Odakiri
Events January – Siemens scandal breaks out. February 10–14 large-scale demonstrations erupted in Tokyo in response to the Siemens scandal. March 24 – Both houses of the Imperial Diet refused to pass the 1914 Navy budget April 16 – Yamamoto Gonnohyōe resigns as Prime Minister August 7 – The United Kingdom (Japan's ally since 1902) officially asked Japan for assistance in destroying the raiders from the Imperial German Navy in and around Chinese waters. August 23 – Japan declares war on Germany. August 25 – Japan declares war on Austria-Hungary, after Vienna refused to withdraw the Austro-Hungarian cruiser SMS Kaiserin Elisabeth from Qingdao. September 2 – Japanese forces landed on China's Shandong province and surrounded the German settlement at Qingdao September 6 – A seaplane launched by the seaplane-carrier Wakamiya. unsuccessfully attacked the Austro-Hungarian cruiser Kaiserin Elisabeth and the German gunboat Jaguar with bombs October – The Imperial Japanese Navy seized several of Germany's island colonies in the Pacific – the Mariana, Caroline, and Marshall Islands - with virtually no resistance. The Japanese Navy conducted the world's first naval-launched air raids against German-held land targets in Shandong province and ships in Qiaozhou Bay from Wakamiya. October 17–November 7 – Naval operations around Qingdao, China. October 31–November 7 – Siege of Tsingtao (Qingdao) concluded with the surrender of German colonial forces. December 20 – Tokyo Station opened with four platforms; two serving electric trains and two serving non-electric trains.
Births January 12 – Mieko Kamiya, psychiatrist (d. 1979) April 16 – Hiro Saga, noblewoman (d. 1987) May 20 – Hideko Maehata, breaststroke swimmer and first Japanese woman to win an Olympic gold medal. (d. 1995) May 30 – Akinoumi Setsuo, sumo wrestler (d. 1979) June 12 – Go Seigen, Go player (d. 2014) July 30 – Michizō Tachihara, poet and architect (d. 1939) August 2 – Sueo Ōe, athlete (d. 1941) August 19 – Fumio Hayasaka, composer (d. 1955) August 25 – Shizuko Kasagi, singer (d. 1985) September 1 – Tsuneko Sasamoto, photojournalist (d. 2022) October 1 – Hamao Umezawa, microbiologist (d. 1986) October 25 – Yukie Arata, freestyle swimmer (d. unknown) November 3 – Saburo Okita, foreign minister (d. 1993)
Deaths January 16 – Itō Sukeyuki, admiral (b. 1843) February 16 – Aoki Shūzō politician and diplomat (b. 1844) April 9 – Empress Shōken, consort of Emperor Meiji (b. 1849) November 16 – Shunrō Oshikawa, author and journalist (b. 1876)
See also List of Japanese films of the 1910s Japan during World War I Asian and Pacific theater of World War I
References