Portal:Japan/Anniversaries/February/February 21

Events

1892 - Japan's first daily newspaper, the Tōkyō Nichinichi Shinbun (modern day Mainichi Shinbun) is established.
1911 - One of Japan's most well-known authors, Natsume Sōseki, sends a letter to the Ministry of Education, refusing the title of professor of literature. He explains that he just wants to go on living his life as "Natsume so-and-so."
1945 - World War II: Kamikaze planes sink the escort carrier Bismarck Sea and damage the Saratoga.
1946 - The Metropolitan Police Department begins recruiting women.
1961 - Actor Akagi Keiichirō dies in an automobile accident. The accident happened while he was working as a stand-in for Ishihara Yūjirō, and Takahashi Hideki was chosen as Ishihara's new stand-in actor.
1979 - Japan's first X-ray astronomy satellite, the Hakuchō, is launched successfully.

Births

1887 - Korechika Anami (d. 1945), general and politician, 54th Japanese Minister of War
1980 - Kayoko Shibata, actress, singer, and model
1981 - Jun Kaname, actor
1984 - Karina Nose, model and actress
1993 - Masaki Suda, actor
2000 - Yuto Miyazawa, guitarist

Deaths