The Year of the Dragon started off as ferocious as the mythical creature of the zodiac that represented it. The first day of 2024 saw a magnitude 7.6 earthquake rock the Noto Peninsula and, the following day, a Japan Coast Guard aircraft carrying aid to the region collided with a passenger plane at Haneda Airport.

As the year progressed, the chaos of the first week of winter eventually gave way to record high temperatures, a record low yen and the country's first minority government in 30 years.

The past 12 months weren't completely tumultuous, however. There was celebration in the entertainment world with awards for "Shogun" and other cultural properties, the exoneration of the world’s longest-serving death row inmate and a much-deserved Nobel Peace Prize for the country's atomic bomb survivors and their efforts to educate the world of the dangers of nuclear weapons.

A worker looks at a car stuck on a broken road near Anamizu, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 3. The Noto Peninsula quake drew attention to the lack of infrastructure connecting remote communities to possible lifelines.
A worker looks at a car stuck on a broken road near Anamizu, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 3. The Noto Peninsula quake drew attention to the lack of infrastructure connecting remote communities to possible lifelines. | KIM KYUNG-HOON/ REUTERS

Firefighters work at Haneda Airport on Jan. 2 after a Japan Airlines' A350 airplane caught fire following a collision with a Japan Coast Guard plane en route to deliver supplies to quake-stricken Noto Peninsula.
Firefighters work at Haneda Airport on Jan. 2 after a Japan Airlines' A350 airplane caught fire following a collision with a Japan Coast Guard plane en route to deliver supplies to quake-stricken Noto Peninsula. | ISSEI KATO/ REUTERS

A man takes a break under a cooling mist on July 9. The summer of 2024 tied with the summer of 2023 as being the hottest on record.
A man takes a break under a cooling mist on July 9. The summer of 2024 tied with the summer of 2023 as being the hottest on record. | ISSEI KATO/ REUTERS

Visitors walk along Nakamise Street as they visit Sensoji temple in Tokyo on Aug. 9. Japan saw a record number of tourists in 2024 thanks in part to a cheap yen, which hit a 38-year low against the dollar in July.
Visitors walk along Nakamise Street as they visit Sensoji temple in Tokyo on Aug. 9. Japan saw a record number of tourists in 2024 thanks in part to a cheap yen, which hit a 38-year low against the dollar in July. | WILLY KURNIAWAN/ REUTERS

Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda (left) and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida show off the new banknotes that went into circulation in July. The Bank of Japan also raised interest rates from 0% to 0.1% to 0.25% that same month, only the second time it has raised rates in 17 years.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda (left) and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida show off the new banknotes that went into circulation in July. The Bank of Japan also raised interest rates from 0% to 0.1% to 0.25% that same month, only the second time it has raised rates in 17 years. | FRANCIS TANG/ THE JAPAN TIMES

The United States Steel Corp. Edgar Thomson Works steel mill in Braddock, Pennsylvania, is seen in September. U.S. Steel was the subject of an attempted acquisition by Nippon Steel this year, while another attempted acquisition made headlines, that of Canada's Couche-Tard for 7-Eleven operator Seven & i Holdings.
The United States Steel Corp. Edgar Thomson Works steel mill in Braddock, Pennsylvania, is seen in September. U.S. Steel was the subject of an attempted acquisition by Nippon Steel this year, while another attempted acquisition made headlines, that of Canada's Couche-Tard for 7-Eleven operator Seven & i Holdings. | JUSTIN MERRIMAN/ BLOOMBERG

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (center) poses for a group photograph with the members of his new Cabinet at the Prime Minister’s Office on Oct. 1. After Fumio Kishida announced in August he would step down from the top job in September, Ishiba won a leadership vote before suffering a resounding defeat in a national poll that resulted in the loss of his Liberal Democratic Party’s Lower House majority.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (center) poses for a group photograph with the members of his new Cabinet at the Prime Minister’s Office on Oct. 1. After Fumio Kishida announced in August he would step down from the top job in September, Ishiba won a leadership vote before suffering a resounding defeat in a national poll that resulted in the loss of his Liberal Democratic Party’s Lower House majority. | TORU HANAI/ BLOOMBERG

Terumi Tanaka, Shigemitsu Tanaka and Toshiyuki Mimaki, the representatives of Nihon Hidankyo, a group of hibakusha awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, observe a torchlight procession in Oslo on Dec. 10.
Terumi Tanaka, Shigemitsu Tanaka and Toshiyuki Mimaki, the representatives of Nihon Hidankyo, a group of hibakusha awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, observe a torchlight procession in Oslo on Dec. 10. | TERJE PEDERSEN/ NTB/ VIA REUTERS

Shizuoka Police Chief Takayoshi Tsuda apologizes to Iwao Hakamata (second from right), who was acquitted of murder charges 56 years after the fact. Hakamata was the world's longest-serving death row inmate, for nearly 50 years, before being released.
Shizuoka Police Chief Takayoshi Tsuda apologizes to Iwao Hakamata (second from right), who was acquitted of murder charges 56 years after the fact. Hakamata was the world's longest-serving death row inmate, for nearly 50 years, before being released. | JIJI

Anna Sawai (left) and Hiroyuki Sanada show off their Emmys after “Shogun” won a slew of awards at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Sept. 15. The success of the series has seen increased interest in Japanese cultural properties as a result.
Anna Sawai (left) and Hiroyuki Sanada show off their Emmys after “Shogun” won a slew of awards at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Sept. 15. The success of the series has seen increased interest in Japanese cultural properties as a result. | MIKE BLAKE/ REUTERS