Portal:Japan/Anniversaries/April/April 5

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.