President of the House of Councillors: Jūrō Saitō (L–Mie) until October 19, Yutaka Inoue (L–Chiba)
Diet sessions: 147th (regular, January 20 to June 2), 148th (special, July 4 to July 6), 149th (extraordinary, July 28 to August 9), 150th (extraordinary, September 21 to December 1)
May 15: Yoshiro Mori makes his first major gaffe, referring to Japan as a "divine nation centering on the Emperor."[3]
June
June to July: According to Japan Health and Welfare Ministry official confirmed report, an outbreak of food poisoning at dairy factory in Osaka, resulting to 13,420 people being infected, however, there were no reports of any deaths. This was confirmed by an Official, who said this incident was caused by enterotoxin in skimmed milk.[4]
A torrential rain and flash flood in 2000 Nagoya flash flood
September 2: Miyakejima is evacuated as the eruption continues.
September 12: Heavy torrential rain and flash flood hits Nagoya and its suburbs, according to The Fire and Disaster Management Agency of Japan report, ten people lost their lives, with 115 people injured.[6]