Portal:Japan/Anniversaries/January/January 31
Events
- 1882 - The first life insurance policy beneficiary in Japan collects on a policy.
- 1944 - World War II: American forces land on Kwajalein Atoll and other islands in the Japanese-held Marshall Islands.
- 1947 - The General Headquarters issues an order prohibiting a general strike scheduled for February 1.
- 1956 - Chiharu Igaya becomes the first Japanese to win an Olympic medal at the 7th Winter Olympics.
- 1979 - Egawa Suguru joins the Hanshin Tigers and is traded the same day for the Tokyo Giants' Kobayashi Shigeru.
Births
- 1543 - Tokugawa Ieyasu (d. 1616), shogun
- 1935 - Kenzaburō Ōe, author and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1948 - Muneo Suzuki, politician
- 1961 - Mako Ishino, singer and actress
- 1964 - Miki Maya, actress
- 1966 - Ken Ishiguro, actor and voice actor
- 1977 - Shingo Katori, singer and actor
- 1990 - Kota Yabu, singer and actor
Deaths
- 1398 - Emperor Sukō (b. 1334)
- 1985 - Tatsuzō Ishikawa (b. 1905), author
- 1999 - Giant Baba (b. 1938), wrestler