Year in Japan

1940 in Japanese History

1 recorded entry for this year. It falls in the Shōwa period (昭和時代, 1926 – 1989).

Era name: Shōwa era 昭和 (year 15 of the era)

What happened 出来事

Aug 2 1940 Shakotan earthquake 積丹半島沖地震 · Earthquake — earthquake struck Hokkaido, Japan on 2 August 1940

Reading the year 1940 in Japanese

Japanese sources from this period date events by era name, not by the Western calendar. 1940 corresponds to Shōwa era 昭和 (year 15 of the era). Years are written with 年 (ねん, nen) — so 1600 appears as 慶長5年, "the fifth year of Keichō".

The year itself is read 1940年 (1940ねん) in modern Japanese. Browse the full timeline to see where this year sits in the wider arc, or the 20th century for its neighbours.