|
|||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
|
Historical profile
1600 The unification of Japan began in the Tokugawa period (1600–1868), during which a national administrative hierarchy was formed.
1868 The restoration of the imperial family from political obscurity ended the Tokugawa shogunate and began the Meiji era. Key reforms were initiated to orient Japan to the West and end centuries of isolation.
1894 Japan defeated imperial China in a brief war.
1895 China ceded Taiwan to Japan and allowed Japan to trade in China.
1904--05 Japan went to war with Russia and won.
1910 After three years of fighting, Japan annexed Korea.
1914--19 Japan had limited participation in the First World War on the side of Britain and the allies. The Treaty of Versailles gave Japan some territory in the Pacific.
1920--32 Since the late 1920s, extreme nationalism had increased. In 1931, Japan invaded Manchuria, renaming it and installing a puppet regime. The Japanese prime minister was assassinated in 1932 by ultra-nationalists. The military held increasing influence in the country.
1938–41 Japanese forces occupied large parts of China and south-east Asia, forcing the British out of Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong.
1945 Following its defeat in the Second World War, the subsequent armistice ceded control over many of Japan's outer islands, and the country was placed under US military occupation.
1947 A new democratic constitution was enacted, renouncing all military activity outside Japan.
1951 Following the signing of the peace treaty, Japan regained its sovereignty. Sovereignty over the Tokara Archipelago and the Amami islands were also restored.
1955 The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was formed by a coalition of centre-right groups.
1956 Japan joined the UN.
1964 Prime Minister Hayato Ikeda was succeeded by Eisaku Sato, who was to become the longest-serving prime minister in Japanese history, remaining in office until 1972.
1972 The Bonin Islands and the remainder of the Ryukyu Islands (including Okinawa), which had been under US administration since 1945, were finally returned to Japan.
1976 Following the resignation of Sato's successor, Kakuei Tanaka, in 1974, Tanaka was arrested on charges of accepting bribes. The scandal damaged the LDP, which, in the elections, lost its overall majority for the first time.
1983 Following seven years of judicial proceedings, Kakuei Tanaka was found guilty of accepting bribes. Tanaka began appeal proceedings and refused to resign his legislative seat, forcing a premature general election.
1986 The LDP recovered its absolute majority in the Diet.
1987 The high court upheld the 1983 decision, finding Tanaka guilty of accepting bribes.
1989 The Showa era ended with the death of Emperor Hirohito, who had reigned since 1926. He was succeeded by his son, Akihito, beginning the Heisei era.
1993 The LDP lost its majority in the lower house in the national election and a coalition government was formed.
1994 Tomiichi Murayama, leader of the Social Democratic Party of Japan (SDPJ), became Japan's fourth prime minister in a year.
1996 The LDP won the general election.
1997 Ryutaro Hashimoto of the LDP returned for his second term as prime minister. The economy entered a severe recession.
1998 Keizo Obuchi succeeded Ryutaro Hashimoto, who resigned following his party's defeat in the upper house election.
2000 Keizo Obuchi died and was replaced by Yoshiro Mori. Elections saw the LDP maintain power although the opposition performed well. The LDP lost its parliamentary majority, forcing Prime Minister Mori to rely on his coalition partners. Mori survived the first in a series of votes of no-confidence.
2001 After being rocked by scandals and with an unpopular image in Japanese politics, Mori resigned from the post of prime minister and leader of the LDP. Junichiro Koizumi was elected as the LDP's new president and was appointed prime minister, later going on to help turn around the fortunes of the LDP as it won Tokyo's metropolitan elections. The LDP coalition won the upper house elections.
2002 Prime Minister Koizumi's opinion poll ratings plummeted as the public began to realise that his ‘reform' agenda could prove to be a recipe for economic disaster.
2003 The LDP was re-elected in the 9 November parliamentary elections.
2004 The opposition won the House of Councillors partial elections on 1 July; however, the LDP-led coalition retained its majority in both houses.
|
||||||||||||||||
| Add a Listing Update a Listing Upgrade a Listing - Copyright © 2007 Simple-Directory.com | ||||||||||||
| China Manufacturer Directory | Kerala real estate | Kerala Web Directory | ||||||||||||
 |