Events in History Relating to Japan
July 31, 781
The oldest recorded eruption of Mt. Fuji (Traditional Japanese date: July 6, 781).
October 22, 794
Emperor Kanmu relocates Japanese capital to Heiankyo (now Kyoto).
June 23, 1180
First Battle of Uji, starting the Genpei War in Japan
August 21, 1192
Minamoto Yoritomo becomes Seii Tai Shōgun and the de facto ruler of Japan. (Traditional Japanese date: July 12, 1192)
October 12, 1279
Nichiren, a Japanese Buddhist monk founder of Nichiren Buddhism, inscribes the Dai-Gohonzon
December 16, 1392
Nanboku-chō – Emperor Go-Kameyama abdicates in favor of rival claimant Go-Komatsu.
June 12, 1560
Battle of Okehazama: Oda Nobunaga defeats Imagawa Yoshimoto.
October 18, 1561
Fourth Battle of Kawanakajima – Takeda Shingen defeats Uesugi Kenshin in the climax of their ongoing conflicts.
June 17, 1565
Matsunaga Hisahide assassinates the 13th Ashikaga shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiteru.
January 25, 1573
Battle of Mikatagahara, in Japan; Takeda Shingen defeats Tokugawa Ieyasu.
June 21, 1582
The Incident at Honnō-ji takes place in Kyoto, Japan.
February 5, 1597
A group of early Japanese Christians are killed by the new government of Japan for being seen as a threat to Japanese society.
December 16, 1598
Seven Year War: Battle of Noryang Point – The final battle of the Seven Year War is fought between the Korean and Japanese navies, resulting in a decisive Korean victory.
October 21, 1600
Tokugawa Ieyasu defeats the leaders of rival Japanese clans in the Battle of Sekigahara, which marks the beginning of the Tokugawa shogunate, who in effect rule Japan until the mid-nineteenth century.
April 5, 1609
Daimyo (Lord) of the Satsuma Domain in southern Kyūshū, Japan, completes his successful invasion of the Ryūkyū Kingdom in Okinawa.
June 4, 1615
Siege of Osaka: Forces under the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu take Osaka Castle in Japan.
August 3, 1635
The third of the Tokugawa shoguns, Iemitsu, establishes the system of alternate attendance (sankin kotai) by which the feudal daimyō are required to spend one year at Edo Castle in Tokyo and one year back home at their feudal manor, while their families remained in Tokyo as virtual political hostages. (Traditional Japanese Date: June 21, 1635).
December 17, 1637
Shimabara Rebellion: Japanese peasants led by Amakusa Shiro rise against daimyo Matsukura Shigeharu.
December 14, 1702
to the old calendar; January 30, 1703 by the new calendar) – The Forty-seven Ronin, under the command of Ōishi Kuranosuke, avenge the death of their master.
February 4, 1703
In Edo (now Tokyo), 46 of the Forty-seven Ronin commit seppuku (ritual suicide) as recompense for avenging their master's death.
March 31, 1854
Commodore Matthew Perry signs the Treaty of Kanagawa with the Japanese government, opening the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to American trade.
August 4, 1854
The Hinomaru is established as the official flag to be flown from Japanese ships.
August 28, 1859
A geomagnetic storm causes the Aurora Borealis to shine so brightly that it is seen clearly over parts of USA, Europe, and even as far afield as Japan.
September 2, 1867
Mutsuhito, Emperor Meiji of Japan, marries Masako Ichijō. The Empress consort is thereafter known as Lady Haruko. Since her death in 1914, she's called by the posthumous name Empress Shōken.
October 14, 1867
The 15th and last Shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate resigns in Japan.
November 9, 1867
Tokugawa Shogunate hands power back to the Emperor of Japan, starting the Meiji Restoration.
January 3, 1868
Meiji Restoration in Japan: The Tokugawa shogunate is abolished; agents of Satsuma and Chōshū seize power.
May 14, 1868
Japanese Boshin War: end of the Battle of Utsunomiya Castle, former Shogunate forces withdraw northward to Aizu by way of Nikkō.
May 4, 1869
The Naval Battle of Hakodate takes place in Japan.
May 18, 1869
Surrender and dissolution of the Ezo Republic to Japan.
March 11, 1872
The Meiji Japanese government officially annexes the Ryukyu Kingdom into what would become the Okinawa prefecture.
August 22, 1875
The Treaty of Saint Petersburg between Japan and Russia is ratified, providing for the exchange of Sakhalin for the Kuril Islands.
March 31, 1877
The family with samurai antecedents that responded to the Saigo army in Ōita Nakatsu rebels.
September 24, 1877
Battle of Shiroyama, decisive victory of the Imperial Japanese Army over the Satsuma Rebellion
February 9, 1885
The first Japanese government-approved immigrants arrive in Hawaii.
February 11, 1889
Meiji constitution of Japan is adopted; the first Diet of Japan convenes in 1890.
September 23, 1889
Nintendo Koppai (Later Nintendo Company, Limited) is founded by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce and market the playing card game Hanafuda.
November 29, 1890
The Meiji Constitution goes into effect in Japan and the first Diet convenes.
August 25, 1894
Shibasaburo Kitasato discovers the infectious agent of the bubonic plague and publishes his findings in The Lancet.
September 17, 1894
The Battle of Yalu River, the largest naval engagement of the First Sino-Japanese War.
November 21, 1894
Port Arthur massacre: Port Arthur, Manchuria falls to the Japanese, a decisive victory of the First Sino-Japanese War.
October 8, 1895
Eulmi incident- Queen Min of Joseon, the last empress of Korea, is assassinated and her corpse burnt by the Japanese in Gyeongbok Palace.
October 15, 1904
The Russian Baltic Fleet leaves Reval, Estonia for Port Arthur during the Russo-Japanese War.
June 18, 1908
Japanese immigration to Brazil begins when 781 people arrive in Santos aboard the Kasato-Maru ship
August 16, 1913
Tōhoku Imperial University of Japan (modern day Tōhoku University) admits its first female students.
November 7, 1914
The German colony of Kiaochow Bay and its centre at Tsingtao are captured by Japanese forces.
December 15, 1914
A gas explosion at Mitsubishi Hojyo coal mine, Kyūshū, Japan, kills 687. This accident is the worst coal mine disaster in Japanese history.
July 12, 1918
The Japanese Imperial Navy battle ship Kawachi blows up at Shunan, western Honshu, Japan, killing at least 621.
May 4, 1919
May Fourth Movement: Student demonstrations take place in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, protesting the Treaty of Versailles, which transferred Chinese territory to Japan.
December 27, 1922
Japanese aircraft carrier Hōshō becomes the first purpose built aircraft carrier to be commissioned in the world.
December 27, 1923
Namba Daisuke, a Japanese student, tries to assassinate the Prince Regent Hirohito.
December 25, 1926
Emperor Taishō of Japan dies. His son, Prince Hirohito succeeds him as Emperor Shōwa.
December 30, 1927
The Ginza Line, the first subway line in Asia, opens in Tokyo, Japan.
November 10, 1928
Michinomiya Hirohito is crowned the 124th Emperor of Japan, Emperor Showa.
September 18, 1931
The Mukden Incident gives Japan the pretext to invade and occupy Manchuria.
February 18, 1932
The Empire of Japan declares Manzhouguo (the obsolete Chinese name for Manchuria) independent from the Republic of China.
May 15, 1932
The May 15 Incident: in an attempted Coup d'état, the Prime Minister of Japan Inukai Tsuyoshi is killed.
December 29, 1934
Japan renounces the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 and the London Naval Treaty of 1930.
December 8, 1935
The Japanese military police launches a violent suppression of the religious sect Oomoto, beginning with a crackdown on the sect's operational bases of Ayabe and Kameoka in Kyoto Prefecture and the arrest of its leader Onisaburo Deguchi.
February 26, 1936
In the February 26 Incident, young Japanese military officers attempt to stage a coup against the government.
May 21, 1936
Sada Abe is arrested after wandering the streets of Tokyo for days with her dead lover's severed genitals in her hand. Her story soon becomes one of Japan's most notorious scandals.
June 28, 1936
The Japanese puppet state of Mengjiang is formed in northern China.
April 9, 1937
The Kamikaze arrives at Croydon Airport in London – it is the first Japanese-built aircraft to fly to Europe.
December 12, 1937
Panay incident: Japanese aircraft bomb and sink US gunboat Panay on the Yangtze River in China.
December 13, 1937
Nanjing Massacre. Japanese troops begin carrying out several weeks of raping and killing of civilians and suspected Chinese resistance after the fall of Nanjing.
March 1, 1939
Japanese Imperial Army ammunition dump exploded at Hirakata, Osaka, Japan, killing 94.
March 17, 1939
Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945): The Battle of Nanchang between the Kuomintang and the Japanese breaks out.
January 29, 1940
Three trains on the Sakurajima Line, in Osaka, Japan, collide and explode while approaching Ajikawaguchi station. 181 people are killed.
March 30, 1940
Sino-Japanese War: Japan declares Nanking to be the capital of a new Chinese puppet government, nominally controlled by Wang Ching-wei.
May 7, 1942
During the Battle of the Coral Sea, United States Navy aircraft carrier aircraft attack and sink the Japanese Imperial Navy light aircraft carrier Shōhō. The battle marks the first time in the naval history that two enemy fleets fight without visual contact between warring ships.
September 27, 1942
Last day of the September Matanikau action on Guadalcanal as United States Marine Corps troops barely escape after being surrounded by Japanese forces near the Matanikau River.
October 9, 1942
The last day of the October Matanikau action on Guadalcanal as United States Marine Corps forces withdraw back across the Matanikau River after destroying most of the Imperial Japanese Army's 4th Infantry Regiment.
October 23, 1942
The Battle for Henderson Field begins during the Guadalcanal Campaign and ends on October 26.
December 15, 1942
The Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse begins during the Guadalcanal campaign.
February 7, 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.
May 14, 1943
A Japanese submarine sinks AHS Centaur off the coast of Queensland.
October 20, 1944
General Douglas MacArthur fulfills his promise to return to the Philippines when he commands an Allied assault on the islands, reclaiming them from the Japanese during the Second World War.
October 21, 1944
The first kamikaze attack: HMAS Australia is hit by a Japanese plane carrying a 200 kg (441 pound) bomb off Leyte Island, as the Battle of Leyte Gulf began.
October 25, 1944
Battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval battle in history, takes place in and around the Philippines between the Imperial Japanese Navy and the U.S. Third and U.S. Seventh Fleets.
November 7, 1944
Soviet spy Richard Sorge, a half-Russian, half-German World War I veteran, is hanged by his Japanese captors along with 34 of his ring.
March 10, 1945
The Army Air Force firebombs Tokyo, and the resulting firestorm kills more than 100,000 people, mostly civilians.
September 5, 1945
Iva Toguri D'Aquino, a Japanese-American suspected of being wartime radio propagandist Tokyo Rose, is arrested in Yokohama.
September 7, 1945
Japanese forces on Wake Island, which they had held since December of 1941, surrender to U.S. Marines.
December 15, 1945
Occupation of Japan: General Douglas MacArthur orders that Shinto be abolished as state religion of Japan.
January 19, 1946
General Douglas MacArthur establishes the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in Tokyo to try Japanese war criminals.
April 3, 1946
Japanese Lt. General Masaharu Homma is executed in the Philippines for leading the Bataan Death March.
April 29, 1946
Former Prime Minister of Japan Hideki Tojo and 28 former Japanese leaders are indicted for war crimes.
May 7, 1946
Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering (later renamed Sony) is founded with around 20 employees.
September 16, 1947
Typhoon Kathleen hit Saitama, Tokyo and Tone River area, at least 1,930 killed.
December 23, 1948
Seven Japanese convicted of war crimes by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East are executed at Sugamo Prison in Tokyo.
March 20, 1951
Fujiyoshida, a city located in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan, in the center of the Japanese main island of Honshū is founded.
March 20, 1952
The United States Senate ratifies a peace treaty with Japan.
April 28, 1952
Occupied Japan: The United States occupation of Japan ends.
June 18, 1953
A United States Air Force C-124 crashes and burns near Tokyo, Japan killing 129.
September 26, 1954
Japanese rail ferry Toya Maru sinks during a typhoon in the Tsugaru Strait, Japan killing 1,172.
August 7, 1955
Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering, the precursor to Sony, begins selling its first transistor radios in Japan.
January 1, 1956
A new year event causes panic and stampedes at Yahiko Shrine, Yahiko, central Niigata, Japan, killing at least 124 people.
May 1, 1956
A doctor in Japan reports an "epidemic of an unknown disease of the central nervous system", marking the official discovery of Minamata disease.
January 26, 1958
Japanese ferry Nankai Maru capsizes off southern Awaji Island, Japan, 167 killed.
December 23, 1958
Dedication of Tokyo Tower, world's highest self-supporting iron tower.
June 30, 1959
A United States Air Force F-100 Super Sabre from Kadena Air Base, Okinawa crashes into a nearby elementary school, killing 11 students plus six residents from the local neighborhood.
September 27, 1959
Nearly 5000 people die on the main Japanese island of Honshū as the result of a typhoon.
October 12, 1960
Inejiro Asanuma is assassinated in Japan by Otoya Yamaguchi, a 17-year-old. The camera is rolling at that time.
November 9, 1963
At Miike coal mine, Miike, Japan, an explosion kills 458, and hospitalises 839 with carbon monoxide poisoning. Also, in Japan, a three-train disaster occurs in Yokohama, kills more than 160 people.
October 1, 1964
Japanese Shinkansen ("bullet trains") begin high-speed rail service from Tokyo to Osaka.
February 4, 1966
All Nippon Airways Boeing 727 jet plunges into Tokyo Bay, killing 133.
March 4, 1966
Canadian Pacific Air Lines DC-8-43 explodes on landing at Tokyo International Airport, killing 64 people.
December 10, 1968
Japan's biggest heist, the still-unsolved "300 million yen robbery", is carried out in Tokyo.
November 21, 1969
U.S. President Richard Nixon and Japanese Premier Eisaku Sato agree in Washington, D.C. on the return of Okinawa to Japanese control in 1972. Under the terms of the agreement, the U.S. is to retain its rights to bases on the island, but these are to be nuclear-free.
November 25, 1970
In Japan, author Yukio Mishima and one compatriot commit ritualistic suicide after an unsuccessful coup attempt.
July 30, 1971
An All Nippon Airways Boeing 727 and a Japanese Air Force F-86 collide over Morioka, Japan killing 162.
May 13, 1972
Faulty electrical wiring ignites a fire underneath the Playtown Cabaret in Osaka, Japan. Blocked exits and non-functional elevators cause 118 fatalities, with many victims leaping to their deaths.
May 15, 1972
The island of Okinawa, under U.S. military governance since its conquest in 1945, reverts to Japanese control.
May 30, 1972
In Tel Aviv members of the Japanese Red Army carry out the Lod Airport Massacre, killing 24 people and injuring 78 others.
March 18, 1974
Oil embargo crisis: Most OPEC nations end a five-month oil embargo against the United States, Europe and Japan.
May 4, 1974
An all-female Japanese team reaches the summit of Manaslu, becoming the first women to climb an 8,000-meter peak.
August 30, 1974
Powerful bomb explodes at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries headquarters in Marunouchi, Tokyo, Japan. 8 killed, 378 injured. Eight left-wing activists are arrested on May 19, 1975 by Japanese authorities.
May 16, 1975
Junko Tabei becomes the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
July 27, 1976
Former Japanese prime minister Kakuei Tanaka is arrested on suspicion of violating foreign exchange and foreign trade laws in connection with the Lockheed bribery scandals.
January 19, 1977
President Gerald Ford pardons Iva Toguri D'Aquino (a.k.a. "Tokyo Rose").
May 1, 1978
Japan's Naomi Uemura, travelling by dog sled, becomes the first person to reach the North Pole alone.
July 30, 1978
The 730 (transport), Okinawa changes its traffic on the right-hand side of the road to the left-hand side.
October 31, 1979
L. Lawliet, the character from the popular Manga / Anime, is born.
May 22, 1980
Namco releases the highly influential video game Pacman.
August 18, 1982
Japanese election law is amended to allow for proportional representation.
October 1, 1982
Sony launches the first consumer compact disc player (model CDP-101).
January 27, 1983
Pilot shaft of the Seikan Tunnel, the world's longest sub-aqueous tunnel (53.85 km) between the Japanese islands of Honshū and Hokkaidō, breaks through.
October 12, 1983
Japan's former Prime Minister Tanaka Kakuei is found guilty of taking a $2 million bribe from Lockheed and is sentenced to 4 years in jail.
August 25, 1989
Mayumi Moriyama becomes Japan's first female cabinet secretary.
November 12, 1990
Crown Prince Akihito is formally installed as Emperor Akihito of Japan, becoming the 125th Japanese monarch.
November 17, 1990
Fugendake, part of the Mount Unzen volcanic complex, Nagasaki prefecture, Japan becomes active again and erupts.
June 3, 1991
Mount Unzen erupts in Kyūshū, Japan, killing 43 people, all of them either researchers or journalists.
August 6, 1991
Doi Takako, chair of the Social Democratic Party (Japan), becomes Japan's first female speaker of the House of Representatives.
October 23, 1992
Emperor Akihito becomes the first Emperor of Japan to stand on Chinese soil.
August 9, 1993
The Liberal Democratic Party of Japan loses a 38-year hold on national leadership.
June 28, 1994
Members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult release sarin gas attack at Matsumoto, Japan, 7 persons killed, 660 injured.
March 20, 1995
A sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway kills 12 and wounds 1,300 persons.
January 30, 1996
Comet Hyakutake is discovered by Japanese amateur astronomer Yuji Hyakutake.
April 22, 1997
The Japanese embassy hostage crisis ends in Lima, Peru.
April 5, 1998
In Japan, the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge linking Shikoku with Honshū and costing about $3.8 billion USD, opens to traffic, becoming the largest suspension bridge in the world.
May 13, 1998
India carries out two nuclear tests at Pokhran, following the three conducted on May 11. The United States and Japan impose economic sanctions on India.
May 28, 1998
Nuclear testing: Pakistan responds to a series of nuclear tests by India with five of its own, prompting the United States, Japan, and other nations to impose economic sanctions.
September 30, 1999
Japan's worst nuclear accident at a uranium reprocessing facility in Tōkai-mura, northeast of Tokyo.
February 9, 2001
The American submarine USS Greeneville (SSN-772) accidentally strikes and sinks the Ehime-Maru, a Japanese training vessel operated by the Uwajima Fishery High School.
June 8, 2001
Mamoru Takuma stabs 8 elementary school pupils to death during the Osaka school massacre.
September 30, 2004
The first images of a live giant squid in its natural habitat are taken 600 miles south of Tokyo.
December 4, 2006
An adult giant squid is caught on video by Kubodera near the Ogasawara Islands, 1,000 km (620 miles) south of Tokyo.
January 21, 2007
Awashima Marine Park in Japan catches a video tape of the rare frilled shark.
February 24, 2007
Japan launches its fourth spy satellite, stepping up its ability to monitor potential threats such as North Korea.
September 12, 2007
Shinzo Abe announces his intention to resign as Prime Minister of Japan.
April 20, 2008
Danica Patrick wins the Indy Japan 300 becoming the first female driver in history to win an Indy car race.
June 8, 2008
The Akihabara massacre takes place in the Akihabara shopping quarter in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Tomohiro Katō drives a two-ton truck into a crowded pedestrianised area before leaving the truck and attacking people with a knife, killing seven and injuring ten.
April 5, 2009
North Korea launches its controversial Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 rocket. The satellite passed over mainland Japan, which prompted an immediate reaction from the United Nations Security Council, as well as participating states of Six-party talks.
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