In manga, the winners of the Shogakukan Manga Award were Hakatakko Junjō and Gangaragan by Hōsei Hasegawa and Chie the Brat by Etsumi Haruki (general) and Urusei Yatsura by Rumiko Takahashi (shōnen or shōjo).

[4] Susano Oh by Go Nagai (shōnen) and Lemon Report by Mayumi Yoshida (shōjo) won the Kodansha Manga Award.

In music, the 31st Kōhaku Uta Gassen was won by the Red Team (women).

Japan hosted the Miss International 1980 beauty pageant, won by Costa Rican Lorna Chávez.

At the Winter Olympics Japan won a silver medal.