Timeline — the country japan

A chronological index of dated events drawn from the knowledge base. Regenerated from the dated facts in each topic file.

| Date | Item | Category | Link | |——|——|———-|——| | c. 552 CE | Buddhism traditionally introduced to Japan from Baekje (Korea) | Culture & Society | Buddhist Schools & Traditions | | 604 CE | Prince Shōtoku’s Seventeen-Article Constitution enjoins reverence for the Buddhist “Three Treasures” | Culture & Society | Buddhist Schools & Traditions | | c. 690 CE | Ise Grand Shrine 20-year rebuilding cycle (shikinen sengū) begins | Culture & Society | Shinto Religion | | 701 CE | Taihō Code promulgated — Japan’s first complete ritsuryō legal compilation | History | Nara Period | | 710-04-13 | Empress Genmei moves the capital to Heijō-kyō (Nara), beginning the Nara period | History | Nara Period | | 710–794 | Nara period — Japan’s first permanent capital and Chinese-style ritsuryō state | History | Nara Period | | 711 CE | Fushimi Inari-taisha founded | Culture & Society | Shinto Religion | | 712 CE | Kojiki completed | Culture & Society | Shinto Religion | | 720 CE | Nihon Shoki completed | Culture & Society | Shinto Religion | | 752 CE | Tōdai-ji’s bronze Great Buddha (Vairocana) consecrated, the apex of Nara Kegon Buddhism | Culture & Society | Buddhist Schools & Traditions | | c. 759 CE | Man’yōshū, Japan’s oldest extant poetry anthology, compiled | Culture & Society | Haiku & Poetry | | 774 CE | Kūkai (Kōbo Daishi), founder of Shingon Buddhism and patron of the Shikoku pilgrimage, born in Sanuki Province | Geography | Shikoku | | 794-11-08 | Emperor Kanmu moves the capital to Heian-kyō (Kyoto) | Geography | Kyoto | | 794–1185 | Heian period — classical era of Fujiwara regency, court culture, and the kana literary flowering | History | Heian Period | | 805 CE | Saichō returns from China and founds the Tendai school on Mount Hiei | Culture & Society | Buddhist Schools & Traditions | | 816 CE | Kūkai establishes the Shingon headquarters on Mount Kōya | Culture & Society | Buddhist Schools & Traditions | | 835 CE | Kūkai enters eternal meditation (nyūjō) at Mount Kōya, according to Shingon tradition | Geography | Shikoku | | 858 | Fujiwara no Yoshifusa becomes the first non-imperial regent (sesshō) | History | Heian Period | | 864–866 | Jōgan eruption of Mount Fuji sends lava flows across the northern flank | Geography | Mount Fuji | | 894 | Kentōshi embassies to Tang China suspended, spurring native cultural forms | History | Heian Period | | 905 | Kokinshū imperial poetry anthology compiled | History | Heian Period | | 921 | Kūkai posthumously granted the title Kōbo Daishi by Emperor Daigo | Geography | Shikoku | | 939 | Taira no Masakado rebels against the court in eastern Japan | History | Heian Period | | c. 973 CE | Murasaki Shikibu born in Heian-kyō (Kyoto) | People | Murasaki Shikibu | | c. 1008 | Murasaki Shikibu enters Empress Shōshi’s court and begins her diary | People | Murasaki Shikibu | | c. 1008–1021 | The Tale of Genji composed and circulated at court | People | Murasaki Shikibu | | c. 1014 | Murasaki Shikibu dies (date uncertain) | People | Murasaki Shikibu | | 1018 | Fujiwara no Michinaga’s “full moon” poem marks the apex of Fujiwara regency power | History | Heian Period | | 1052 | Mappō, the “Latter Days of the Dharma,” traditionally begins, spurring Pure Land devotion | Culture & Society | Buddhist Schools & Traditions | | 1053 | Byōdō-in Phoenix Hall completed at Uji | Geography | Kyoto | | 1086 | Emperor Shirakawa begins insei (cloistered rule), bypassing the Fujiwara | History | Heian Period | | 1147-05-09 | Minamoto no Yoritomo, founder of the Kamakura shogunate, born (traditional date) | People | Minamoto no Yoritomo | | 1156 | Hōgen Rebellion — samurai settle an imperial succession dispute by force | History | Heian Period | | 1160 | Heiji Rebellion elevates Taira no Kiyomori | History | Heian Period | | 1167 | Taira no Kiyomori becomes Grand Minister (Daijō-daijin), first warrior to rule the court | History | Heian Period | | c. 1168 | Taira no Kiyomori develops the Fukuhara (Ōwada-no-tomari) harbor at modern Kobe for trade with Song China | Geography | Kobe | | 1180–1185 | Genpei War — the Minamoto–Taira civil war that ended Heian court dominance and inaugurated samurai rule | History | Genpei War | | 1180 | Minamoto no Yoritomo raises the Minamoto banner in Izu and, after the defeat at Ishibashiyama, consolidates the Kantō from Kamakura | People | Minamoto no Yoritomo | | 1183-06-02 | Battle of Kurikara — Minamoto no Yoshinaka routs the Taira and forces their evacuation of Kyoto | History | Genpei War | | 1184-02-07 | Battle of Ichi-no-Tani — Yoshitsune’s cliff-descent charge breaks the Taira position | History | Genpei War | | 1185-03-22 | Battle of Yashima — the Taira are driven from their Shikoku stronghold | History | Genpei War | | 1185-04-25 | Battle of Dan-no-Ura ends the Genpei War; the Taira clan and the child Emperor Antoku perish | History | Genpei War | | 1185–1333 | Kamakura period — Japan’s first warrior government, the Hōjō regency, and the Mongol invasions | History | Kamakura Period | | 1189-06-15 | Minamoto no Yoshitsune, hunted by Yoritomo, dies at Koromogawa in Ōshū | History | Genpei War | | 1192 | Minamoto no Yoritomo appointed sei-i taishōgun, founding the Kamakura shogunate | People | Minamoto no Yoritomo | | 1198 | Hōnen’s Senchaku Hongan Nembutsu Shū systematizes the exclusive nenbutsu of Pure Land Buddhism | Culture & Society | Buddhist Schools & Traditions | | 1199-02-09 | Minamoto no Yoritomo dies at Kamakura; power soon passes to the Hōjō shikken regents | People | Minamoto no Yoritomo | | 1232 | Hōjō Yasutoki promulgates the Jōei Shikimoku, Japan’s first warrior legal code | History | Kamakura Period | | 1253-04-28 | Nichiren first proclaims the daimoku at Seichō-ji, founding Nichiren Buddhism | Culture & Society | Buddhist Schools & Traditions | | 1274 | First Mongol invasion repulsed at Hakata Bay | History | Kamakura Period | | 1281 | Second Mongol invasion destroyed by the kamikaze (“divine wind”) typhoon | History | Kamakura Period | | 1305-08-18 | Ashikaga Takauji, founder of the Muromachi shogunate, born in Shimotsuke Province | People | Ashikaga Takauji | | 1333 | Kamakura shogunate falls; the Hōjō regency ends and the Kenmu Restoration begins | History | Kamakura Period | | 1336 | Ashikaga Takauji wins the Battle of Minatogawa, installs the Northern Court, and issues the Kenmu Shikimoku governing code | People | Ashikaga Takauji | | 1336–1392 | Nanboku-chō era — rival Northern and Southern Courts contest imperial legitimacy | People | Ashikaga Takauji | | 1338 | Ashikaga Takauji appointed sei-i taishōgun, founding the Muromachi shogunate | People | Ashikaga Takauji | | 1358-06-07 | Ashikaga Takauji dies in Kyoto; succeeded by his son Yoshiakira | People | Ashikaga Takauji | | c. 1374 | Kan’ami performs Noh at Imagumano before Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, winning shogunal patronage | Culture & Society | Noh Theater | | 1397 | Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion) built by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu | Geography | Kyoto | | c. 1400 | Tea ceremony tradition emerges from Zen monastic practice and Chinese influence | Culture & Society | Tea Ceremony | | c. 1400–1418 | Zeami composes Fūshi Kaden, the first systematic treatise on performance | Culture & Society | Noh Theater | | 1429 | Ryukyu Kingdom founded | Geography | Major Islands | | 1434 | Zeami exiled to Sado Island by Shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori | Culture & Society | Noh Theater | | 1443 | Zeami Motokiyo, codifier of Noh, dies | Culture & Society | Noh Theater | | 1450 | Hosokawa Katsumoto founds Ryōan-ji as a Rinzai Zen monastery in Kyoto | Culture & Society | Ryoan-ji Temple | | 1467–1615 | Sengoku period — 148 years of civil warfare, daimyo fragmentation, and military innovation | History | Sengoku Period | | 1467–1477 | Ōnin War devastates Kyoto, gutting the central city | Geography | Kyoto | | 1482 | Ginkaku-ji (Silver Pavilion) built by Ashikaga Yoshimasa | Geography | Kyoto | | c. 1490–1513 | Ryōan-ji’s karesansui rock garden created during Hosokawa Masamoto’s post-Ōnin reconstruction | Culture & Society | Ryoan-ji Temple | | c. 1502–1555 | Takeno Jōō refines tea ceremony aesthetics and philosophy (wabi-sabi principle) | Culture & Society | Tea Ceremony | | 1522–1591 | Sen no Rikyū, master tea practitioner, shapes tea ceremony philosophy and aesthetics | Culture & Society | Tea Ceremony | | 1543-01-31 | Tokugawa Ieyasu born at Okazaki Castle, Mikawa Province | People | Tokugawa Ieyasu | | 1543 | Portuguese traders arrive at Tanegashima; firearms introduced to Japan | History | Sengoku Period | | 1549 | Francis Xavier arrives at Kagoshima, introducing Christianity | Geography | Major Islands | | 1560-06-12 | Battle of Okehazama frees the young Ieyasu from Imagawa vassalage | People | Tokugawa Ieyasu | | 1568–1603 | Azuchi-Momoyama period — political unification under Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu | History | Azuchi-Momoyama Period | | 1571 | Oda Nobunaga destroys the Enryaku-ji temple complex on Mount Hiei | History | Azuchi-Momoyama Period | | 1575-06-28 | Battle of Nagashino — Nobunaga’s massed arquebus volleys break the Takeda cavalry | History | Azuchi-Momoyama Period | | 1582-06-21 | Oda Nobunaga forced to commit suicide at Honnō-ji temple, Kyoto, by Akechi Mitsuhide | History | Azuchi-Momoyama Period | | 1583 | Toyotomi Hideyoshi begins building Osaka Castle on the Ishiyama Hongan-ji site | Geography | Osaka | | 1585 | Chōsokabe Motochika unifies Shikoku, then submits to Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s invasion | Geography | Shikoku | | 1587 | Hideyoshi issues the Bateren Expulsion Edict against Jesuit missionaries | History | Azuchi-Momoyama Period | | 1588 | Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s Sword Hunt Edict disarms the peasantry | History | Azuchi-Momoyama Period | | 1590 | Hideyoshi completes the unification of Japan with the siege of Odawara | History | Azuchi-Momoyama Period | | 1592–1598 | Hideyoshi’s two invasions of Korea (the Bunroku and Keichō campaigns) end in failure | History | Azuchi-Momoyama Period | | 1598-09-18 | Toyotomi Hideyoshi dies; Japanese forces withdraw from Korea | History | Azuchi-Momoyama Period | | 1600 | Battle of Sekigahara establishes Tokugawa supremacy | Culture & Society | Samurai & Bushido | | 1600-10-21 | Ieyasu’s eastern coalition wins the decisive Battle of Sekigahara | People | Tokugawa Ieyasu | | 1603 | Tokugawa Ieyasu establishes Edo as the shogunal capital | Geography | Tokyo | | 1603-03-24 | Tokugawa Ieyasu appointed shogun; the Edo shogunate is founded | History | Edo Period | | c. 1603 | Izumo no Okuni performs the first Kabuki in Kyoto’s riverbed | Culture & Society | Edo Culture & Arts | | 1605 | Ieyasu cedes the shogunate to his son Hidetada, fixing Tokugawa hereditary rule | People | Tokugawa Ieyasu | | 1609 | Satsuma domain annexes the Ryukyu Kingdom | Geography | Major Islands | | 1615 | Siege of Osaka; Buke Shohatto (Laws for Military Houses) issued | Culture & Society | Samurai & Bushido | | 1614–1615 | Winter and Summer Campaigns of Osaka end the Toyotomi line; Osaka becomes a Tokugawa domain | Geography | Osaka | | 1616-06-01 | Tokugawa Ieyasu dies at Sunpu; later deified as Tōshō Daigongen at Nikkō | People | Tokugawa Ieyasu | | 1618 | Kita school founded under Tokugawa patronage — the fifth Noh school | Culture & Society | Noh Theater | | 1629 | Women banned from the Kabuki stage; onnagata tradition emerges | Culture & Society | Edo Culture & Arts | | 1635 | Sankin-kōtai (alternate attendance) system formalized under Iemitsu | History | Edo Period | | 1637–1638 | Shimabara Rebellion suppressed | History | Edo Period | | 1639 | Portuguese traders expelled, consolidating the sakoku isolation policy | History | Edo Period | | 1641 | Dutch East India Company confined to Dejima, Nagasaki | Geography | Major Islands | | 1644 | Matsuo Bashō, the supreme haiku master, born in Iga Province | Culture & Society | Haiku & Poetry | | 1654 | The Chinese monk Ingen (Yinyuan) arrives, founding the Ōbaku school of Zen | Culture & Society | Buddhist Schools & Traditions | | 1657-01 | Great Meireki Fire destroys much of Edo | History | Edo Period | | c. 1680s | Hishikawa Moronobu establishes single-sheet ukiyo-e printmaking in Edo | Culture & Society | Ukiyo-e Woodblock Prints | | 1682 | Ihara Saikaku’s The Life of an Amorous Man launches ukiyo-zōshi fiction | Culture & Society | Edo Culture & Arts | | 1686 | Bashō composes the “old pond” (furuike ya) haiku, the tradition’s most celebrated verse | Culture & Society | Haiku & Poetry | | 1689 | Matsuo Bashō undertakes the journey that becomes Oku no Hosomichi (The Narrow Road to the Deep North) | Culture & Society | Haiku & Poetry | | 1694-11-28 | Matsuo Bashō dies in Osaka, having finalized Oku no Hosomichi | Culture & Society | Haiku & Poetry | | 1697 | Dōjima Rice Exchange founded in Osaka — the first organized futures market | Geography | Osaka | | 1703 | Chikamatsu’s The Love Suicides at Sonezaki premieres | Culture & Society | Edo Culture & Arts | | 1707-10-28 | Hōei earthquake (M~8.6) strikes offshore, 49 days before Fuji erupts | Geography | Mount Fuji | | 1707-12-16 | Hōei eruption — the last and largest eruption of Mount Fuji in recorded history | Geography | Mount Fuji | | 1709–1716 | Hagakure dictated by Yamamoto Tsunetomo | Culture & Society | Samurai & Bushido | | 1721 | Edo census records a population of roughly 1.1 million | History | Edo Period | | 1748 | Kanadehon Chūshingura (Treasury of Loyal Retainers) first staged | Culture & Society | Edo Culture & Arts | | 1760-10-31 | Katsushika Hokusai born in Edo | People | Katsushika Hokusai | | c. 1765 | Suzuki Harunobu develops full-color nishiki-e woodblock prints | Culture & Society | Edo Culture & Arts | | 1792 | Shimabara catastrophe (Mount Unzen collapse and mega-tsunami) | Geography | Major Islands | | 1794–1795 | Tōshūsai Sharaku produces his ~145 kabuki-actor portraits over roughly ten months | Culture & Society | Ukiyo-e Woodblock Prints | | 1814 | First volume of the Hokusai Manga published | People | Katsushika Hokusai | | 1830-06-20 | Yoshida Shoin, teacher of the Meiji Restoration leaders, born in Hagi, Chōshū | People | Yoshida Shoin | | 1830–1832 | Hokusai’s Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji published | Culture & Society | Edo Culture & Arts | | 1833–1834 | Hiroshige’s Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō published | Culture & Society | Edo Culture & Arts | | 1849-05-09 | Ichijō Haruko, the future Empress Shōken (Empress Consort Meiji), born in Kyoto | People | Empress Meiji | | 1849-05-10 | Katsushika Hokusai dies in Edo | People | Katsushika Hokusai | | 1852-11-03 | Emperor Meiji (Mutsuhito) born at the Kyoto Imperial Palace | People | Emperor Meiji | | 1853 | Commodore Perry’s “Black Ships” arrive at Uraga Bay | History | Meiji Restoration | | 1854 | Convention of Kanagawa opens Japanese ports | History | Meiji Restoration | | 1857 | Yoshida Shoin opens the Shōka Sonjuku academy in Hagi, training future Meiji leaders | People | Yoshida Shoin | | 1858-07-29 | Harris Treaty (Treaty of Amity and Commerce) signed | History | Edo Period | | 1859-11-21 | Yoshida Shoin executed in Edo during the Ansei Purge, age 29 | People | Yoshida Shoin | | 1862-09-01 | Nitobe Inazō, author and future League of Nations official, born in Morioka | People | Nitobe Inazō | | 1867-01-30 | Emperor Kōmei dies; the young Mutsuhito succeeds to the throne | People | Emperor Meiji | | 1867-11-09 | Taisei hōkan: Tokugawa Yoshinobu returns governing power to the emperor | History | Edo Period | | 1867-12-10 | Sakamoto Ryōma, Tosa architect of the Satchō Alliance, assassinated in Kyoto | Geography | Shikoku | | 1868-01-01 | Port of Hyōgo (Kobe) opens to foreign trade as a treaty port | Geography | Kobe | | 1868-01-03 | Meiji Restoration proclaimed; imperial rule restored | History | Meiji Restoration | | 1868-01 | Shinbutsu bunri decree separates Shinto from Buddhism | Culture & Society | Shinto Religion | | 1868-04-06 | Five Charter Oath sworn | History | Meiji Restoration | | 1868-09-03 | Edo renamed Tokyo (Eastern Capital) | Geography | Tokyo | | 1869-02-09 | Ichijō Haruko elevated as empress consort (Kōgō) of Emperor Meiji | People | Empress Meiji | | 1869 | Ezo renamed Hokkaido; the Development Commission (Kaitakushi) begins colonization | Geography | Hokkaido | | 1871 | Abolition of the domain system (haihan chiken); Iwakura Mission departs | History | Meiji Restoration | | 1871 | Yen introduced as Japan’s national currency | Economy | Bank of Japan | | 1872-10-14 | Japan’s first railway (Shimbashi–Yokohama) formally opens | History | Meiji Restoration | | 1873 | Conscription Ordinance and Land Tax Reform enacted | History | Meiji Restoration | | 1874-05-11 | Osaka–Kobe Railway opens, Japan’s second modern rail line | Geography | Kobe | | 1876 | Haitorei edict bans the wearing of swords; samurai stipends abolished | Culture & Society | Samurai & Bushido | | 1876 | Sapporo Agricultural College founded; William S. Clark introduces American agronomy | Geography | Hokkaido | | 1877 | Satsuma Rebellion led by Saigō Takamori | History | Meiji Restoration | | 1877-09-24 | Battle of Shiroyama ends the Satsuma Rebellion; Saigō Takamori dies at Kagoshima | Geography | Kyushu | | 1878-05 | Tokyo Stock Exchange established under the Meiji government | Economy | Japanese Financial System | | 1879 | Ryukyu Kingdom incorporated as Okinawa Prefecture | Geography | Major Islands | | 1882 | Osaka Cotton Spinning Company founded — Japan’s first large-scale mechanized textile mill | Geography | Osaka | | 1882-02 | Jigorō Kanō founds judo and the Kōdōkan in Tokyo | Culture & Society | Martial Arts & Budo | | 1882-10-10 | Bank of Japan established | Economy | Bank of Japan | | 1889-02-11 | Meiji Constitution promulgated | History | Meiji Restoration | | 1890 | Imperial Rescript on Education issued | History | Meiji Restoration | | 1894–1895 | First Sino-Japanese War; Treaty of Shimonoseki | History | Meiji Restoration | | 1897 | Masaoka Shiki’s circle founds Hototogisu; his shasei (“sketch from life”) reform modernizes haiku | Culture & Society | Haiku & Poetry | | 1897-11-25 | Japan’s first public film screenings held in Tokyo and Osaka | Culture & Society | Modern Cinema & Anime | | 1898 | Meiji Civil Code codifies the patriarchal ie household system | Culture & Society | Women in Japanese Society | | 1899 | Former Natives Protection Act assimilates the Ainu and strips their land and fishing rights | Geography | Hokkaido | | 1900 | Nitobe Inazō publishes Bushido: The Soul of Japan in Philadelphia | People | Nitobe Inazō | | 1901 | Imperial Yawata Steel Works begins operation in northern Kyushu | Geography | Kyushu | | 1901-04-29 | Hirohito (Emperor Showa) born in Tokyo | People | Hirohito | | 1902-01-30 | Anglo-Japanese Alliance signed, securing Japan against third-party intervention | History | Russo-Japanese War | | 1903 | Fifth National Industrial Exposition held at Osaka’s Tennōji Park | Geography | Osaka | | 1904-02-08 | Japan’s surprise attack on Port Arthur opens the Russo-Japanese War | History | Russo-Japanese War | | 1905-01-02 | Port Arthur surrenders after a costly Japanese siege | History | Russo-Japanese War | | 1905-02-20 – 03-10 | Battle of Mukden, the largest land battle of the war | History | Russo-Japanese War | | 1905-05-27 – 05-28 | Battle of Tsushima annihilates the Russian Baltic Fleet | History | Russo-Japanese War | | 1905-09-05 | Treaty of Portsmouth ends the war; Hibiya riots protest the indemnity-free peace | History | Russo-Japanese War | | 1910-08-22 | Annexation of Korea | History | Meiji Restoration | | 1911-09 | Hiratsuka Raichō founds Seitō (Bluestocking), launching the Taishō women’s movement | Culture & Society | Women in Japanese Society | | 1912-07-30 | Death of Emperor Meiji ends the Meiji era | People | Emperor Meiji | | 1912-07-30 – 1926-12-25 | Taishō period — party government, “Taishō democracy,” mass culture, and the drift toward militarism | History | Taishō Period | | 1914-01 | Sakurajima’s great eruption joins the volcano to Kyushu’s Ōsumi Peninsula by lava flow | Geography | Kyushu | | 1914-04-09 | Empress Shōken (Empress Consort Meiji) dies at the Numazu Imperial Villa | People | Empress Meiji | | 1918-08 | Rice Riots (Kome Sōdō) — over 700,000 protest surging rice prices nationwide | History | Taishō Period | | 1920 | Nitobe Inazō appointed Under-Secretary-General of the newly founded League of Nations | People | Nitobe Inazō | | 1920-11 | Meiji Jingū completed in Tokyo | Culture & Society | Shinto Religion | | 1921 | Hirohito becomes the first Japanese crown prince to travel abroad (Europe) | People | Hirohito | | 1921-11-04 | Prime Minister Hara Takashi assassinated at Tokyo Station | History | Taishō Period | | 1922 | Ban on women’s political participation (1900 Public Peace Police Law, Art. 5) partially lifted | Culture & Society | Women in Japanese Society | | 1922-05 | Gichin Funakoshi gives the first mainland demonstration of Okinawan karate in Tokyo | Culture & Society | Martial Arts & Budo | | 1923-09-01 | Great Kantō Earthquake devastates Tokyo and Yokohama, killing ~142,000 | History | Taishō Period | | 1923-12-27 | Toranomon Incident (assassination attempt on Regent Hirohito) | People | Hirohito | | 1925-01-14 | Yukio Mishima (Kimitake Hiraoka), author and nationalist, born in Tokyo | People | Yukio Mishima | | 1925 | Universal Manhood Suffrage Act extends the vote to all men over 25 | Government & Politics | Diet of Japan | | 1925 | Peace Preservation Law (Chian Ijihō) criminalizes challenges to the kokutai | History | Taishō Period | | 1926-12-25 | Hirohito accedes to the Chrysanthemum Throne | People | Hirohito | | 1927-01-01 | Showa era name formally proclaimed | People | Hirohito | | 1927 | Bank Panic of 1927 (Shōwa financial crisis) | Economy | Bank of Japan | | 1931-09-18 | Manchurian (Mukden) Incident; the Kwantung Army seizes Manchuria | History | World War II | | 1933-03 | Japan withdraws from the League of Nations | History | World War II | | 1933-10-15 | Nitobe Inazō dies in Victoria, British Columbia, his cultural diplomacy overtaken by Japan’s militarism | People | Nitobe Inazō | | 1936-02-26 | February 26 Incident (attempted military coup) | People | Hirohito | | 1937-07 | Marco Polo Bridge Incident begins the Second Sino-Japanese War | History | World War II | | 1937-12 | Nanjing Massacre | History | World War II | | 1940-09-27 | Tripartite Pact allies Japan with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy | History | World War II | | 1941-12-07 | Attack on Pearl Harbor brings the United States into the war | History | World War II | | 1942-02-15 | Fall of Singapore — the largest surrender in British military history | History | World War II | | 1942-05-04 – 05-08 | Battle of the Coral Sea | History | World War II | | 1942-06-04 – 06-07 | Battle of Midway — the decisive turning point of the Pacific War | History | World War II | | 1942-08 – 1943-02 | Guadalcanal Campaign turns the Pacific tide | History | World War II | | 1944-06-19 – 06-20 | Battle of the Philippine Sea (“Marianas Turkey Shoot”) | History | World War II | | 1945-03-09 – 03-10 | Firebombing of Tokyo — the deadliest air raid in history | History | World War II | | 1945-03-13 – 03-14 | Great Osaka Air Raid — 274 B-29s destroy much of the city’s core | Geography | Osaka | | 1945-03-16 – 03-17 | Kobe firebombing — 331 B-29s burn much of the city, killing some 8,000 | Geography | Kobe | | 1945-04-01 – 06-22 | Battle of Okinawa | Geography | Major Islands | | 1945-08-06 | Atomic bombing of Hiroshima | History | World War II | | 1945-08-08 | Soviet Union declares war on Japan and invades Manchuria | History | World War II | | 1945-08-09 | Atomic bombing of Nagasaki | Geography | Major Islands | | 1945-08-15 | Jewel Voice Broadcast announces Japan’s surrender | People | Hirohito | | 1945-09-02 | Japan signs the Instrument of Surrender aboard USS Missouri | Government & Politics | Postwar Constitution & Democracy | | 1945-12-15 | Shinto Directive abolishes State Shinto | Culture & Society | Shinto Religion | | 1946-01-01 | Hirohito’s Declaration of Humanity (Ningen-sengen) | People | Hirohito | | 1946-02 | SCAP’s Government Section drafts a new constitution in nine days | Government & Politics | Postwar Constitution & Democracy | | 1946-04 | First general election in which women vote; 39 women elected | Government & Politics | Diet of Japan | | 1946–1947 | Occupation land reform redistributes ~2 million hectares to tenant farmers | Economy | Postwar Recovery & Economic Growth | | 1946-11-03 | Constitution of Japan promulgated | Government & Politics | Postwar Constitution & Democracy | | 1947-04-25 | First general election held under the new Constitution | Government & Politics | Postwar Constitution & Democracy | | 1947-05-03 | Constitution of Japan takes effect, establishing the modern Diet | Government & Politics | Diet of Japan | | 1947-05-03 | Postwar Imperial Household Law establishes male-only succession | Government & Politics | Imperial Succession | | 1947-05-03 | Constitution of Japan takes effect — popular sovereignty and Article 9 pacifism | Government & Politics | Postwar Constitution & Democracy | | 1947-05-03 | Supreme Court of Japan established with the Article 81 power of constitutional review | Government & Politics | Supreme Court of Japan | | 1948 | Securities and Exchange Law establishes the postwar capital-market framework | Economy | Japanese Financial System | | 1949 | Dodge Line imposes fiscal austerity and fixes the yen at 360 to the US dollar | Economy | Postwar Recovery & Economic Growth | | 1949 | Mishima’s Confessions of a Mask establishes him as a leading postwar novelist | People | Yukio Mishima | | 1949-06-04 | Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) established | Government & Politics | Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) | | 1950–1953 | Korean War special procurement (tokuju) ignites Japan’s industrial recovery | Economy | Postwar Recovery & Economic Growth | | 1950 | National Police Reserve created — forerunner of the Self-Defense Forces | Government & Politics | Postwar Constitution & Democracy | | 1950 | Kurosawa’s Rashōmon released; its 1951 Venice Golden Lion announces Japanese cinema to the world | Culture & Society | Modern Cinema & Anime | | 1950-07-02 | Kinkaku-ji destroyed by arson (rebuilt 1955) | Geography | Kyoto | | 1951-09-08 | San Francisco Peace Treaty signed, ending the Allied occupation | Government & Politics | Postwar Constitution & Democracy | | 1952-04-28 | Occupation ends; Japan regains sovereignty and pursues export-led growth | Economy | Postwar Recovery & Economic Growth | | 1954-07-01 | Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) established | Government & Politics | Postwar Constitution & Democracy | | 1954-09-21 | Abe Shinzo born in Tokyo | People | Abe Shinzo | | 1955-11-22 | Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) founded, launching the 1955 System | Government & Politics | Liberal Democratic Party | | 1955 | Sony’s TR-55, Japan’s first mass-produced transistor radio, released | Economy | Technology & Manufacturing | | 1955 | First Shunto spring wage offensive coordinated by the Sōhyō labor federation | Economy | Labor Market & Employment | | 1959-12-16 | Sunakawa ruling adopts the political-question doctrine, upholding the US–Japan Security Treaty | Government & Politics | Supreme Court of Japan | | 1960 | U.S.–Japan Security Treaty revised amid mass Anpo protests | Government & Politics | Postwar Constitution & Democracy | | 1960 | Ikeda cabinet launches the Income Doubling Plan (Shotoku Baizō Keikaku) | Economy | Postwar Recovery & Economic Growth | | 1963-01 | Astro Boy (Tetsuwan Atom) debuts as Japan’s first domestic TV anime series | Culture & Society | Modern Cinema & Anime | | 1964 | Tokyo Summer Olympics; Tōkaidō Shinkansen opens | Geography | Tokyo | | 1964 | Judo debuts as an Olympic sport at the Tokyo Games | Culture & Society | Martial Arts & Budo | | 1964 | Japan joins the OECD, recognized as an advanced industrial economy | Economy | Postwar Recovery & Economic Growth | | 1968 | Japan overtakes West Germany to become the world’s second-largest economy | Economy | Postwar Recovery & Economic Growth | | 1968-10 | Mishima founds the Tate no Kai (Shield Society), a private paramilitary corps | People | Yukio Mishima | | 1970-03 | Expo ‘70 opens in Osaka, drawing a record 64 million visitors | Geography | Osaka | | 1970-11-25 | Yukio Mishima commits seppuku at the JSDF Ichigaya headquarters after a failed coup appeal | People | Yukio Mishima | | 1971 | Hirohito becomes the first reigning Japanese emperor to visit Europe | People | Hirohito | | 1972-02 | Sapporo hosts the Winter Olympics, the first held in Asia | Geography | Hokkaido | | 1972-05-15 | Okinawa returned to Japanese administration | Geography | Major Islands | | 1973-04-04 | Patricide ruling strikes down Penal Code Art. 200 — the Court’s first unconstitutional-statute holding | Government & Politics | Supreme Court of Japan | | 1975 | Hirohito becomes the first reigning Japanese emperor to visit the United States | People | Hirohito | | 1976–1980 | VLSI Project advances Japanese semiconductor manufacturing | Economy | Technology & Manufacturing | | 1979-07-01 | Sony Walkman (TPS-L2) introduced, creating the personal-music market | Economy | Technology & Manufacturing | | 1980 | Japan becomes the world’s largest automobile producer | Economy | Technology & Manufacturing | | 1981 | MITI negotiates Voluntary Export Restraints capping Japanese auto exports to the US | Government & Politics | Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) | | 1982 | Chalmers Johnson’s MITI and the Japanese Miracle frames Japan as a “developmental state” | Government & Politics | Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) | | 1983-07 | Nintendo Famicom (Family Computer) launches in Japan | Economy | Technology & Manufacturing | | 1985 | Plaza Accord drives yen appreciation and fuels the asset bubble | Economy | Bank of Japan | | 1985-06-15 | Studio Ghibli founded by Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, and Toshio Suzuki | Culture & Society | Modern Cinema & Anime | | 1985 | Equal Employment Opportunity Law enacted, barring overt sex discrimination in employment | Culture & Society | Women in Japanese Society | | 1986 | US–Japan Semiconductor Trade Agreement signed | Economy | Technology & Manufacturing | | 1986-09 | Doi Takako becomes the first woman to lead a major Japanese political party (JSP) | Culture & Society | Women in Japanese Society | | 1987-02 | Bank of Japan cuts the official discount rate to a record-low 2.5% | Economy | 1980s Bubble Economy | | 1988-03-13 | Seikan Tunnel opens beneath the Tsugaru Strait | Geography | Major Islands | | 1988-04-10 | Seto-Ōhashi Bridge opens, the first fixed road-rail link between Shikoku and Honshu | Geography | Shikoku | | 1989-01-07 | Death of Hirohito ends the Showa era | People | Hirohito | | 1989-12-29 | Nikkei 225 peaks at 38,915, the height of the asset bubble | Economy | 1980s Bubble Economy | | 1990 | Nikkei 225 falls 38% as the asset bubble bursts | Economy | 1980s Bubble Economy | | 1991 | Tokyo Metropolitan Government building completed in Shinjuku | Geography | Tokyo | | 1992-08 | Nikkei 225 bottoms at 14,309, down 63% from its 1989 peak | Economy | Lost Decade & Deflation | | 1993-07 | LDP loses its lower-house majority, ending the 1955 System | Government & Politics | Liberal Democratic Party | | 1993-07-12 | Southwest Hokkaido earthquake (M7.8) and tsunami kill ~230, devastating Okushiri Island | Geography | Hokkaido | | 1994 | Parallel (mixed) electoral system adopted for the House of Representatives | Government & Politics | Diet of Japan | | 1994 | “Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto” inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage | Geography | Kyoto | | 1994-09-04 | Kansai International Airport opens on an artificial island in Osaka Bay | Geography | Osaka | | 1995-01-17 | Great Hanshin Earthquake devastates Kobe, killing 6,434 | Geography | Kobe | | 1996 | Jusen housing-loan companies resolved at ¥685 billion taxpayer cost | Economy | Lost Decade & Deflation | | 1996-11 | Prime Minister Hashimoto launches the financial “Big Bang” deregulation | Economy | Japanese Financial System | | 1997 | Bank of Japan Act grants the central bank statutory independence | Economy | Bank of Japan | | 1997-04 | Consumption tax raised from 3% to 5%, deepening the recession | Economy | Lost Decade & Deflation | | 1997-11-03 | Sanyo Securities fails — first default in Japan’s interbank market since WWII | Economy | Lost Decade & Deflation | | 1997-11-24 | Yamaichi Securities collapses amid the post-bubble banking crisis | Economy | 1980s Bubble Economy | | 1997-12 | Kyoto Protocol adopted at COP3 in Kyoto | Geography | Kyoto | | 1998-04-05 | Akashi Kaikyō Bridge opens, then the world’s longest suspension-bridge central span | Geography | Kobe | | 1998-10 | Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan nationalized amid the banking crisis | Economy | Lost Decade & Deflation | | 1999-02 | Zero Interest Rate Policy (ZIRP) introduced | Economy | Bank of Japan | | 2000-07 | Financial Services Agency (FSA) established as Japan’s unified financial regulator | Economy | Financial Sector Regulation | | 2001-01 | MITI reorganized into the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) | Government & Politics | Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) | | 2001-03 | Quantitative easing launched (world’s first) | Economy | Bank of Japan | | 2001-07-20 | Miyazaki’s Spirited Away released; it wins the 2003 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature | Culture & Society | Modern Cinema & Anime | | 2002-10 | Takenaka Plan forces banks to write down non-performing loans | Economy | Lost Decade & Deflation | | 2003-04 | Nikkei 225 bottoms near 7,600, roughly 80% below its 1989 peak | Economy | 1980s Bubble Economy | | 2005 | Japan Post privatization legislated under Prime Minister Koizumi | Economy | Lost Decade & Deflation | | 2006-09-06 | Prince Hisahito born — first male imperial birth in 41 years | Government & Politics | Imperial Succession | | 2006-09-26 | Abe Shinzo becomes prime minister, the youngest of the postwar era | People | Abe Shinzo | | 2008 | UNESCO inscribes Noh (with kyōgen) on the Intangible Cultural Heritage list | Culture & Society | Noh Theater | | 2009-03-10 | Nikkei 225 falls to ~7,050, its lowest since 1982, in the global financial crisis | Economy | Lost Decade & Deflation | | 2009-08-30 | LDP loses power to the Democratic Party of Japan in a landslide defeat | Government & Politics | Liberal Democratic Party | | 2010 | Inaugural Setouchi Triennale makes Naoshima and the Inland Sea islands a global art destination | Geography | Shikoku | | 2011-03-11 | Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami | Geography | Major Islands | | 2012-07 | METI’s Feed-in Tariff launches, driving rapid solar-power expansion | Government & Politics | Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) | | 2012-12-26 | Abe Shinzo returns as prime minister, beginning a record second tenure | People | Abe Shinzo | | 2013-04 | Quantitative and Qualitative Easing (QQE) begins under Governor Kuroda | Economy | Bank of Japan | | 2013-06-22 | Mount Fuji inscribed as a UNESCO Cultural World Heritage Site | Geography | Mount Fuji | | 2013-09-04 | Supreme Court voids unequal inheritance shares for children born out of wedlock (Art. 14) | Government & Politics | Supreme Court of Japan | | 2013-10 | 62nd rebuilding of Ise Grand Shrine | Culture & Society | Shinto Religion | | 2014-07-01 | Abe cabinet reinterprets Article 9 to permit collective self-defense | People | Abe Shinzo | | 2015 | UNESCO inscribes the “Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution,” including Kyushu’s Yawata Works | Geography | Kyushu | | 2015 | Security Legislation permits the JSDF to exercise collective self-defense | Government & Politics | Postwar Constitution & Democracy | | 2015-12-25 | Dentsu employee Matsuri Takahashi’s karoshi suicide galvanizes work-style reform | Economy | Labor Market & Employment | | 2016-01 | Negative Interest Rate Policy (NIRP) adopted | Economy | Bank of Japan | | 2016-06 | Voting age lowered from 20 to 18 | Government & Politics | Diet of Japan | | 2016-09 | Yield Curve Control (YCC) introduced | Economy | Bank of Japan | | 2018-01 | Coincheck exchange hacked—¥58 billion in cryptocurrency stolen, prompting tighter crypto rules | Economy | Financial Sector Regulation | | 2018 | Hidden Christian Sites of Nagasaki inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site | Geography | Kyushu | | 2018-09-06 | Hokkaido Eastern Iburi earthquake (M6.7) triggers landslides and an island-wide blackout | Geography | Hokkaido | | 2019-04 | Work Style Reform Law takes effect, capping overtime and mandating equal pay for equal work | Economy | Labor Market & Employment | | 2019-04-26 | Ainu People’s Support Act recognizes the Ainu as an indigenous people for the first time in law | Geography | Hokkaido | | 2019-04-30 | Emperor Akihito abdicates — first abdication since 1817 | Government & Politics | Imperial Succession | | 2019-05-01 | Naruhito ascends the Chrysanthemum Throne; Reiwa era begins | Government & Politics | Imperial Succession | | 2019-10-22 | Enthronement ceremony (Sokui no Rei) held in Tokyo | Government & Politics | Imperial Succession | | 2019-11-14 | Daijō-sai (Great Thanksgiving Ceremony) performed for Emperor Naruhito | Government & Politics | The Imperial Household | | 2020-07-12 | Upopoy National Ainu Museum opens in Shiraoi, Japan’s first national Ainu facility | Geography | Hokkaido | | 2020-09-16 | Abe Shinzo resigns as prime minister, citing ill health | People | Abe Shinzo | | 2021 | METI releases the Green Growth Strategy, a 14-sector decarbonization industrial policy | Government & Politics | Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) | | 2021-08 | Karate makes its Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games (held 2021) | Culture & Society | Martial Arts & Budo | | 2021-12 | Government panel recommends limited measures to secure the imperial succession | Government & Politics | The Imperial Household | | 2022-07-08 | Abe Shinzo assassinated while campaigning in Nara | People | Abe Shinzo | | 2022-08 | METI backs the Rapidus consortium to mass-produce 2nm chips in Hokkaido by 2027 | Government & Politics | Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) | | 2023 | Total fertility rate falls to a record-low 1.20; Japan ranks 125th on the WEF gender-gap index | Culture & Society | Women in Japanese Society | | 2023 | Japan enacts the first comprehensive stablecoin framework among the G7 nations | Economy | Financial Sector Regulation | | 2023 | Shunto round delivers a 3.58% average wage increase, the largest in three decades | Economy | Labor Market & Employment | | 2023-10-25 | Supreme Court rules the surgical-sterilization requirement for legal gender change unconstitutional | Government & Politics | Supreme Court of Japan | | 2024-01 | Expanded “New NISA” tax-free investment accounts launch, spurring record retail inflows | Economy | Japanese Financial System | | 2024-02 | Nikkei 225 surpasses its 1989 peak for the first time | Economy | Lost Decade & Deflation | | 2024-02 | TSMC’s JASM semiconductor fab opens in Kumamoto, Kyushu, backed by METI subsidies | Geography | Kyushu | | 2024-03 | Bank of Japan ends negative rates and abandons YCC | Economy | Bank of Japan | | 2024-03 | Shunto round yields a 5.10% average wage increase, the largest since 1991 | Economy | Labor Market & Employment | | 2024-07 | New ¥1,000 banknote features Hokusai’s “The Great Wave” on its reverse | People | Katsushika Hokusai | | 2024-07 | Yamanashi introduces a climbing fee and daily cap on Mount Fuji’s Yoshida Trail | Geography | Mount Fuji | | 2024-10-27 | LDP-Komeito coalition loses its lower-house majority under Ishiba | Government & Politics | Liberal Democratic Party | | 2025-01 | Policy rate raised to 0.5%, the highest since 1995 | Economy | Bank of Japan | | 2025-04-13 | Expo 2025 opens on the Yumeshima artificial island in Osaka Bay | Geography | Osaka |