1. resignation as prime minister of Shinzo Abe, who was succeeded by Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda
2. The suspension of sales at confectioner Fujiya Co., and the mislabeling scandal at long-established Akafuku Co.
3. The admission that 50 million pension records could not be identified
4. the Democratic Party of Japan to become the largest party in the upper house
5. Former Administrative Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya was arrested over allegations of bribery as he accepted entertainment in the form of golf outings from a defense trader on numerous occasions.
6. In July, the Niigata Prefecture Chuetsu Offshore Earthquake with an intensity of upper 6 claimed 15 lives
7. Former Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Toshikatsu Matsuoka, who had been grilled over his fund-managing organization's dubious use of office expenses, committed suicide without properly accounting for his actions.
8. The victory of former TV personality Sonomanma Higashi (Hideo Higashikokubaru) in the Miyazaki gubernatorial race
9. Asashoryu was banned from two sumo tournaments after it was revealed that he had played in a charity soccer game in his native Mongolia despite having filed for withdrawal from a local summer sumo training tour.
10. privatization of Japan Post