Events
- 1657 - The Great Fire of Meireki claims the lives of nearly 100,000 people in Edo
- 1886 - The Imperial University proclamation is issued establishing the Imperial University (the predecessor to Tokyo University)
- 1943 - World War II: Due to wartime policy, all baseball terms that were previously borrowed from English are officially replaced with Japanese words
- 1943 - World War II: Battle of the Bismarck Sea – United States and Australian forces sink Japanese convoy ships
- 1976 - A time bomb goes off in the Hokkaidō civic center, killing two people
- 1981 - Official repatriation of war orphans left behind in China after World War II begins
Births
- 1955 - Shoko Asahara, cult leader, founded Aum Shinrikyo
- 1962 - Morioka Hiroyuki, author
- 1971 - Manami Toyota, wrestler
- 1980 - Maomi Yuki, entertainer
Holidays, observances, and anniversaries
- 2006 - Nintendo DS Lite is released