Portal:Japan/Anniversaries/March/March 31

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March 31:

  • 1854 - The Convention of Kanagawa is signed between Japan and the United States, opening Japan after over 200 years of near seclusion. (Traditional Japanese Date: Third Day of the Third Month, 1854)
  • 1876 - Mitsui Bank is established.
  • 1906 - The Railway Nationalization Act is passed.
  • 1937 - The Alcohol Monopolization Act is passed for the manufacture of alcoholic beverages other than sake.
  • 1938 - Rickshaws are banned within Tokyo Station.
  • 1947 - The school system is reformed to include six years of grade school, three years of junior high school, three years of high school and four years of university (the 6-3-3-4 system).
  • 1947 - The Imperial Diet is abolished after 57 years and is replaced by the new National Diet of Japan under the new constitution.
  • 1949 - The Tokyo fire department establishes 119 as the telephone number for emergencies (similar to 911 in the United States.)
  • 1966 - The total population of Japan surpasses 100 million.
  • 1970 - A plane en route from Haneda Airport to Fukuoka is hijacked by the Japanese Red Army with 138 passengers and crew on board. The hijackers demand that the plane be flown to South Korea. After the plane lands at Gimpo International Airport, The deputy official of the Ministry of Transport trades himself in exchange for the release of all of the passengers. The plane then flies on to Pyongyang.
  • 1981 - Popular singing duo Pink Lady breaks up.
  • 1987 - Wakaōji, the son of the president of Mitsui Bussan's Philippine branch, is released unharmed after four and a half months in captivity. Mitsui & Co., Ltd. paid 150 million yen to secure his release.
  • 2000 - Hokkaido's Mount Usu erupts for the first time in 23 years.
  • 2001 - Universal Studios opens a theme park in Osaka.