Portal:Japan/Anniversaries/February

These are the selected anniversaries for February that appear on the Japan portal. The "edit" links edit the portal subpages that are displayed as sections here.

February 1

February 1:

Events

1614 - The missionary expulsion order is issued by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in a crackdown against Christianity. (Traditional Japanese Date: Twenty-third Day of the Twelfth Month, 1613)
1895 - The first streetcar begins operation in Kyoto.
1899 - Telephone service begins between Tokyo and Osaka.
1911 - Regulations for postal special delivery are passed. Service begins on February 11.
1928 - Japanese Victor sells the first Western phonograph albums.
1942 - Rationing of clothing, miso and soy sauce begins.
1953 - NHK begins its first television broadcast. At the time there were only 866 viewers under contract. At a time when public officials made only 8,000 yen per year, televisions were prohibitively expensive at 150,000 yen. However, by 1958, 1,000,000 sets had been sold and by 1962 10,000,000 sets had been sold.
1954 - Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio visit Japan.
1960 - The first underground parking lot opens in Tokyo.

Births

1917 - Eiji Sawamura (d. 1944), baseball player and soldier
1958 - Ryō Horikawa, voice actor
1962 - Tomoyasu Hotei, singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor
1962 - Takashi Murakami, painter and sculptor
1964 - Kiriko Isono, comedian, entertainer, and actress
1970 - Yasuyuki Kazama, race car driver
1971 - Tomomi Hayashi, Japanese-Estonian architect
1972 - Kami (d. 1999), drummer
1973 - Makiko Ohmoto, voice actress
1983 - Anna Suzuki, actress and model
1988 - Masahiro Higashide, actor and model
1992 - Mao Ichimichi, actress and model
1994 - Ryo Yoshizawa, actor

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February 2

February 2:

Events

1873 - Sakura Juntendō establishes a hospital in Yushima.
1874 - A railway is constructed between Shinbashi and Kyōbashi.
1892 - The first beauty contest is held at the Ryōunkaku in Asakusa.
1920 - Buses in Tokyo begin using female bus guides.
1935 - At a meeting of women teachers in Osaka, it is suggested that women begin wearing western clothes, because of the increasing number of women entering the work force.
1942 - The Japan Women's Club is founded.
1972 - Yokoi Shōichi, a World War II soldier found living in the caves of Guam, returns to Japan.
1976 - NET, the precursor of TV Asahi, begins broadcasting.
1998 - Zip codes are expanded to 7 digits.

Births

1892 - Tochigiyama Moriya (d. 1959), sumo wrestler, the 27th Yokozuna
1949 - Yasuko Namba (d. 1996), mountaineer
1950 - Osamu Kido, wrestler
1950 - Genichiro Tenryu, wrestler
1965 - Naoki Sano, wrestler and mixed martial artist
1984 - Mao Miyaji, actress
1985 - Renn Kiriyama, actor
1986 - Miwa Asao, volleyball player
1991 - Shohei Nanba, actor

Deaths

2007 - Masao Takemoto (b. 1919), gymnast

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February 3

February 3:

Events

1607 - Sarugaku (a kind of circus-like performance) is held at Edo Castle. (Traditional Japanese Date: Seventh Day of the First Month, 1607)
1835 - Kunitomo Tōbē of Ōmi Province begins his scientific observation of sunspots. (Traditional Japanese Date: Sixth Day of the First Month, 1835)
1851 - John Manjirō returns to the Ryūkyū Islands (modern day Okinawa). (Traditional Japanese Date: Third Day of the First Month, 1851)
1867 - Emperor Meiji becomes the 122nd emperor.
1875 - The first international shipping lane is opened between Yokohama and Shanghai.
1901 - Fukuzawa Yukichi, best known as the founder of Keiō University, dies.
1944 - World War II: United States troops capture the Marshall Islands from Japanese forces.
1945 - World War II: The Soviet Union agrees to enter the Pacific Theatre conflict against Japan.
1972 - The Eleventh Winter Olympics are held in Sapporo where Yukio Kasaya becomes the first Japanese ever to win a gold medal. Yukio Kasaya and two other from Japan won all three medals in the 70 meter jump, prompting people to refer to them as the "flying hinomaru."

Births

1954 - Toshie Negishi, actress
1959 - Yasuharu Konishi, DJ, producer, and songwriter
1986 - Kanako Yanagihara, actress, comedian, and entertainer
1995 - Tao Tsuchiya, actress
1999 - Kanna Hashimoto, singer

Deaths

1428 - Ashikaga Yoshimochi (b. 1386), shogun

Holidays, observances, and anniversaries

Setsubun

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February 4

February 4:

Events

1348 - Kusanoki Masatsura commits suicide at the battle of Shijōnawate. (Traditional Japanese Date: Fifth Day of the First Month, 1348)
1614 - Shimazu Iehisa of the Satsuma-han presents Japan's first gunship to the Shōgun (Traditional Japanese Date: Twenty-sixth Day of the Twelfth Month, 1613)
1703 - In Edo (now Tokyo), 46 of the Forty-seven Ronin commit seppuku (ritual suicide) as recompense for avenging their master's death.
1801 - Inō Tadataka presents the Shōgun with Japan's first surveyed map. (Traditional Japanese Date: Twenty-first Day of the Twelfth Month, 1800)
1860 - The ship Kanrin Maru leaves Shinagawa for the United States. (Traditional Japanese Date: Thirteenth Day of the First Month, 1860)
1869 - Lotteries are outlawed by the new Meiji government. (Traditional Japanese Date: Twenty-third Day of the Twelfth Month, 1868)
1872 - Japan's first court of law, the Tokyo Court, is established. (Traditional Japanese Date: Twenty-sixth Day of the Twelfth Month, 1871)
1932 - World War II: Japan occupies Harbin, China.
1959 - One tsubo of land in Ginza (approximately 3.3 square meters) sells for 1,560,000 yen (approximately $4,300 at the then applicable exchange rate or approximately $30,500 in today's money), becoming the most expensive land in Japan.
1966 - An All Nippon Airways Boeing 727 crahes in Tokyo Bay, killing all 133 people on board.
1976 - It is disclosed in a Senate hearing that the Lockheed Corporation had bribed government officials in Japan in order to secure aircraft.

Births

1865 - Abe Isoo (d. 1949), minister and politician
1925 - Christopher Zeeman, Japanese-English mathematician and academic
1948 - Mienoumi Tsuyoshi, sumo wrestler
1953 - Kitarō, keyboard player, composer, and producer
1954 - Shigeru Chiba, actor and voice actor
1958 - Saburō Tokitō, actor
1966 - Kyōko Koizumi, actress and singer
1968 - Kuranosuke Sasaki, actor
1978 - Shingo Kawaguchi, actor
1980 - Kenta Kiritani, actor and singer
1989 - Shogo Suzuki, actor and musician
1990 - Haruka Tomatsu, voice actress and singer
1997 - Ayami Nakajō, actress and model

Film and television

2012 - Arakawa Under the Bridge, a film starring Kento Hayashi and Mirei Kiritani

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February 5

February 5:

Events

1348 - Emperor Go-Murakami of the Southern Court leaves Yoshino. (Traditional Japanese Date: Sixth Day of the First Month, 1348)
1597 - Toyotomi Hideyoshi arrests 26 Christians and sentences them to death. (Traditional Japanese Date: Nineteenth Day of the Twelfth Month, 1596)
1872 - The Meiji government announces the issuance of new paper money. (Traditional Japanese Date: Twenty-seventh Day of the Twelfth Month, 1871)
1901 - Japan fires up the furnace at its first modern ironworks.
1905 - Japan's first bus line opens between Yokogawa and Kawabe in Hiroshima. However, due to opposition from horse carriage drivers, the service is abolished nine months later.
1920 - 24,000 strike at the Hachiman Ironworks.
1931 - Tōkyō Airline and Transport Co. holds the first ever examination for prospective stewardesses (referred to at the time as "air girls"). One hundred forty-one young women apply for only three open positions but later quit because of the low pay.
1936 - The Japan Occupational Baseball League is formed, launching professional baseball in Japan.
1987 - The X-ray satellite the Astro C is launched.

Births

1852 - Terauchi Masatake (d. 1919), field marshal and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Japan
1917 - Isuzu Yamada (d. 2012), actress
1944 - Tamanoumi Masahiro (d. 1971), sumo wrestler, the 51st Yokozuna
1953 - Takashi Ishikawa, wrestler
1955 - Kenji Ohba, actor
1956 - Mao Daichi, actress
1972 - Koriki Chōshū, comedian
1977 - Yuko Aoki, singer and model
1982 - Yū Kobayashi, voice actress
1986 - Takayuki Seto, footballer
1994 - Arisa Komiya, actress and model
1994 - Saki Nakajima, singer

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February 6

February 6:

Events

1897 - Construction of the Hachiman Ironworks begins.
1941 - Riot police begin removing steel towers erected by protesters at Narita Airport.
1956 - Shukan Shinchō becomes the first weekly magazine published by someone other than a newspaper publisher.
1989 - The children's book Totto-chan, the Little Girl at the Window is published in Arabic and becomes a big hit. It is later translated into Vietnamese and several other languages as well.
2000 - Japan's first female mayor, Ōta Fusae is elected in the wake of Mayor Yokoyama Nokku's resignation in connection with allegations of sexual harassment.

Births

976 - Emperor Sanjō (d. 1017)
1536 - Sassa Narimasa (d. 1588), samurai
1843 - Inoue Kowashi (d. 1895), scholar and politician
1880 - Nishinoumi Kajirō II (d. 1931), sumo wrestler, the 25th Yokozuna
1919 - Takashi Yanase (d. 2013), poet and illustrator, created Anpanman
1930 - Jun Kondo, physicist and academic
1961 - Yuko Kobayashi, voice actress
1967 - Izumi Sakai (d. 2007), singer-songwriter
1968 - Akira Yamaoka, composer and producer
1969 - Masaharu Fukuyama, singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
1975 - Tomoko Kawase, singer-songwriter and producer
1980 - Mamiko Noto, voice actress and singer
1985 - Joji Kato, speed skater
1987 - Hayato Ichihara, actor

Deaths

1593 - Emperor Ōgimachi (b. 1517)

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February 7

February 7:

Events

708 - After Empress Genmei is presented with the first pure copper mined in Japan (from the ancient province of Musashi, or present day Saitama Prefecture), she proclaims a new era called Wadō, which means "Japanese copper." (Traditional Japanese Date: Eleventh Day of the First Month, 708)
1369 - Ashikaga Yoshimitsu becomes Seii Taishōgun. (Traditional Japanese Date: Thirtieth Day of the Twelfth Month, 1368)
1855 - Japan signs a treaty of amity with Russia. (Traditional Japanese Date: Twenty-first Day of the Twelfth Month, 1854)
1873 - The Meiji government outlaws the taking of personal revenge.
1899 - Keiō and Waseda become Japan's first private universities.
1927 - Emperor Taishō's funeral is held on this day.
1943 - Imperial Japanese naval forces complete the evacuation of Imperial Japanese Army troops from Guadalcanal during Operation Ke, ending Japanese attempts to retake the island from Allied forces in the Guadalcanal Campaign.
1960 - Tokyo telephone exchange numbers are increased from 2 digits to 3 as the number of telephones surpasses 600,000.
1998 - The Eighteenth Winter Olympics begin in Nagano.

Births

572 - Prince Shōtoku (d. 622)
1973 - Mie Sonozaki, voice actress and singer
1974 - Nujabes (d. 2010), DJ and producer
1977 - Tsuneyasu Miyamoto, footballer
1977 - Eri Tanaka, actress and voice actress
1982 - Osamu Mukai, actor
1983 - Sho Kamogawa, footballer
1988 - Ai Kago, singer, actress, and author
1991 - Takahisa Maeyama, actor
1992 - Maimi Yajima, singer
1996 - Mai Hagiwara, singer

Deaths

1045 - Emperor Go-Suzaku (b. 1009)

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February 8

February 8:

Events

1567 - Ieyasu obtains permission from the court to change his surname from Matsudaira to Tokugawa. (Traditional Japanese Date: Twenty-ninth Day of the Twelfth Month, 1566)
1882 - The Hokkaidō Development Agency is abolished.
1887 - Japan adopts the official postal mark (〒).
1958 - 9,500 people come to see the first western style carnival is held in Yūrakuchō, Tokyo.
1959 - The 6.1 km Kurobe Tunnel in the northern Japan Alps is completed, allowing work on the Kuroyon Power Plant to continue.
1982 - 33 people are killed and 29 are injured in the Hotel New Japan fire in Akasaka, Tokyo.
1983 - The average height of high school senior boys reaches 170 cm (5' 7").

Births

1561 - Fujiwara Seika (d. 1619), philosopher
1720 - Emperor Sakuramachi (d. 1750)
1952 - Daisuke Gōri (d. 2010), actor
1972 - Hiroshi Tsuchida, voice actor and actor
1973 - Keith McDonald, Japanese-American baseball player
1982 - Sousuke Takaoka, actor
1985 - Nao Matsushita, actress and singer
1988 - Nozomi Sasaki, model

Deaths

2006 - Akira Ifukube (b. 1914), composer

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February 9

February 9:

Events

1885 - The first Japanese government-approved immigrants arrive in Hawaii
1904 - Russo–Japanese War: Battle of Port Arthur
1936 - Japan's first professional baseball game at the Narumi Baseball Stadium between the Tokyo Giants and the Nagoya Golden Dolphins (who win 10 to 3)
1943 - World War II: Allied authorities declare Guadalcanal secure after Imperial Japan evacuates its remaining forces from the island, ending the Battle of Guadalcanal
1982 - A DC-8 on its way to Tokyo from Fukuoka crashes in Haneda Bay, killing 24 and injuring 150
1987 - NTT goes public. Trading is halted the second day after reaching 1,600,000 yen per share

Births

1533 - Shimazu Yoshihisa (d. 1611), daimyo
1859 - Akiyama Yoshifuru (d. 1930), general
1867 - Natsume Sōseki (d. 1916), author and poet
1898 - Jūkichi Yagi (d. 1927), poet
1912 - Futabayama Sadaji (d. 1968), sumo wrestler, the 35th Yokozuna
1932 - Tatsuro Hirooka, baseball player and manager
1979 - Hiroko Anzai, actress and model
1979 - Akinori Iwamura, baseball player
1979 - Toshiaki Kasuga, comedian
1981 - Rina Chinen, entertainer, singer, model, and actress
1981 - Daisuke Sekimoto, wrestler
1982 - Ami Suzuki, singer-songwriter and actress

Deaths

1199 - Minamoto no Yoritomo (b. 1147), shogun
1932 - Junnosuke Inoue (b. 1869), businessman and banker
1989 - Osamu Tezuka (b. 1928), illustrator, animator, and producer

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February 10

February 10:

Events

1653 - The Shōgunate orders the construction of the Tamagawa^{[disambiguation needed]} Waterworks. (Traditional Japanese Date: Thirteenth Day of the First Month, 1653)
1904 - The Russo-Japanese War over Korea and Manchuria begins after the Battle of Port Arthur.
1944 - Senda Koreya and Aoyma Sugisaku form the Haiyūza Theatrical Company.
1948 - The Socialist Party cabinet resigns due to a split between conservative and liberal factions within the party.
1976 - Honda begins selling a minibike for women called the Rattattaa.
1977 - A fishing treaty is signed between the United States and Japan.
1996 - The Toyohama tunnel collapses on a bus in Furubira-machi, Hokkaidō, killing 20 people.

Births

1944 - Miyoko Akaza, actress
1944 - Hideki Takahashi, actor
1970 - Nobushige Kumakubo, race car driver
1975 - Hiroki Kuroda, baseball player
1983 - Taiji Ishimori, wrestler
1986 - Yui Ichikawa, actress and singer
1992 - Haruka Nakagawa, singer
1995 - Haruna Kawaguchi, model and actress
2005 - Rio Suzuki, actress and entertainer

Deaths

1242 - Emperor Shijō (b. 1231)

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February 11

February 11:

Events

660 BC - Traditional date for the foundation of Japan by Emperor Jimmu.
1869 - Japan's first lighthouse is erected at Kannonsaki on the Miura peninsula. (Traditional Japanese Date: First Day of the First Month, 1869)
1889 - Meiji constitution is adopted.
1889 - The first Diet of Japan convenes.
1913 - The first tombow pencils go on sale.
1970 - The Tokyo University Space and Astronautical Research Center launches Japan's first (the world's fourth) man made satellite "Ōsumi."
1981 - Ichikawa Fusae, the chair of the League of Women Voters of Japan and champion of women's rights, dies.

Births

1900 - Jōsei Toda (d. 1958), educator and activist
1947 - Yukio Hatoyama, engineer and politician, 60th Prime Minister of Japan
1947 - Kikko Matsuoka, actress
1948 - Yoshihito, Prince Katsura (d. 2014)
1960 - Momus, Scottish-Japanese author, journalist, and songwriter
1963 - Dan Osman (d. 1998), Japanese-American rock climber
1972 - Noboru Yamaguchi (d. 2013), South Korean-Japanese author
1997 - Yuumi Shida, model and actress

Deaths

1160 - Minamoto no Yoshitomo (b. 1123), general
1982 - Takashi Shimura (b. 1905), actor

Holidays, observances, and anniversaries

National Foundation Day

Edit February 11 anniversaries ‧ February 11 anniversaries on English Wikipedia ‧ February 11 anniversaries on Japanese Wikipedia

February 12

February 12:

Events

754 - Buddhist priest Ganjin arrives from China. (Traditional Japanese Date: Sixteenth Day of the First Month, 754)
1868 - Okubo Toshimichi proposes to the new Meiji government that the emperor be relocated to Osaka. (Traditional Japanese Date: Nineteenth Day of the First Month, 1868)
1921 - Members of the Ōmotokyō religious sect (a form of Shintoism) are arrested in the first of two crackdowns against the religion.
1949 - The Tokyo Stock Exchange is founded. The Osaka Stock Exchange is founded three days later on February 15, 1949.
1984 - Naomi Uemura completes a winter solo climb to the top of Mount McKinley. However, she disappeared on the climb down and was never heard from again.

Births

661 - Princess Ōku (d. 702)
1218 - Kujō Yoritsune (d. 1256), shogun
1917 - Raizo Matsuno (d. 2006), politician
1920 - Yoshiko Yamaguchi (d. 2014), Chinese-Japanese actress, singer, and politician
1941 - Naomi Uemura (d. 1984), mountaineer and explorer
1974 - Toranosuke Takagi, race car driver
1985 - Leilani Gaja, model and actress
1987 - Miiko Morita, model, actress, and television personality
1988 - Nana Eikura, actress and radio host
1994 - Miori Ichikawa, singer
1995 - Rina Kawaei, singer

Deaths

890 - Henjō (b. 816), poet and priest

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February 13

February 13:

Events

1219 - The third shōgun of the Kamakura period, Minamoto Sanetomo, is assassinated. (Traditional Japanese Date: Twenty-seventh Day of the First Month, 1219)
1854 - Commodore Matthew Perry returns to Japan. (Traditional Japanese Date: Sixteenth Day of the First Month, 1854)
1862 - Andō Nobumasa is attacked by former Mito^{[disambiguation needed]} samurai in the Sakashita Gate Incident. (Traditional Japanese Date: Fifteenth Day of the First Month, 1862)
1867 - Emperor Meiji accedes to the throne at the age of 16. (Traditional Japanese Date: Ninth Day of the First Month, 1867)
1899 - The income tax law is promulgated.
1951 - The Local Public Service Law is enacted.
1985 - In an effort to bolster public morals, a new law is passed which expanded the number and kinds of businesses subject to the public morality law, including game centers.
1989 - Chairman Hiromasa Ezoe and three others are arrested in connection with the Recruit scandal.
1995 - Nomo Hideo announces that he has signed with the L.A. Dodgers.

Births

711 BC - Emperor Jimmu (d. 585 BC)
1953 - Akio Sato, wrestler
1964 - Tetsurō Degawa, comedian
1964 - Yamantaka Eye, singer
1965 - Kiyotaka Nanbara, comedian
1967 - Tomoko Ikuta, actress
1968 - Daisuke Ikeda, wrestler
1982 - Tsuyoshi Abe, Chinese-Japanese actor
1993 - Kasumi Arimura, actress
1995 - Ayame Koike, actress

Deaths

1219 - Minamoto no Sanetomo (b. 1192), shogun
1967 - Yoshisuke Aikawa (b. 1880), entrepreneur, businessman, and politician, founded Nissan Motor Company

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February 14

February 14:

Events

1917 - A magazine for housewives, Shufu no Tomo, goes on sale for the first time. By 1941, it reached a circulation of 1,800,000.
1942 – Battle of Pasir Panjang contributes to the fall of Singapore.
1944 – World War II: Anti-Japanese revolt on Java.
1945 - Japan sets a record for the most snowfall with 785 centimeters of accumulation at Mori-Miyanohara Station in Nagano Prefecture.
1973 - The yen is allowed to trade freely against the dollar. Trading opens that 277 yen to the dollar after having been fixed at 308 yen to the dollar just the day before.
1992 - Sagawa Kyūbin's former president, Watanabe Hiroyasu, is arrested with 3 others in the Sagawa Kyūbin scandal.
1996 - Han'yū Yoshiharu becomes the first person to win seven straight crowns in Shōgi (Japanese chess.)

Births

1916 - Masaki Kobayashi (d. 1996), director and producer
1927 - Seizō Katō (d. 2014), voice actor
1969 - Kazuko Miyata, actress
1971 - Risa Hirako, model
1971 - Noriko Sakai, singer and actress
1972 - Hiroshi, comedian
1973 - Yuka Sato, figure skater and sportscaster
1980 - Sayaka Yamaguchi, actress
1981 - Ayako Hamada, Mexican-Japanese wrestler
1985 - Natsume Sano, model and actress

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February 15

February 15:

Events

1867 - A Tokugawa entourage attends the International Expo in Paris
1877 - Saigō Takamori departs Kagoshima, marking the beginning of the Satsuma Rebellion
1916 - Japan's first school swimming pool opens at a junior high school in Osaka
1925 - The Japan Ski Federation is formed
1942 - World War II: The Fall of Singapore. Following an assault by Japanese forces, the British General Arthur Percival surrenders. About 80,000 Indian, United Kingdom and Australian soldiers become prisoners of war, the largest surrender of British-led military personnel in history. The Sook Ching massacre begins.
1987 - The International Whaling Commission calls upon Japan to halt all whaling

Births

1920 - Eio Sakata (d. 2010), Go player
1942 - Masaomi Kondō, actor
1954 - Tatekawa Shinosuke, entertainer
1956 - Hitoshi Ogawa (d. 1992), race car driver
1967 - Chiemi Hori, singer, actress, and entertainer
1968 - Yōka Wao, actress
1970 - Mariko Yoshida, wrestler
1977 - Gran Naniwa (d. 2010), wrestler
1986 - Ami Koshimizu, voice actress and singer
1988 - Hironori Kusano, singer and actor
1990 - Masashi Ebinuma, judoka

Deaths

1935 - Basil Hall Chamberlain (b. 1850), professor of Tokyo Imperial University and one of the foremost English Japanologists active in Japan during the late 19th century

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February 16

February 16:

Events

1665 - Lightning strikes Osaka Castle, burning the castle tower to the ground. (Traditional Japanese Date: Second Day of the First Month, 1665)
1872 - The first military review of the army by the emperor is held. (Traditional Japanese Date: Eighth Day of the First Month, 1872)
1932 - The number of radio listeners reaches 1,000,000 after just seven years of domestic broadcasting.
1945 – World War II: American forces land on Corregidor island in the Philippines.
1945 - America begins its bombing campaign of Tokyo and the Kantō region.
1946 - The Soviet Union announces its occupation of Karafuto and Chishima Islands (the Kurile Islands north of Hokkaidō).
1959 - Japan begins minting 100 yen, 50 yen and 10 yen coins.
1976 - Public hearings in connection with the Lockheed scandal begin. Kokusai Kogyo Co., Ltd.'s Osano Kenji testifies and starts a fad of responding to questions with "I have no recollection."
1977 - Restrictions on the export of textiles to the United States are lifted.
1981 - The Provisional Commission for Administrative Reform is established and Dokō Toshio is appointed chairman.
2005 – The Kyoto Protocol comes into force, following its ratification by Russia.

Births

1222 - Nichiren (d. 1282), monk, founded Nichiren Buddhism
1543 - Kanō Eitoku (d. 1590), painter and educator
1931 - Ken Takakura (d. 2014), actor and singer
1948 - Kaiketsu Masateru (d. 2014), sumo wrestler and coach
1950 - Kazuki Tomokawa, singer
1951 - Yumi Takigawa, actress and singer
1972 - Naomi Nishida, actress
1975 - Nanase Aikawa, singer
1976 - Kyo, singer-songwriter and producer
1976 - Joe Odagiri, actor and singer
1977 - Hinako Saeki, actress
1987 - Yuu Kashii, actress and model
1987 - Ryosuke Miura, actor
1995 - Mayu Matsuoka, actress
1996 - Nana Komatsu, actress and model

Edit February 16 anniversaries ‧ February 16 anniversaries on English Wikipedia ‧ February 16 anniversaries on Japanese Wikipedia

February 17

February 17:

Events

1592 - Toyotomi Hideyoshi orders up his troops for an invasion of Korea. (Traditional Japanese Date: Fifth Day of the First Month, 1592)
1904 - First performance of Madame Butterfly
1906 - The Bungei Kyōkai (Literary Society) is formed by Tsubouchi Shōyō and Shimamura Hōgetsu, and Ōsumi Shigenobu is appointed as its head. Three years later a drama research institute for the training of actors is formed, and in May 1911, graduates of the research institute stage their first performance of Hamlet at the Imperial Theater.
1937 - A failed plot is exposed by a group of five would-be Nichiren martyrs, known as the Shinau Dan (the "Let's die Group"), who were planning to commit ritualistic suicide in front of the Imperial Palace and the Diet
1944 - World War II: Battle of Eniwetok Atoll begins. The battle ends in an American victory on February 22
1944 - World War II: Operation Hailstone begins. U.S. naval air, surface, and submarine attack against Truk (Chuuk), Japan's main base in the central Pacific, in support of the Eniwetok invasion
1970 - The Sanrizuka Boys Action Squad is formed to protest the construction of Narita Airport
1972 - Japanese Red Army leader Nagata Yōko and others are arrested in Gunma Prefecture and it is discovered that they were responsible for over 14 lynchings
1977 - The Mito^{[disambiguation needed]} District Court rules that the Japan Self Defense Forces are constitutional
1978 - Bob Dylan visits Japan for the first time

Births

1796 - Philipp Franz von Siebold (d. 1866), German physician and botanist, first European to teach Western medicine in Japan
1862 - Mori Ōgai (d. 1922), author and poet
1955 - Shun Sugata, actor
1960 - Shunji Kosugi, wrestler
1972 - Yuki, singer-songwriter
1974 - Kaoru, guitarist, songwriter, and producer
1975 - Michiko Kichise, actress
1980 - Aya Endō, voice actress
1984 - Kenta Kamakari, actor, voice actor, and singer
1985 - Hiroko Sato, actress, singer, and model

Edit February 17 anniversaries ‧ February 17 anniversaries on English Wikipedia ‧ February 17 anniversaries on Japanese Wikipedia

February 18

February 18:

Events

661 - Empress Saimei travels to the Dōgo Hot Springs. (Traditional Japanese Date: Fourteenth Day of the First Month, 661)
1772 - Tanuma Okitsugu is appointed Elder Councilor. (Traditional Japanese Date: Fifteenth Day of the First Month, 1772)
1904 - An anti-smoking campaign starts and smoking is prohibited on Tokyo's city trains.
1935 - Minobe Tatsukichi's theory that the emperor is merely a legal figure that exercises power on behalf of the nation in whom sovereignty resides comes under attack in the upper house.
1938 - The Ministry of the Interior issues an order that prohibits the publication, scheduled for the next day, of the March issue of Chūō Kōron. Publication is prohibited because of its inclusion of a novel written by Ishikawa Tatsuzō, based on his experiences in Shanghai, entitled "Living Soldier". The story was considered anti-military.
1950 - Sapporo's first annual Snow Festival takes place.

Births

1530 - Uesugi Kenshin (d. 1578), daimyo
1933 - Yoko Ono, Japanese-American singer-songwriter
1961 - Hironobu Kageyama, singer
1966 - Tetsushi Tanaka, actor
1986 - Sakura Ando, actress

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February 19

February 19:

Events

1821 - The Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine in Kamakura burns down. (Traditional Japanese Date: Seventeenth Day of the First Month, 1821)
1907 - The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department implements driving regulations that require the registration of automobiles and the licensing of drivers and sets a speed limit of 13 km per hour. The number of automobiles registered during the first year was a mere 16.
1942 - World War II: nearly 250 Japanese warplanes attack the northern Australian city of Darwin killing 243 people.
1942 - World War II: President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066, allowing the United States military to relocate Japanese-Americans to Japanese internment camps.
1945 - World War II: Battle of Iwo Jima – about 30,000 United States Marines land on Iwo Jima.
1946 - Emperor Shōwa begins his tour of the nation following Japan's surrender in the fall of the previous year.
1954 - Rikidōzan and Kimuragumi battle the Sharp Brothers at the Kuramae National Stadium in Japan's first pro wrestling match.
1972 - The Asama-Sansō hostage standoff begins when five members of the Japanese Red Army take a hostage in the mountain resort of Karuizawa.
1976 - Executive Order 9066 was rescinded by President Gerald R. Ford's Proclamation 4417

Births

1855 - Nishinoumi Kajirō I (d. 1908), sumo wrestler, the 16th Yokozuna
1946 - Hiroshi Fujioka, actor
1972 - Nao Ōmori, actor
1983 - Mika Nakashima, singer and actress
1986 - Reon Kadena, model and actress
1988 - Miyu Irino, voice actor

Deaths

1709 - Tokugawa Tsunayoshi (b. 1646), shogun
1992 - Tojo Yamamoto (b. 1927), Japanese-American wrestler and manager

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February 20

February 20:

Events

668 - Prince Naka no Ōe accedes to the throne as Emperor Tenji. (Traditional Japanese Date: Third Day of the First Month, 668)
1582 - Itō Mansho's entourage leaves for Rome. (Traditional Japanese Date: Twenty-eighth Day of the First Month, 1582)
1923 - The Maru Building, at the time the largest office building in Asia, was completed on this date after 25 months of construction. It was located in front of Tokyo Station in Marunouchi and was only nine stories high with one underground level. It was built at a total cost of 11 million yen. The ground floor consisted of a number of book stores and the second through the ninth floor was filled with over 350 tenants.
1928 - Japan's first public election was held on this day. Voting was limited to males 25 or older.
1933 - Kobayashi Takiji, author of such proletariat novels as Kani Kōsen (The Floating Crab Cannery), is arrested, tortured and brutally murdered at the Tsukiji police station.
1944 – World War II: The United States takes Eniwetok Island.
1968 - Korean resident of Japan Kim Hiro shoots and kills two yakuza gangsters in Shimizu and then takes 20 hostages at the Sumatakyō hot spring resort the next day. He spends the next several days using the media to complain about the treatment of Koreans in Japan until his arrest on the 24th.
1977 - A record 10,710 runners participate in Tokyo's Ōme Marathon.
1985 - The Council on National Language promulgates its reforms on modern kana usage.
1998 – American figure skater Tara Lipinski becomes the youngest gold-medalist at the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.

Births

1925 - Tochinishiki Kiyotaka (d. 1990), sumo wrestler, the 44th Yokozuna
1936 - Shigeo Nagashima, baseball player and coach
1943 - Antonio Inoki, wrestler, mixed martial artist, and politician
1950 - Ken Shimura, comedian and actor
1969 - Gedo, wrestler
1969 - Azusa Watanabe, actress
1980 - Yuichi Nakamura, voice actor
1984 - Keisuke Koide, actor

Deaths

1996 - Toru Takemitsu (b. 1930), pianist, guitarist, and composer

Edit February 20 anniversaries ‧ February 20 anniversaries on English Wikipedia ‧ February 20 anniversaries on Japanese Wikipedia

February 21

February 21:

Events

1892 - Japan's first daily newspaper, the Tōkyō Nichinichi Shinbun (modern day Mainichi Shinbun) is established.
1911 - One of Japan's most well-known authors, Natsume Sōseki, sends a letter to the Ministry of Education, refusing the title of professor of literature. He explains that he just wants to go on living his life as "Natsume so-and-so."
1945 - World War II: Kamikaze planes sink the escort carrier Bismarck Sea and damage the Saratoga.
1946 - The Metropolitan Police Department begins recruiting women.
1961 - Actor Akagi Keiichirō dies in an automobile accident. The accident happened while he was working as a stand-in for Ishihara Yūjirō, and Takahashi Hideki was chosen as Ishihara's new stand-in actor.
1979 - Japan's first X-ray astronomy satellite, the Hakuchō, is launched successfully.

Births

1887 - Korechika Anami (d. 1945), general and politician, 54th Japanese Minister of War
1980 - Kayoko Shibata, actress, singer, and model
1981 - Jun Kaname, actor
1984 - Karina Nose, model and actress
1993 - Masaki Suda, actor
2000 - Yuto Miyazawa, guitarist

Deaths

1846 - Emperor Ninkō (b. 1800)
1986 - Shigechiyo Izumi (b. 1865), centenarian

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February 22

February 22:

Events

1875 - The public viewing of civil trials is allowed.
1942 – World War II: President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders General Douglas MacArthur out of the Philippines as American defenses collapse against the forces of Japan.
1950 - Restrictions on the purchase and sale of milk are lifted.
1971 - The New Tokyo International Airport Authority implements its first power of administrative subrogation in Narita, leading to clashes between the police and the airport opposition alliance.
1973 - Kiyoshi Ōkubo is sentenced to death for the kidnap and murder of 8 women.
1989 - Japan's largest Yayoi period fortified settlement is discovered at Yoshinogari in Saga Prefecture.
1989 - Ryuichi Sakamoto wins the Grammy for best original motion picture soundtrack.

Births

1935 - Hisako Kyōda, voice actress
1943 - Otoya Yamaguchi (d. 1960), assassin of Inejiro Asanuma
1948 - Harumi Miyako, singer
1961 - Akira Takasaki, guitarist, songwriter, and producer
1984 - Yuki Sato, actor
1990 - Cecil Kishimoto, model

Film and television

2014 - Girl's Blood, an erotic action film starring Yuria Haga, Asami Tada, Ayame Misaki, and Rina Koike

Edit February 22 anniversaries ‧ February 22 anniversaries on English Wikipedia ‧ February 22 anniversaries on Japanese Wikipedia

February 23

February 23:

Events

1929 - The "preaching burglar", Tsumatsu Matsukichi, is arrested in Tokyo for a series of robberies where he would enter someone's home, rob them and then scold them about crime prevention and the importance of locking doors.
1945 – World War II: During the Battle of Iwo Jima, a group of United States Marines and a commonly forgotten U.S. Navy Corpsman, reach the top of Mount Suribachi on the island and are photographed raising the American flag. The photo would later win a Pulitzer Prize and become the model for the national USMC War Memorial.
1945 – World War II: The capital of the Philippines, Manila, is liberated from Japanese forces by American forces.
1949 - Matsutarō Shōriki becomes Japan's first baseball commissioner.
1957 - Prime Minister Ishibashi Tanzan resigns as prime minister due to health reasons.
1977 - Japan successfully launches its first stationary satellite, the Kiku 2.
1981 - Pope John Paul II becomes the first pontiff to visit Japan.
1990 - Japan fails in an attempt to launch an NHK broadcast satellite (the BSX) and a private communications satellite (the Superbird B) on an Ariane 44L rocket.

Births

1646 - Tokugawa Tsunayoshi (d. 1709), shogun
1943 - Kin'ya Kitaōji, actor
1951 - Shigefumi Mori, mathematician
1953 - Satoru Nakajima, race car driver
1956 - Brother Tom, singer and entertainer
1960 - Naruhito, Crown Prince of Japan
1969 - Miyako Itō, voice actress
1970 - Shoko Aida, singer and actress
1971 - Ryohei Odai, actor and voice actor
1976 - Satoshi Yoneyama, wrestler
1978 - Yuka Motohashi, actress
1986 - Kazuya Kamenashi, singer-songwriter and actor
1993 - Kasumi Ishikawa, table tennis player

Deaths

1946 - Tomoyuki Yamashita (b. 1885), general

Edit February 23 anniversaries ‧ February 23 anniversaries on English Wikipedia ‧ February 23 anniversaries on Japanese Wikipedia

February 24

February 24:

Events

1873 - The Meiji government lifts the ban on Christianity.
1898 - Japan experiences its first railway strike, shutting down trains between Ueno and Aomori.
1906 - Japan's first socialist party, The Japan Socialist Party, holds its first party meeting.
1933 - Japan quits the League of Nations.
1942 - Battle of Los Angeles: a UFO flying over wartime Los Angeles causes a blackout order at 2:25 a.m. and attracts a barrage of anti-aircraft fire, ultimately killing 3 civilians.
1957 - A flight path crossing the north pole is opened and the first plane to make the flight leaves Haneda Airport destined for Copenhagen.
1973 - Three hundred sixty years of copper mining history come to a close with the closing of the Ashio Copper Mine.
1989 - Dignitaries from 163 nations come to Japan to pay their respects at Emperor Shōwa's funeral.
2007 - Japan launches its fourth spy satellite, stepping up its ability to monitor potential threats such as North Korea.

Births

1103 - Emperor Toba (d. 1156)
1964 - Takashi Nagasako, voice actor
1978 - Shinya, drummer and songwriter
1980 - Shinsuke Nakamura, wrestler and mixed martial artist
1987 - Mayuko Iwasa, entertainer and model
1987 - Chieko Ochi, singer, model and actress

Edit February 24 anniversaries ‧ February 24 anniversaries on English Wikipedia ‧ February 24 anniversaries on Japanese Wikipedia

February 25

February 25:

Events

1902 - Tokyo Gas Co. gets an exclusive license to begin selling gas powered rice cookers. It is around this time that gas begins to be used for heating in addition to lighting.
1947 - One hundred eighty four people are killed when a train on the Hachikō Line in Saitama jumps the tracks.
1969 - The Fuji Evening News (Yūkan Fuji) is launched.
1974 - The Budget Committee of the Lower House holds a hearing on consumer prices.
1983 - Sakai City in Osaka passes the nation's first ethics regulations.

Births

1923 - Takeo Kajiwara (d. 2009), Japanese Go player
1926 - Masatoshi Gündüz Ikeda (d. 2003), Japanese-Turkish mathematician and academic
1962 - Yasufumi Terawaki, actor
1975 - Chiemi Chiba, voice actress, singer, and model
1983 - Wataru Mori, actor
1984 - Wakana Matsumoto, actress
1989 - Kana Hanazawa, voice actress and singer

Deaths

1553 - Hirate Masahide (b. 1492), samurai

Edit February 25 anniversaries ‧ February 25 anniversaries on English Wikipedia ‧ February 25 anniversaries on Japanese Wikipedia

February 26

February 26:

Events

1936 - In the February 26 Incident, young Japanese military officers attempt to stage a coup against the government.
1951 - Japan's first blood bank is established in Osaka.
1964 - Japan's first "train jumper" commits suicide using a shinkansen (bullet train) that was undergoing a test run.
1968 - A fight breaks out with the police at a "Stop the Narita Airport" meeting.
1980 - The Maritime Self Defense Force participates in the Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC) for the first time.
1990 - The Nikkei falls more than 4% in one day.

Births

1911 - Tarō Okamoto (d. 1996), painter and sculptor
1924 - Noboru Takeshita (d. 2000), soldier and politician, 74th Prime Minister of Japan
1956 - Keisuke Kuwata, singer-songwriter and producer
1969 - Hitoshi Sakimoto, composer and producer
1981 - Kaori Yoneyama, wrestler
1985 - Miki Fujimoto, singer and actress
1986 - Crystal Kay, singer-songwriter and actress
1987 - Jin Hiramaki, actor, singer, and model
1992 - Ai Shinozaki, model and singer

Deaths

1936 - February 26 Incident:
- Saitō Makoto (b. 1858), admiral, Governor-General of Korea, 30th Prime Minister of Japan
- Takahashi Korekiyo (b. 1854), politician, 20th Prime Minister of Japan
- Jōtarō Watanabe (b. 1874), general

Edit February 26 anniversaries ‧ February 26 anniversaries on English Wikipedia ‧ February 26 anniversaries on Japanese Wikipedia

February 27

February 27:

Events

1870 - The rising sun design of Japan's national flag, initially established for use on merchant ships, is announced. (Traditional Japanese Date: Twenty-seventh Day of the First Month, 1870)
1933 - British playwright Bernard Shaw visits Japan.
1936 - Tokyo establishes martial law.
1942 – World War II: During the Battle of the Java Sea, an allied strike force is defeated by a Japanese task force in the Java Sea in the Dutch East Indies
1949 - Arsonists set fire to Matsuyama Castle.
1950 - The authority to grant the Sumō title of Yokozuna, or Grand Master, is transferred from the Yoshida family to the newly established Yokozuna Promotion Council.
1955 - NHK begins same-day election coverage with coverage of the Lower House elections.
1966 - The first "Consumer Price Mayday" is held with women holding placards saying things like "prices are so high I can't get married." According to 1965 statistics, the average salary of businessmen was 23,200 yen per month, the average total savings was 138,000 yen and leisure expenses cost an average of 3,000 yen per month.
1985 - Former Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka is hospitalized for a stroke.

Births

1895 - Miyagiyama Fukumatsu (d. 1943), sumo wrestler
1976 - Yukari Tamura, voice actress and singer
1989 - Shota Shimizu, singer-songwriter
1991 - Misako Renbutsu, actress

Deaths

1992 - S. I. Hayakawa (b. 1906), Japanese-Canadian-American linguist and politician
2004 - Yoshihiko Amino (b. 1928), historian and academic

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February 28

February 28:

Events

1754 - Yamawaki Tōyō becomes the first Japanese to perform experiments on people. (Traditional Japanese Date: Seventh Day of the Second Month, 1754)
1952 - The U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement is signed.
1953 - During a meeting of the Budget Committee of the Lower House, Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida responds to a question by Socialist Party member Eiichi Nishimura by yelling "bakayarō! (idiot!)". The prime minister later loses a vote of confidence on March 14 in what has come to be referred to as the bakayarō dissolution.
1957 - Japan's South Pole expeditionary ship the Sōya gets stuck in ice and is later rescued by a Russian ice cutter.
1964 - Fujio Fujiko's Obake no Q-tarō begins its run in the Weekly Sunday.
1972 - Police storm the Asama Mountain Resort where five members of the Japanese Red Army have taken a hostage, ending the Asama-Sanso incident. Two policemen are killed and 13 people are injured.
1982 - Ayako Okamoto wins the LPGA Arizona Copper Classic, the first Japanese woman to win the LPGA since Higuchi Hisako's win in 1977.