June 1
1927 The Minseito (People's) political party was established in Japan. The Minseito had its origins in Okuma Shigenobu's Kaishinto party (est. 1882). It was one of the parties which combined in 1955 to form the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Japan's dominant political party. Minseito was the name chosen in 1996 by former prime minister and LDP leader Hosokawa Morihiro and others. This group merged with others in 1998 to form the Democratic Party of Japan.
1982 Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang visited Tokyo to commemorate a decade of diplomatic relations between China and Japan. Zhao's visited Japan, May 31-June 5. During this visit Zhao declared that Sino-Japanese relations were to be based on three principles: 1) peace and friendship, 2) equality and mutual benefit, and 3) long-term stability. The Chinese foreign ministry website includes a chronology of post-1972 Sino-Japanese relations.
1998 Japanese pediatrician Matsuda Michio died at age 89. Matsuda worked to eradicate tuberculosis early in his career, but then focused on child care issues. He drew upon traditional Japanese culture to develop his infant-rearing approach. His most popular book Ikuji no Hyakka (An Encyclopedia of Child Care, 1967) remains influential.
The Teaching about Japan website is
edited by Clayton Dube.
He welcomes your comments and suggestions.
© 2001 UCLA Center for East Asian Studies