10Most Famous Historical Events that Happened in Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia, that is located in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north toward the East China Sea, Philippine Sea, and Taiwan in the south. It is to be the eleventh most populous country in the world, as well as one of the most densely populated and urbanized. About three-fourths of the country’s terrain is mountainous, concentrating its population of 125.5 million on narrow coastal plains.
Over the years various events have taken place in Japan which comprise of important legal, territorial and cultural changes and political events in Japan and its predecessor states. Therefore the following are the 10 most famous events that has happened in Japan. They include the following;
1. Abenomics
Shinzo Abe became the Prime Minister of Japan in December of 2012 and has been re-elected twice. His economic policies have come to be known as “Abenomics.” While the country’s GDP continued to decline from 2012-2015 and was marked by several recessions, it has experienced minute growth since then and many are hopeful that the country will soon emerge from its Lost Years stronger than ever.
2. The Lost Score
Japan’s “Lost Decade” is the period of time after the economy’s bubble burst. The term was coined to refer to the years from 1991-2000, but the country’s stagnant economy has continued into the 2000s and led to some renaming it “The Lost Score.”
3.The Bombing of Tokyo
During World War II, bombs dropped over Tokyo wreaked havoc on the city. One of these air raids, known as Operation Meetinghouse (1945), is considered to be the most destructive bombing raid in history. Along with countless civilian casualties, many priceless historical monuments, temples, and shrines were lost during this time.
4.The Great Kanto Earthquake
In 1923, the Great Kanto Earthquake struck the region and Tokyo was shattered. Over 100,000 people were killed, and the infrastructural damage exceeded anything the city had seen to date. The yearly anniversary of the quake, September 1, is now known as Disaster Prevention Day.
5.The Meiji Restoration
In 1868, the Tokugawa Shogunate ended. Edo was renamed “Tokyo” (Eastern Capital), and the Meiji Restoration began. During this time, Tokyo saw rapid political, societal and physical changes as the country opened itself up to the West. Western fashions became popular, yoshoku (Western-influenced Japanese cooking) was born, and buildings began to be built in Western and blended styles, changing the architectural landscape of the city.
6.1964 Summer Olympics
The 1964 Summer Olympics were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subsequently passed to Helsinki due to Japan’s invasion of China, before ultimately being canceled due to World War II. Tokyo was therefore chosen as the host city during the 55th IOC Session in West Germany on 26 May 1959.Thus, the 1964 Summer Games were the first Olympics held in Asia.
7.Tohoku earthquake and Tsunami
The Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami occurred on 11 March 2011. It is sometimes referred to in Japan as the “Great East Japan Earthquake”. It was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Japan, and the fourth most powerful earthquake in the world since modern record-keeping began in 1900. The earthquake triggered powerful tsunami waves that may have reached heights of up to 40.5 meters (133 ft) in Miyako in Tōhoku’s Iwate Prefecture. The tsunami caused the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, which resulted primarily in the meltdowns of three of its reactors, the discharge of radioactive water in Fukushima and the associated evacuation zones affected hundreds of thousands of residents.
8.Reiwa Period
Reiwa is the current era of Japan’s official calendar. It began on 1 May 2019, the day Emperor Akihito’s elder son, Naruhito, ascended the throne as the 126th Emperor of Japan. It therefore marks the first Japanese era name with characters that were taken from Japanese literature instead of classic Chinese literature.
The Japanese government , however ,announced the name during a live televised press conference, on 1 April 2019 as Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga traditionally revealed the kanji calligraphy on a board. The Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that Reiwa represents “a culture being born and nurtured by people coming together beautifully”.
9. The Great Hanshin earthquake
The Great Hanshin earthquake, also referred to as, Kobe earthquake, occurred on January 17, in the southern part of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, including the region known as Hanshin. It measured 6.9 on the moment magnitude scale and had a maximum intensity of 7 on the JMA Seismic Intensity Scale. The tremors lasted for approximately 20 seconds. Approximately 6,434 people died as a result of this earthquake; about 4,600 of them were from Kobe. Among major cities, Kobe, with its population of 1.5 million, was the closest to the epicenter and hit by the strongest tremors. This was Japan’s deadliest earthquake in the 20th century after the Great Kantō earthquake in 1923, which claimed more than 105,000 lives.
10.Eisaku Sato
Eisaku Satō was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister from 1964 to 1972. He is the third-longest serving Prime Minister, and ranks second in longest uninterrupted service as Prime Minister.
Satō entered the National Diet in 1949 as a member of the Liberal Party. Gradually rising through the ranks of Japanese politics, he held a series of cabinet positions. In 1964 he succeeded Hayato Ikeda as Prime Minister, becoming the first Prime Minister to have been born in the 20th century.
Satō presided over a period of rapid economic growth. He arranged for the formal return of Okinawa that was occupied by the United States since the end of the Second World War to Japanese control. He also brought Japan into the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, for which he received the Nobel Peace Prize as a co-
recipient in 1974.
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