Events
- 1868 - Saigo Takamori and Katsu Kaishū meet in Edo to discuss the surrender of Edo Castle to the emperor's forces. (Traditional Japanese Date: Thirteenth Day of the Third Month, 1868)
- 1872 - Construction is begun on a railway between Shinagawa and Yokohama. (Traditional Japanese Date: Twenty-eighth Day of the Second Month, 1872)
- 1939 - The motion picture law is passed.
- 1941 - The Japan Cancer Society is formed.
- 1947 - The first unified local elections are held.
- 1967 - Okayama University's Professor Kobayashi announces the cause of itai itai disease as cadmium poisoning. It is designated as the first public health illness.
- 1968 - Japan and the United States sign a treaty returning the Ogasawara islands to Japanese control.
- 1975 - The twin sister signing group The Peanuts retire from show business.
- 1982 - The Asakusa International Theater closes after 45 years of performances.
- 1998 - The Akashi-Kaikyō Bridge is completed joining the main island of Honshū with Awaji Island. The total length of the bridge is 3911 meters and the suspension towers reach a height of 300 meters -- nearly as tall as Tokyo Tower.
Births
- 1288 - Emperor Go-Fushimi (d. 1336)
- 1943 - Fighting Harada, boxer
- 1946 - Takuro Yoshida, singer-songwriter
- 1955 - Akira Toriyama, illustrator
- 1960 - Hiromi Taniguchi, runner
- 1963 - Kouichi Oohori, actor
- 1970 - Miho Hatori, singer-songwriter
- 1971 - Ayako Nishikawa, television personality, entertainer, comedian, and surgeon
- 1972 - Yasuhiro Takemoto, animator and director
- 1979 - Mitsuo Ogasawara, footballer
- 1984 - Kisho Yano, footballer
- 1988 - Asumi Nakada, voice actress and model
- 1990 - Haruma Miura, actor and singer
- 1998 - Kaito Nakamura, actor and model
- 1999 - Mio Yūki, actress, model, and entertainer