Events

1614 - The missionary expulsion order is issued by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in a crackdown against Christianity. (Traditional Japanese Date: Twenty-third Day of the Twelfth Month, 1613)
1895 - The first streetcar begins operation in Kyoto.
1899 - Telephone service begins between Tokyo and Osaka.
1911 - Regulations for postal special delivery are passed. Service begins on February 11.
1928 - Japanese Victor sells the first Western phonograph albums.
1942 - Rationing of clothing, miso and soy sauce begins.
1953 - NHK begins its first television broadcast. At the time there were only 866 viewers under contract. At a time when public officials made only 8,000 yen per year, televisions were prohibitively expensive at 150,000 yen. However, by 1958, 1,000,000 sets had been sold and by 1962 10,000,000 sets had been sold.
1954 - Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio visit Japan.
1960 - The first underground parking lot opens in Tokyo.

Births