Chronology

1600  Ieyasu Tokugawa defeats his remaining enemies and establishes the Tokugawa Shogunate or bakufu (military government) in Edo.

1603  Ieyasu Tokugawa is formally appointed as shogun by the emperor.

1633–1639  Tokugawa bakufu issues maritime restrictions on contacts with Portuguese and Spanish, only allowing continued contact and trade with Dutch East India Company on Dejima Island in Nagasaki harbor. These restrictions are later known as sakoku, or “national seclusion,” and included prohibitions on Christianity.

1700s  Shogun Yoshimune Tokugawa (reigned 1716–1745) allows the Dutch East India Company to import Western books on medical and scientific subjects for Japanese scholars.

1776–1783  American Revolution against Britain results in the formation of the United States of America. American ships based in New England soon began trade relations with China.

Late 1700s–Early 1800s  Western ships from Russia, Britain, and the United States occasionally arrive on Japanese coasts demanding trade. Provisions of food and water are sometimes given by Japanese, but all demands for trade relations are refused by domains and the Tokugawa bakufu.

1825  Tokugawa bakufu issues the Expulsion Edict, strengthening national seclusion laws.

1830 and 1835  United States government sends Edmund Roberts on missions to Asia to establish diplomatic and trade relations with several countries, including Japan. Roberts dies in Macao in 1835 before reaching Japan.

1833–1837  Famine throughout many areas of Japan.

1837  February–March: Heihachiro Oshio leads uprising in Osaka against the Tokugawa bakufu.

1837  June–July: The Morrison Incident.

1839–1841  The Opium War between Britain and China.

1841  June: Manjiro Nakahama and four other Japanese survivors of a shipwreck are rescued by William Whitfield of Massachusetts.

1845–1853  Pinnacle of “Manifest Destiny” in the United States. Most of Southwest, West, and Pacific Coast north of Mexico and south of Canada become territories or states of the United States.

1846  27 May: United States Navy Commodore James Biddle arrives in Japan. Tokugawa bakufu refuses to negotiate for trade and diplomatic relations.

1846–1848  Mexican–American War.

1847–1848  Ranald MacDonald of Oregon Territory in Japan.

1848  January: Gold discovered in Alta California, Mexican territory, beginning the Gold Rush. February Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends the Mexican–American War. Texas, much of the American Southwest, and California become U.S. territories as a result of this treaty.

1850  Taiping Rebellion begins in China, lasting until 1864.

1850  9 September: California is formally admitted to United States as the 31st state of the union.

1851  January: Manjiro Nakahama returns to Japan after nine years in United States and the Kingdom of Hawaii.

1851  March: Hikozo Hamada (later known as Joseph Heco) is shipwrecked in late 1850, rescued by the American vessel Auckland, and arrives in San Francisco in March 1851. He remained in the United States until the fall of 1858.

1853  8 July: United States Navy Commodore Matthew C. Perry enters Uraga Bay near Edo with four warships to present diplomatic and trade proposals to Japan from the United States government. Perry departs to return the following year for negotiations.

1854  14 February: Perry returns to Japan, this time with eight warships. 31 March: Perry and Tokugawa government officials sign the Kanagawa Treaty, formally known as the U.S.–Japan Treaty of Friendship.

1854–1855  Britain, France, Russia, Holland sign treaties of friendship with Japan. Ports of Shimoda, Hakodate, and Nagasaki are opened to Westerners for limited trade.

1855  Institute for Western Learning opened by Tokugawa government. Renamed Institute for the Study of Barbarian Books in 1857, then as the Institute for Development (Kaiseijo) in 1862. In 1877, the Kaiseijo becomes part of Tokyo University, the first modern university in Japan.

1856  The Tokugawa bakufu hires Charles Wolcott Brooks, an American businessman in San Francisco, as Japan's consul general and commercial agent.

1856  July: Townsend Harris arrives in Japan as United States consul general, the first American diplomat stationed in Japan.

1858  Naosuke Ii, daimyo of Hikone domain, appointed chief minister of Tokugawa government, the most powerful position in the Tokugawa bakufu after the Shogun. 6 June: In Baltimore, Maryland, Joseph Heco (Hikozo Hamada) becomes the first Japanese to become an American citizen. 29 July: Townsend Harris and Togukawa bakufu ratify the U.S.–Japan Treaty of Amity and Commerce. Britain, France, Holland, and Russia sign similar treaties with Japan by October. All of these treaties are officially known as the Ansei Treaties, and unofficially as the “unequal treaties.”

1859  James Curtis Hepburn, Guido Verbeck, Francis Hall, and Eugene Van Reed arrive in Japan.

1860  January: The Tokugawa bakufu sends a delegation of officials, usually known as the Shogun's Embassy, to the United States. In May, President James Buchanon meets with Norimasa Muragaki, leader of the delegation, and other Tokugawa bakufu officials at the White House. 24 March: Naosuke Ii is assassinated in Edo by samurai upset at the Tokugawa bakufu's agreements with Western countries.

1861  15 January: Henry Heusken, secretary of the American Legation in Edo, is assassinated by anti-foreign samurai. 4 March: Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated president of the United States. 12 April: The American Civil War begins.

1862  12 September: One English merchant is killed and two others are wounded by Satsuma samurai at Namamugi, Yokohama.

1863  June–July: Choshu samurai fire on Western ships passing through Shimonoseki Straits. 15 August: British warships fire on Kagoshima, capital of Satsuma domain, in retaliation for the Namamugi Incident the previous year.

1864  11 July: Shozan Sakuma is assassinated in Kyoto by anti-foreign samurai. August: A joint fleet of American, British, French, and British warships attack the Choshu domain capital of Hagi in retaliation for Choshu samurai firing on Western ships the previous year.

1866  Satsuma and Choshu form an alliance against the Tokugawa bakufu. Yukichi Fukuzawa publishes Things Western. Niijima Jo, later known as Joseph Neeshima, arrives in Massachusetts.

1867  January: Emperor Komei dies; his teenage son Mutsuhito becomes Emperor. August: Arinori Mori and several samurai-students from Satsuma travel to the United States from England to join the Brotherhood of the New Life colony in New York. November: Tokugawa Shogun Yoshinobu (Keiki) cedes governing authority to the emperor. 10 December: Ryoma Sakamoto is assassinated in Kyoto.

1868  January–March: Tokugawa military forces lose decisive battles against Satsuma and Choshu at Toba, Fushimi, and Edo. Satsuma and Choshu take over government in the name of the emperor. February: Mutsuhito is formally enthroned as emperor; the Meiji Era (1868–1912) begins. 6 April: Charter Oath (Five Article Oath) issued by Emperor Meiji. May: American merchant Eugene Van Reed organizes a group of 150 Japanese laborers to work in Hawaii, causing a diplomatic crisis between the United States, the new Meiji government, and the Kingdom of Hawaii. September: Imperial capital moved from Kyoto to Edo; Edo renamed Tokyo (“Eastern Capital”).

1869  March: Ulysses S. Grant takes office as president of the United States. April: Charles De Long arrives as United States minister to Japan. He returns to the United States in October 1873. May: Japanese immigrants/refugees from Aizu arrive in northern California.

1870s  Meiji Government hires “foreign experts” from United States and Europe to help establish new government institutions.

1870  May–June: Taro Kusakabe (Rutgers College, New Jersey) and Niijima Jo (Amherst College, Massachusetts) become first Japanese to graduate from American colleges. October: Arinori Mori is appointed chargé d' affaires for Japan to the United States. He arrives in Washington, D.C., in February 1871. August: Japan and Kingdom of Hawaii agree to Treaty of Friendship and Commerce.

1871  December: Iwakura Mission departs for the United States and Europe. Members of this government mission return to Japan in September 1873.

1872  July–August: Maria Luz Incident between Japan, China, Peru, and the United States.

1873  Tokugawa-era ban against Christianity repealed. October: John Bingham arrives as United States minister to Japan. He serves until 1885.

1874  Meirokusha Society established in Tokyo by Arinori Mori, Yukichi Fukuzawa, and others.

1875  Niijima Jo, who returned to Japan the previous year, establishes Doshisha Eigakko, a Christian school in Kyoto. The school later becomes Doshisha University. Yukichi Fukuzawa publishes An Outline of Civilization.

1876  Kanghwa Treaty between Japan and Korea. Japanese government participates in the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition. William E. Griffis publishes the first edition of The Mikado's Empire.

1877  Saigo Takamori leads the Satsuma Rebellion against the Meiji government. University of Tokyo established. American biologist Edward Morse undertakes first archaeological study of Japan.

1878  Harvard philosopher Ernest Fenollosa arrives in Japan to take up position at Tokyo University. 14 May: Toshimichi Okubo, home minister of Meiji government, is assassinated by a former samurai.

1879  April: The Ryukyu Kingdom becomes Okinawa Prefecture of Japan. June: Former American President Ulysses Grant and his wife Julia arrive in Japan for an extended visit.

1880  The first Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) in Japan is established in Tokyo. Two years later, the second YMCA is established in Osaka.

1881  Okuma Shigenobu, an early promoter of relations with Western countries and popular member of the Meiji Government, is forced to resign.

1882  United States Congress approves the Chinese Exclusion Act. Sutematsu Yamakawa (Oyama) graduates from Vassar College in New York.

1883  Rokumeikan (Deer Cry Pavilion), an elaborate social hall, is built by the Meiji government for entertaining Western diplomats.

1884  Ernest Fenollosa begins promoting Japanese art in the United States. Japan, Hawaii, and United States agree to an immigration system allowing Japanese to work in Hawaii.

1885  The cabinet system of government begins in Japan. Hirobumi Ito (prime minister), Kaoru Inoue (foreign minister), Arinori Mori (education minister), and several other cabinet ministers previously studied or traveled in the United States.

1888  Mutsu Munemitsu is appointed as Japan's ambassador in Washington, D.C.

1889  Lafcadio Hearn arrives in Japan. 11 February: The Meiji Constitution is promulgated. Education Minister Arinori Mori is assassinated earlier on the same day.

1890  Imperial Rescript on Education issued by Japanese government.

1892  Umeko Tsuda graduates from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania.

1893  American businessmen and United States military forces involved in overthrow of Hawaiian monarchy. Alice Mabel Bacon publishes A Japanese Interior.

1894  August–1895 March: First Sino–Japanese War.

1895  17 April: Treaty of Shimonoseki ending Sino–Japanese War.

1895  23 April: Triple Intervention of Russia, Germany, and France forces Japan to return Liaotung Peninsula to China.

1898  April–August: Spanish–American War. July: Hawaii is annexed to the United States. December: The Treaty of Paris is signed. Spain cedes the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico to the United States. Cuba gains independence.

1899–1902  Uprising against American occupation in Philippines.

1899 September:  United States Secretary of State John Hay announces “Open Door” policy concerning China.

1900–1901  Boxer Rebellion in China. Seven countries, including the United States and Japan, send military forces to put down the rebellion.

1900  3 July: U.S. Secretary of State John Hay issues second Open Door notes.

1902  30 January: Anglo–Japanese Alliance is concluded.

1904  8 February: Outbreak of Russo–Japanese War.

1905  2 August: President Theodore Roosevelt approves Taft–Katsura Agreement. 5 September: Treaty of Portsmouth, mediated by President Roosevelt, ends Russo–Japanese War. 5–7 September: Hibiya Riots in Tokyo.

1906  11 October: San Francisco School Board votes to segregate Japanese schoolchildren.

1907  27 February: Gentlemen's Agreement is made by the governments of Japan, the United States, and the city of San Francisco, and formalized one year later.

1908  October: Great White Fleet arrives in Yokohama. 30 November: Root–Takahira Agreement is signed.

1911  21 February: Signing of U.S.–Japan Treaty of Commerce and Navigation.

1914  August: World War I begins. 23 August: Japan declares war on Germany.

1915  18 January: Japan conveys its Twenty-One Demands to China. 11 May: U.S. Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan announces non-recognition of forcible changes in status quo in China.

1917  6 April: United States enters World War I. 2 November: Lansing–Ishii Agreement is concluded.

1918  19 August: U.S. troops join their Japanese counterparts in launching the Siberian Intervention

1919  4 May: May Fourth Movement in Beijing. 28 June: Paris Peace Conference concludes with the signing of the Versailles Peace Treaty.

1921  11 November: Washington Conference convenes.

1922  6 February: Five Power Treaty ends naval arms race in the Pacific. 13 November: In Ozawa v. United States, the United States Supreme Court decides that first-generation Japanese immigrants are ineligible for U.S. citizenship.

1924  1 July: Oriental Exclusion Act, part of 1924 Immigration Bill, is approved by United States Congress.

1926  25 December: Hirohito becomes emperor of Japan.

1927  20 June: Geneva Naval Conference convenes.

1929  The Japanese American Citizens League is founded in California.

1930  21 January: London Naval Conference convenes. 14 November: Hamaguchi Osachi is shot by an ultra right-wing nationalist.

1931  18 September: Manchurian Incident begins.

1932  7 January: U.S. Secretary of State Henry Stimson announces non-recognition of forcible changes of status quo in China. 18 January: Japanese residents in Shanghai are attacked, sparking the Shanghai Incident. 18 February: Japan proclaims the independence of Manchukuo (formerly Manchuria, China). June: Joseph Grew arrives in Tokyo as United States ambassador to Japan. He served until the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. November: Franklin Delano Roosevelt is elected president of the United States.

1933  24 February: After defending Japan's actions in Manchuria at a Special Assembly meeting of the League of Nations in Geneva, Ambassador Yosuke Matsuoka and the entire Japanese delegation stage a walkout. 27 March: Japan formally announces its withdrawal from the League of Nations.

1934  17 April: Japan enunciates “Asian Monroe” Doctrine.

1936  16 January: Japanese delegates withdraw from Second London Naval Conference. 26 February: February 26 Incident in Tokyo. 25 November: Japan and Germany conclude the Anti-Comintern Pact.

1937  7 July: Second Sino–Japan War begins with the Marco Polo Bridge incident near Beijing. August–November: Japanese and Chinese (Nationalist) forces fight in Shanghai. Shanghai falls to Japanese control on 8 November. 12 December: Panay Incident. 13 December: Japanese troops capture Nanjing, capital of Nationalist China. Atrocities committed by Japanese troops until 1938 February are collectively known as the “Rape of Nanjing.”

1938  21 October: Japanese troops capture Canton. 3 November: Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe announces Japan's policy of “A New Order in East Asia.”

1939  26 July: U.S. announces its intention to abrogate its treaty of commerce with Japan. 1 September: Germany invades Poland, beginning World War II in Europe.

1940  22 September: Japan deploys military forces in northern French Indochina. 26 September: U.S. embargoes aviation gasoline, high-grade iron, and scrap metal. 27 September: Japan, Germany, and Italy conclude the Tripartite Alliance. 5 November: Franklin Delano Roosevelt is elected to a third term as U.S. president.

1941  12 February: Japanese–American negotiations commence. 11 March: U.S. Congress passes Lend Lease Act. 13 April: Japan and USSR sign neutrality treaty. 25 July: Japanese troops invade southern Indochina. 26 July: U.S. government freezes Japanese assets in the United States. 9–12 August: President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill meet for the Atlantic Conference. 18 October: Army General and War Minister Hideki Tōjō replaces Fumimaro Konoe as prime minister. 7 December: Japanese military forces attack U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor and other military installations in Hawaii, plus Midway Island. 8 December: Japanese military forces attack the Philippines, Guam, Wake Island, Hong Kong, Malaya, and Thailand, and occupy international settlement of Shanghai. The United States, Britain, and the Netherlands declare war on Japan. 9 December: China declares war on Japan, Germany, and Italy.

1942  19 February: President Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066 authorizing removal of Japanese Americans from West Coast of the United States. 11 March: General Douglas MacArthur departs from the Philippines to set up a new command center in Australia. 9 April: American and Philippine forces surrender to Japanese troops. 9–16 April: American and Philippine POWs forced to walk 50 miles in what became known as the “Bataan Death March.” 18 April: Doolittle Raid. 4–8 May: Battle of Coral Sea. 3 June: Japanese military forces attack Aleutian Islands. 3–6 June: Battle of Midway.

1943  9 February: U.S. Marines and Navy capture Guadalcanal. 18 April: U.S. planes ambush and kill Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto over the Solomon Islands. May: U.S. forces recapture the Aleutian Islands. 22 November: Cairo Conference convenes. 28 November: Teheran Conference convenes.

1944  9 July: U.S. forces capture Saipan. 18 July: General Hideki Tōjō resigns as prime minister, and is succeeded by General Kuniaki Koiso. 10 August: U.S. forces recapture Guam. 23–26 October: Battle of Leyte Gulf. November: Allied forces recapture Peleliu. B-29 bombers based in the Mariana Islands (Saipan, Tinian, Guam) begin attacking Japan.

1945  4–11 February: Yalta Conference. 4 March: Allied forces retake Manila. 9–10 March: Massive U.S. incendiary bombing of Tokyo. 26 March: Allied forces capture Iwo Jima. 1 April–2 July: Battle of Okinawa. 5 April: Admiral Kantaro Suzuki succeeds General Kuniaki Koiso as prime minister. 12 April: President Roosevelt dies and is succeeded by Harry S. Truman. 7 May: Germany surrenders to Allied forces. 16 July: U.S. explodes the world's first atomic bomb in a test near Alamogordo, New Mexico. 16 July–2 August: Potsdam Conference. 26 July: Potsdam Declaration issued by U.S., Britain, and China. The Soviet Union officially joins the Potsdam Declaration on 8 August 1945. 28 July: Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki rejects Potsdam Declaration. 6 August: Atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima. 8 August: Soviet Union declares war against Japan; Soviet troops begin invasion of Japan-controlled Manchuria just after midnight on 8–9 August. 9 August: Atomic bomb attack on Nagasaki. 14 August: Japanese government notifies the Allied Powers that it surrenders. President Truman appoints General Douglas MacArthur as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP). 15 August: Radio broadcast of Emperor Hirohito's acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration. Kantaro Suzuki Cabinet resigns en masse. 17 August: Naruhiko Higashikuni Cabinet established; it lasts until 9 October 1945. 20 August: Japanese military forces in Manchuria surrender to the Soviet Union. 2 September: The official surrender ceremony is conducted aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay with General MacArthur presiding. 6 September: President Truman approves “United States Initial Post-Surrender Policy” (directed to General MacArthur). 15 September: Allied Powers GHQ establishes its headquarters in Hibiya, Tokyo, at the Dai Ichi Seimei Sogo Building. 17 September: Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu resigns, succeeded by Shigeru Yoshida. 28 September: First meeting between General MacArthur and Emperor Hirohito takes place. 10 October: About 500 political prisoners, including Kyuichi Tokuda, a prominent member of the Japanese Communist Party, released from prison. 11 October: General MacArthur demands that Prime Minister Kijuro Shidehara amend the Constitution and implement the five major reforms. 25 October: Constitutional Problems Investigation Committee established with Joji Matsumoto as chairman. 2 November: Japanese Socialist Party established with Tetsu Katayama as secretary-general. 6 November: GHQ directs zaibatsu dissolution. 9 November: Japan Liberal Party established with Ichiro Hatoyama as president. 16 November: Japan Progressive Party established with Chuji Machida as president (he becomes president on 18 November 1945). 9 December: GHQ directs land reform. 16 December: Fumimaro Konoe commits suicide. 17 December: Election-reform law enacted (including women's suffrage).

1946  1 January: Emperor Hirohito makes “declaration of human being,” rejecting his divinity. 4 January: GHQ directs purge of militarists. 29 January: GHQ directs the cessation of Japanese administration over Ryukyu and Ogasawara Islands. 3 February: General MacArthur directs GHQ's Government Section to make a draft of Japanese constitution (completed on 10 February). 8 February: Matsumoto trial draft of revision of the Constitution submitted to GHQ. It is rejected soon thereafter. 19 February: Emperor Hirohito begins to travel around Japan. 22 February: After American demands, the Japanese government decides to accept the GHQ draft of a Japanese constitution. 6 March: Japanese government publicly announces the outline of revised draft of a Japanese constitution. 10 April: First postwar general election for the Lower House. 22 April: Shidehara Cabinet resigns en masse. 29 April: Indictments of 28 Class-A war criminals announced. 3 May: International Military Tribunal for the Far East begins in Tokyo (informally known as Tokyo War Crimes Trials). 4 May: GHQ announces purge of Ichiro Hatoyama, president of the Japan Liberal Party. 14 May: Foreign Minister Shigeru Yoshida becomes president of the Liberal Party. 22 May: First Yoshida Cabinet established. 16 August: Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren) established. 3 November: The new, postwar Japanese Constitution is promulgated. 20 November: Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Nihon Shoko Kaigisho) established.

1947  January: Japanese workers call for a general strike. 31 January: General Douglas MacArthur orders the planned 1 February general strike stopped. 31 March: Democratic Party established. 31 March: Basic Education Law promulgated. 14 April: Anti-monopoly Law promulgated. 25 April: 23rd general election held. 3 May: New Japanese Constitution becomes effective. 18 May: Hitoshi Ashida becomes president of the Democratic Party and Kijuro Shidehara honorary president. 1 June: Tetsu Katayama Cabinet established. It lasts until 10 March 1948. 18 December: Elimination of Excessive Concentration of Economic Power Act promulgated.

1948  10 March: Hitoshi Ashida Cabinet established. It lasts until 15 October 1948. 15 March: Democratic Liberal Party established with Shigeru Yoshida as president. 20 March: Draper Mission comes to Japan headed by Under Secretary of the Army William Draper. 18 May: Department of the Army announces the Draper Mission Report. 15 August: The Republic of Korea (ROK) is established in southern Korea. 9 September: The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is established in northern Korea. 15 October: Second Yoshida Cabinet established. 12 November: Twenty-five Class-A war criminals are convicted at the Tokyo War Crimes Trials. 9 December: U.S. government pulls back FEC 230 (the Elimination of Excessive Concentration of Economic Power Act). 24 December: GHQ announces that it will release 19 war crime suspects including Nobusuke Kishi.

1949  1 February: Joseph Dodge arrives in Japan. 16 February: Third Yoshida Cabinet established. 7 March: Joseph Dodge makes an announcement about implementation of the nine-point economic stabilization principles. 25 April: Single foreign exchange rate ($1 = 360 yen) implemented. 4 July: General MacArthur announces that Japan is a bulwark against the advance of communism. 1 October: Mao Zedong announces the foundation of the People's Republic of China. 1 November: State Department announces that the United States is considering a peace treaty with Japan.

1950  1 January: General MacArthur announces that the Japanese constitution (Article Nine) does not deny Japan's right to self-defense. 6 April: President Truman appoints John Foster Dulles as a special foreign policy adviser to the secretary of state to negotiate a peace treaty for Japan. 25 April–22 May: Finance Minister Hayato Ikeda visits the United States. 6 June: General MacArthur directs Prime Minister Yoshida to purge 24 top officials of the Japanese Communist Party. 21 June–27 June: John Foster Dulles in Japan. 25 June: Korean War begins. 8 July: GHQ orders the Japanese government to establish the National Police Reserve. 28 July: Red Purge begins. 10 August: the National Police Reserve Law is promulgated and becomes effective. 24 November: Memorandum on the Japanese Peace Treaty circulated by the United States to the Governments Represented on the Far Eastern Commission and released to the press on this date.

1951  29 January–6 February: Dulles–Yoshida meetings in Tokyo. 16 March: Secretary of State Dean Acheson expresses his wish that the Soviet Union will join a peace treaty with Japan. 11 April: President Truman dismisses General MacArthur as SCAP and appoints Matthew Ridgway as successor. 12 July: John Foster Dulles announces a draft of the peace treaty with Japan. 8 September: San Francisco Peace Treaty signed. Japan–U.S. Security Treaty signed on same date.

1952  Fulbright Program begins in Japan. 9 April: Japan–U.S. Fishing Treaty signed. 28 April: San Francisco Peace Treaty and Japan–U.S. Security Treaty becomes effective. 28 April: Japan–Taiwan Peace Treaty signed. 9 May: Ambassador Robert Daniel Murphy, first U.S. ambassador to Japan in the postwar era, assumes office. 16 June: Declaration of the Japanese Goverment on its United Nations membership. 10 July: Japan–American Trade Arbitration Agreement signed. 8 September: First Japan–U.S. Economic Cooperation Council held. 16 September: Japan–American Business Arbitration Agreement signed. 15 October: Police Reserve Force formally established. 30 October: Fourth Yoshida Cabinet established.

1953  27 July: Armistice ending Korean War. 5 October–30 October: Ikeda–Robertson Talks. 15 November: Vice President Richard Nixon arrives in Japan. 24 December: Japan–U.S. Agreement on returning the Amami Islands to Japan signed.

1954  First Godzilla movie released in Japan. 1 March: Lucky Dragon incident. 8 March: Japan–U.S. Mutual Security Agreement signed. April–July: Geneva Conference on conflicts in Korea and Indochina. 11 May: Government and Relief in Occupied Areas (GARIOA) and Economic Rehabilitation in Occupied Areas (EROA) repayment negotiations begin. 2 June: Self–Defense Forces Law and the Defense Agency Act enacted. 1 July: Self-Defense Forces Law and the Defense Agency Act become effective. Self-Defense Forces and the Defense Agency established. 10 November: Joint Statement of Japanese Prime Minister Yoshida and U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower.

1955  18 January: President Eisenhower announces that the United States will occupy Okinawa for indefinite duration. 21 January: Prime Minister Ichiro Hatoyama announces that Japan can have its own military forces for self-defense and Japan should establish an independent defense system. 2 March: Secretary of State Dulles announces the promotion of Japan–Southeast Asian trade in order to assist Japanese economic revival. 10 May: Negotiations for Restoration of Japanese Assets in the United States concluded. 7 June: Japan joins the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). 14 November: Japan–U.S. Atomic Energy Agreement signed. 15 November: Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) established. 19 December: Atomic Energy Law and the Atomic Energy Commission of Japan establishment law promulgated.

1956  22 March: Japan–U.S. Technology Information Exchange Agreement (for defense purposes) signed. 3 April: State law of discriminatory sales of Japanese textile products in State of Alabama passed. 9 May: Japanese Reparations Agreement with the Philippines signed. 27 June: United States Ambassador John Allison announces that the United States will not occupy Okinawa forever. 9 July: Japan, Germany Confiscated Properties Repayment Law enacted. 26 September: International Atomic Energy Agency Charter adopted by 70 countries, including Japan. 27 September: Japan announces voluntary restriction measure of exporting cotton products to the United States. 18 December: Japan becomes the 80th member of the United Nations.

1957  30 January: Girard Incident in Gunma, Japan. 25 February: Douglas MacArthur II, nephew of General MacArthur, arrives as United States ambassador to Japan. He serves until 1961. 22 April: Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi states at the meeting of the Lower House Budget Committee that Article Nine of the Japanese constitution should be revised. 7 May: Prime Minister Kishi states at the meeting of the Upper House Cabinet Committee that it is reasonable to use nuclear power within the range of self-defense. 23 May: Koichiro Asakai becomes Japan's ambassador to the United States. 21 June: Joint Communiqué of Japanese Prime Minister Kishi and U.S. President Eisenhower issued. 28 September: Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announces three diplomatic principles: focusing on the United Nations, cooperation with the free world, and maintenance of Japan's status as an Asian country.

1958  20 January: Japan–Indonesia peace treaty and reparations agreement signed. 25 July: Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) established.

1959  28 March: National Council for Blocking Revision of Japan–U.S. Security Treaty established.

1960  19 January: New Japan–U.S. Security Treaty signed in Washington, D.C. President Eisenhower and Prime Minister Kishi issue a joint communiqué. June 19: Diet approves the new Japan–U.S. Security Treaty despite intense opposition. Prime Minister Kishi resigns and is succeeded by Hayato Ikeda. 23 June: New Japan–U.S. Security Treaty becomes effective.

1961  20 January: John F. Kennedy is inaugurated as president of the United States. 29 March: Edwin O. Reischauer is appointed United States ambassador to Japan. He serves until August 1966. 22 June: Joint Statement of Prime Minister Ikeda and President Kennedy. 13 December: First Japan–U.S. Science Committee meeting.

1962  25 January: First meeting of the United States–Japan Conference on Cultural and Educational Interchange (CULCON). 2 February: Japan–U.S. mutual tariff reduction agreement signed. 15 June: Japanese government dispatches the first Okinawa inspection team to Okinawa. 28 August: Japan–U.S. Cosmos roundtable conference.

1963  22 March: Japan–U.S. consular agreement signed. 19 November: Japan–U.S. satellite TV radio wave relay agreement. 22 November: President Kennedy is murdered in Dallas, Texas. Vice President Lyndon Johnson becomes president. 7 December: Tokyo District Court issues a decision that dropping the atomic bombs was a violation of international law, but rules against plaintiffs claims.

1964  24 March: U.S. Ambassador Reischauer stabbing incident. 1 April: Japan becomes an International Monetary Fund, Article VIII country. 28 April: Japan becomes a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). 19 June: Trans-Pacific Cable between Japan and the United States opened. 28 August: Japanese government approves of U.S. nuclear submarines calling at Japanese harbors. 10 October: Tokyo Olympics opened on this date and concludes on 27 October 1964. 16 October: People's Republic of China announces a successful atomic bomb experiment. 3 November: Lyndon Johnson wins the U.S. Presidential election. 12 November: U.S. nuclear submarine (The Sea Dragon) calls at Sasebo Harbor.

1965  10 February: Haruo Okada reveals in the Diet the existence of Mitsuya contingency planning conducted in the Defense Agency. 31 May: Prime Minister Eisaku Sato states that in case Okinawa is attacked, the Japanese government will dispatch Self-Defense Forces. 22 June: Korea–Japan Treaty restores diplomatic relations between Japan and South Korea. 29 July: B-52 strategic bombers leave Okinawa, and fly directly to South Vietnam to attack Viet Cong for the first time without prior consultation with the Japanese government. 19 August: Prime Minister Eisaku Sato makes the first prime ministerial visit to Okinawa. 24 August: Japanese government decides to establish ministerial council for Okinawa problems. 28 December: Japan–U.S. civil aviation agreement revision negotiations concluded and signed.

1966  14 February: Prime Minister Sato expresses approval of U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier calling at Japanese harbors. 8 November: U. Alexis Johnson becomes United States ambassador to Japan. He serves until 1969.

1967  25 April: Japanese government expresses its official attitude that it is possible to export weapons as long as they are within the limits of self-defense. 4 May: Maritime Self-Defense Force and U.S. Navy carry out joint exercises in the Japan Sea. 30 June: Kennedy Round of GATT final documents signed. 14 September: Japan–U.S. Relationship Civilian Conference (Shimoda Conference) held. 15 November: Joint Statement of Japanese Prime Minister Sato and U.S. President Johnson that the Ogasawara Islands will be returned to Japan within a year.

1968  19 January: U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Enterprise along with nuclear-powered frigate calls at a Japanese harbor for the first time. 19 January: Japan–U.S.–Ryukyu Consultative Committee formally established. 30 January: Prime Minister Sato explains three non-nuclear principles of the Japanese government. 26 February: New Japan–U.S. atomic energy agreement effective for 30 years signed. 27 March: U.S. Senate passes the fabrics import numerical allocation bill. 17 April: First round-table meeting among Japan–U.S. legislative officers held. 17 June: Liberal Democratic Party announce automatic extension of the Japan–U.S. security treaty.

1969  28 January: Japan–U.S. Kyoto Conference on Okinawa and Asia sponsored by the study group on Okinawa military base problems. 5 February: Masami Takatsuji, director of the Cabinet Legislation Bureau, states that Japan's constitution does not prohibit the possession of nuclear weapons. 18 April: Japan–U.S. Agreement on Trust Island Territory in the Pacific Ocean (Micronesia Agreement) signed. 21 November: Japan and the United States make a joint announcement that they have agreed on the restitution of Okinawa in 1972.

1970  3 February: Japan signs the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. 22 June: Japan–U.S. security treaty automatic extension becomes effective. 21 October: Prime Minister Sato makes first speech at the UN by a Japanese prime minister.

1971  25 April: The New York Times reports that there was a secret agreement between Japan and the United States about bringing nuclear weapons into Japan. 17 June: Agreement between Japan and the United States concerning the Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa) and the Daito Islands signed. 1 July: Japanese voluntary export restraint of fabrics toward the United States begins. 27 September: President Richard Nixon meets with Emperor Hirohito at Anchorage, Alaska. 10 November: U.S. Senate ratifies the Okinawa Restitution Agreement. 29 November: The United States and People's Republic of China announce that President Richard Nixon will pay a formal visit to People's Republic of China beginning on 21 February 1972.

1972  7 January: Joint Statement of Japanese Prime Minister Sato and U.S. President Nixon. 24 January: Shoichi Yokoi, a World War II veteran, is found hiding on Guam years after the end of the war. 21 February: President Nixon arrives in Beijing and meets with Chairman Mao Zedong. 27 February: Joint Communiqué between the People's Republic of China and the United States announced in Shanghai. 15 May: Okinawa formally returned to Japanese sovereignty. 30 May: Japanese Red Army terrorists kill 24 people at Lod Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel. 1 September: Joint Statement of Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka and U.S. President Nixon. 25 September: U.S. Secretary of State William P. Rogers formally expresses American support for Japan's becoming a permanent member of the UN Security Council. 29 September: Joint Communiqué of the Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China.

1973  27 January: The United States and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) sign the Paris Peace Accords. 24 September: U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger expresses U.S. support of Japan's becoming a permanent member of the Security Council. 17 October: Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) sets petroleum strategy in motion and the first oil crisis takes place.

1974  15 July: Japan–U.S. Agreement on Cooperation in Research and Development of Energy signed. 8 October: Former Prime Minister Eisaku Sato wins Nobel Peace Prize. 18 November: U.S. President Gerald Ford arrives in Japan and meets with Emperor Hirohito. 20 November: Joint Communiqué of Japanese Prime Minister Tanaka and U.S. President Ford.

1975  21 October: President Ford signs the Japan–U.S. Amity bill into a law.

1976  5 November: National Defense Council decides that the Japanese defense-related expenditure should be limited to one percent of GNP.

1977  20 May: Japan decides to voluntarily restrict exports of color TVs to the United States in accordance with the orderly marketing agreement (effective in July 1977, for three years). June: Former Senator Mike Mansfield arrives in Tokyo as United States ambassador to Japan. He serves until December 1988.

1978  12 August: Japan–China Peace and Friendship Treaty signed. 5 December: Japan–U.S. agricultural products negotiations concluded.

1979  1 January: The United States establishes diplomatic relationship with People's Republic of China and breaks diplomatic ties with Republic of China (Taiwan). 15 February: Japan–U.S. agreement on educational exchanges signed. 15 May: Foreign exchange law, foreign trade control law, and law concerning foreign investment revised. 28 June: Tokyo Summit opened; Tokyo Declaration adopted the following day. 24 August: Japan–U.S. textile agreement revision formally signed. 14 December: First meeting of the Japan–U.S. Wise Persons Committee begins.

1980  25 April: A series of agreements of the GATT Tokyo Round become effective. 18 July: Japan–U.S. fishery product negotiations concluded. 5 September: Trade Sub-committee of the U.S. House of Representatives requests Japan for voluntary export restraints on automobiles to the United States. 17 September: Toyota, Nissan, and Honda accept voluntary export restraints on automobiles to the United States.

1981  2 September: Japan and the United States agree in principle to hold trilateral trade conference and “Japan–U.S. trade problem group” of comprehensive trade negotiations.

1982  17 February: Tokyo Stock Exchange decides to open its doors to foreign securities. 17 August: United States–China Joint Communiqué on United States Arms Sales to Taiwan announced.

1983  14 January: Japanese government revises its three principles on arms exports. 12 March: Japan–U.S. joint research on sea-lane defense starts. 8 November: Exchange of notes concerning Japanese providing the United States with arms technology signed.

1984  7 February: Five-year extension of Japan–U.S. environmental protection agreement. 6 November: First meeting of the Joint Military Technology Commission held in Tokyo. 4 December: Japanese government decides to establish foreign policy ministerial council.

1985  2 January: Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone and President Ronald Reagan hold discussions. 28 January: Japan–U.S. vice-ministerial-level talks for promoting opening Japanese market agree to begin Market Oriented Sector Selective (MOSS) consultation in four economic sectors: forest products, telecommunications equipment and services, electronics, and medical equipment and pharmaceuticals. 26 March: Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) decides to continue voluntary restraints on export of Japanese-made automobiles to the United States. 26 March: U.S. Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger requests Japan as well as Western nations to join research and development of the Strategic Defense Initiative at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization conference. 11 April: Council of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development requests Japan's effort to open markets; Japan, the United States, and Europe make a joint announcement of pursuing persistent economic growth and employment expansion without inflation. 22 September: Announcement of the ministers of finance and Central Bank governors of France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States (Plaza Accord).

1986  13 February: MITI makes an announcement to continue voluntary export restraints on automobiles to the United States. 7 April: Maekawa Report submitted to Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone. 30 April: U.S. House of Representatives passes a comprehensive trade bill including the Gephardt clause that requires countries with trade surplus with the United States to reduce the surplus by 10 percent every year. 2 September: The U.S.–Japan Agreement of 1986 on Semiconductor Products. 8 September: Japanese government makes an official decision to participate in Strategic Defense Initiative research. 3 October: Japan–U.S. tobacco negotiations concluded with complete abolishment of Japan's tariff.

1987  23 April: New Maekawa Report submitted.

1988  13 January: Joint Statement by President Ronald Reagan and Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita of Japan on Economic Issues. 10 August: President Reagan's compensation bill for Japanese–Americans interned during World War II. 29 August: First Japan–U.S. intellectual property rights conference held in Hawaii. 20–21 September: Both houses of Japanese Diet unanimously vote against liberalization of rice. 29 November: Japan and U.S. governments sign exchange of notes and memorandum for joint development of fighter support X (FSX).

1989  7 January: Emperor Hirohito dies. His son, Akihito, becomes the new emperor of Japan. 26 May: President George H. W. Bush proposes Japan–U.S. Structural Impediments Initiative (SII) to consult on Japan's trade barriers. 26 June: Secretary of State Howard Baker's Address on “A New Pacific Partnership.” 4 September: First meeting of Japan–U.S. Structural Impediments Initiative held in Tokyo. 6 November: First meeting of Asia–Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference held in Canberra. 9 November: The Berlin Wall comes down. 30 November: First meeting of Japan–U.S. super computer expert conference held in Tokyo.

1990  17 January: The Ministry of International Trade and Industry announces that Japan will continue its voluntary export restraint of Japanese automobiles to the United States in 1990. 9 February: Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney announces that the United States does not desire an improvement of Japanese defense capabilities. 14 February: Japan–U.S. steel trade agreement signed in Washington, D.C., and becomes effective. 28 June: The Japan–U.S. Structural Impediments Initiative talks is concluded with a final report. 2 August: Iraq invades Kuwait, beginning the Persian Gulf War. 8 August: Iraq announces the annexation of Kuwait. The following day, the United Nations declares the annexation invalid. 29 August: The Japanese government announces provision of funds for multinational forces in the Gulf War.

1991  17 January: The United States attacks Iraq. Prime Minister Kaifu expresses Japan's “firm support” for the multinational forces. Japan refuses to send combat troops, but helps pay costs of the war and sends minesweepers to the Persian Gulf. 8 March: Gulf War ends in a cease-fire. 25 April: Japanese government makes a formal decision to dispatch a Japanese Self-Defense Forces minesweeper sweeper to the Persian Gulf. 11 June: New Japan–U.S. Semiconductor Arrangement concluded. 26 December: The Soviet Union is formally dissolved.

1992  9 January: Prime Minister Miyazawa and President Bush announce the Tokyo Declaration on the Japan–U.S. Global Partnership and an Action Plan for expansion of Japan's imports of U.S.-made auto parts to US$19 billion by 1994. 11 February: Japan, the United States, Canada, and Russia sign the North Pacific salmon preservation treaty. June: Peace-Keeping Operations (PKO) International Cooperation Law is enacted. August: PKO International Peace Cooperation Law becomes effective. 17 September: First group of Japanese self-defense force troops dispatched to Cambodia.

1993  12 February: North Korea notifies the UN Security Council that it will withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty because of its dissatisfaction with nuclear inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency. 7 July: President Bill Clinton announces the new Pacific community vision in a speech at Waseda University, Japan. 9 July: Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa and President Clinton announce the establishment of the Japan–United States Framework for a New Economic Partnership. September: Former Vice President Walter Mondale arrives in Tokyo as United States ambassador to Japan. He serves until December 1996. 10 July: Joint Statement on the Japan–United States Framework for a New Economic Partnership by Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa and President Clinton.

1994  1 February: First North Pacific security trilateral forum held in Tokyo by experts from Japan, the United States, and Russia. 11 February: Joint News Conference by President Clinton and Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa. 12 August: The Advisory Group on Defense Issues under Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama issues the Modality of the Security and Defense Capability of Japan: The Outlook for the 21st Century. 21 October: Agreed Framework between the United States of America and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea signed.

1995  13 February: Japanese baseball player Hideo Nomo joins Los Angeles Dodgers. 27 February: United States Security Strategy for the East Asia–Pacific Region (Nye Report) announced. 2 May: Hideo Nomo becomes the first Japanese player in U.S. Major Leagues in more than 30 years. 16 May: Settlement of U.S.–Japanese Conflict on Automobile and Auto Parts Trade, Statement by Ambassador Micky Kantor. 15 August: Prime Minister Murayama issues a statement on the 50th Anniversary of the end of World War II. The statement says, “During a certain period in the not too distant past, Japan, following a mistaken national policy advanced along the road to war, only to ensnare the Japanese people in a fateful crisis, and, through its colonial rule and aggression, caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries, particularly to those of Asian nations.” He also expresses “profound gratitude for the indispensable support and assistance extended to Japan by the countries of the world, beginning with the United States of America.” 4 September: Three American servicemen abduct and rape an Okinawan schoolgirl. The crime renews tensions about the U.S. military presence in Japan.

1996  March: China carries out a missile firing exercise in the Taiwan Strait, and the United States dispatched the Seventh Fleet to the area around Taiwan. 12 April: Washington and Tokyo agree on the return of the Futenma Base in Okinawa to Japan. 17 April: Japan–U.S. Joint Declaration on Security, Alliance for the 21st Century. 2 December: Security Consultative Committee approves of the Special Action Committee on Okinawa Final Report. 15 December: Conclusion of U.S.–Japan insurance consultations.

1997  23 September: Completion of review of Guidelines for U.S.–Japan Defense Cooperation.

1998  20 September: Washington and Tokyo conclude a basic agreement on joint research into the Theater Missile Defense initiative. 23 November: The Department of States issues the United States Security Strategy for the East Asia Pacific Region. 5 December: The Security Council of Japan approved “Japan–U.S. Technology Research concerning Ballistic Missile Defense.” 22 December: Introduction of an intelligence-gathering satellite is adopted at a Cabinet meeting.

1999  24 May: Relevant Laws for a Review of the Guidelines for U.S.–Japan Defense Cooperation (U.S.–Japan New Guidelines) enacted. 16 August: the U.S. and Japanese governments officially agree on a U.S.–Japan Joint Technological Study concerning Ballistic Missile Defense.

2000  11 October: The United States issues Special Report The United States and Japan: Advancing Toward a Mature Partnership.

2001  20 January: George W. Bush is inaugurated as president of the United States. 9 February: The USS Greenville submarine collides with the Japanese fishing training vessel Ehime Maru, killing nine people aboard the Ehime Maru. 26 April: Junichiro Koizumi becomes Prime Minister of Japan. 30 June: U.S.–Japan Economic Partnership for growth

5  July: Former Senator Howard Baker arrives in Tokyo as United States ambassador to Japan. He serves until February 2005. 11 September: Terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania kill more than 3,000 people, including 2,900 Americans and 26 Japanese. 29 October: Anti-Terrorism Special Measures Law enacted.

2002  26 August: Assistant Secretary of State James Kerry informs former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto that North Korea is suspected of developing nuclear weapons secretly. September: 50th anniversary of the signing of the San Francisco Peace Treaty. 17 September: Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visits North Korea and signs the Pyongyang Declaration.

2003  16 March: Vice President Dick Cheney mentions possibility of Japan's nuclear armament. 20 March: Invasion of Iraq begins. 27 March: Defense Agency Director Shigeru Ishiba states at the Lower House Committee on National Security that even though North Korea possesses nuclear weapons, Japan will depend on the U.S. nuclear umbrella without possessing its own nuclear weapons. May: At a summit meeting with President Bush, Prime Minister Koizumi pledges to dispatch the Japanese Self-Defense Forces to Iraq. 6 June: Laws on war contingencies enacted. 26 July: Special legislation calling for assistance in the rebuilding of Iraq by which the Japanese Self-Defense Forces are dispatched to Iraq enacted. 6  November: Signing of the New Japan–US Income Tax Convention. December: Japan decides to adopt Missile Defense (MD) system. In making a new National Defense Program Outline, the Defense Department decides the U.S. basic policy to reduce its front-line equipment.

2004  16 January: Based on the Special legislation calling for assistance in the rebuilding of Iraq, the Japanese government dispatches the advance party of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force to Iraq. February: The first of more than 600 Japan Self-Defense Force troops begin arriving in Iraq to assist the United States coalition military. 20 February: Signing of the agreement between Japan and the United States of America on Social Security. 24 February: The Japanese government decides the outline of the seven legislations to deal with military emergencies. 27 February: Signing of agreement amending Acquisition and Cross-servicing Agreement. 1 October: Japanese baseball superstar Ichiro Suzuki, playing for the Seattle Mariners, breaks the 84-year-old Major League Baseball record for hits in one season. 19 November: The Japan–U.S.–Korea Dialogue “Future of Korean Peninsula and Japan–U.S.–Korea Security Cooperation” held in Tokyo, Japan. 9 December: One-year extension of stationing the Japan Self-Defense Forces in Iraq approved in a Cabinet meeting. 10 December: Koizumi Cabinet Meeting stipulates new National Defense Program Outline. The Meeting also approves the midterm defense buildup program from 2005 to 2009.

2005  1 August: House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert visits Japan with six Members of Congress, and met with Speaker Yohei Kono. Speaker Hastert also has separate meetings with other Japanese leaders including Prime Minister Koizumi. 26 October: Japan extends Anti-Terrorism Special Measures Law for another year until November 2006. 27 October: Deputy Under Secretary of Defense Richard Lawless announces that the United States has accepted a proposal by the Japanese Defense Agency to relocate the military assets currently based at Futenma Air Station on the island of Okinawa, Japan. 8 December: Exchange of Recommendations for Fifth-Year Dialog under “the Japan–U.S. Regulatory Reform and Competition Policy Initiative”; One-year extension of stationing the Japan Self-Defense Forces in Iraq approved at a Cabinet meeting.

2006  21 February: U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns announces that Japan will end its decades-old ban on the import of U.S. fresh potatoes. 9 March: Air Force Lieutenant General Henry “Trey” Obering, director of the Missile Defense Agency, testifies before a House Armed Services subcommittee hearing that Japan emerges as America's largest missile defense partner. 20 March: Australia–Japan–United States Joint Statement (Trilateral Strategic Dialogue).