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World Events
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1925
Start of Japan's first radio broadcasts
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1925
Public Security Preservation Law promulgated
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1925
Yamanote Line loop service begins
The Mainichi Newspapers Co., Ltd.
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1926
Taisho Emperor dies, Showa era begins
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1926
NHK established
The Mainichi Newspapers Co., Ltd.
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1927
Japan's first subway opens (between Asakusa and Ueno)
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1928
First election with universal suffrage for men
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1929
Great Depression begins
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1931
Haneda Airfield (now Haneda Airport) opens
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1933
Japan withdraws from League of Nations
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1938
National Mobilization Law promulgated
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1946
Constitution of Japan promulgated
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1949
Official exchange rate of ¥360 to the US dollar adopted
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1949
People's Republic of China established
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1951
Government announces that dissolution of Zaibatsu business conglomerates is complete; Holding Company Liquidation Commission dissolved
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1951
Treaty of San Francisco signed
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1953
Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK), Nippon TV start broadcasting television
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1956
Soviet-Japanese Joint Declaration
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1956
Japan joins United Nations
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1957
Soviet Union successfully launches Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite
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1958
Kodama, the first limited express, begins service (connecting Tokyo to Osaka in 6 hours, 50 minutes)
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1958
Tokyo Tower opens
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1960
Color TV broadcasting begins
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1960
Prime Minister Ikeda announces Income Doubling Plan THE
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1961
Soviet Union becomes first to put a human (Yuri Gagarin) into space flight
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1964
Tokaido Shinkansen opens (connecting Tokyo to Shin-Osaka in 4 hours)
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1964
Summer Olympics held in Tokyo
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1967
Environmental Pollution Prevention Act promulgated
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1969
All sections of Tomei Expressway opened
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1969
Apollo 11 successfully lands on moon
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1970
Expo '70 opens in Osaka
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1970
Osumi, first Japanese artificial satellite, successfully launched
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1971
Nixon shock (floating exchange rate system)
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1972
Winter Olympics held in Sapporo
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1972
Okinawa Prefecture returned to Japan
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1972
Japan and China normalize diplomatic relations
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1973
Oil crisis (first oil shock)
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1978
New Tokyo (Narita) International Airport opens
The Mainichi Newspapers Co., Ltd.
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1978
Sound multiplex broadcasting begins
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1979
5th G7 Summit held in Tokyo
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1982
Tohoku Shinkansen opens
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1982
Joetsu Shinkansen opens
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1987
Japanese National Railways split and privatized (launch of JR)
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1988
Seikan Tunnel opens
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1989
Showa Emperor dies, Heisei era begins
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1989
Consumption tax introduced (3%)
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1989
Berlin Wall falls
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1991
Soviet Union collapses
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1994
Kansai International Airport opens
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1997
Kyoto Protocol adopted
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1997
Hong Kong returned to China
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1997
Consumption tax increased to 5%
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1998
Winter Olympics held in Nagano
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2002
Japan and South Korea jointly host first soccer World Cup in Asia
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2002
The euro, a unified European currency, starts circulating as cash
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2004
Teito Rapid Transit Authority privatized, Tokyo Metro launches
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2005
Expo 2005 held in Aichi Prefecture
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2006
Digital terrestrial broadcasting begins
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2007
Japan Post privatized (launch of Japan Post Holdings)
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2008
Bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers (Lehman shock)
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2009
Barack Obama inaugurated as first Black President in U.S.
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2011
Transition to digital terrestrial broadcasting (2012 in three disaster-affected prefectures)
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2016
Hokkaido Shinkansen opens
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2019
Current Emperor accedes to throne, Reiwa era begins
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