June 12
1922 Admiral KATO Tomosaburo (b. 1861) took over as Japanese prime minister. Kato's government was one of several brief ones following the assassination, in 1921, of HARA Kei (Hara Takashi) who was the first party prime minister in Japan (1918-1921). Kato is best known in the West as the leader of the Japanese delegation to the 1921-22 Washington naval armament limitation talks. Kato died in 1923. Click here to see a picture of Kato.
1980 Japanese Prime Minister OHIRA Masayoshi (b. 1910 in Kagawa prefecture) died during the parliamentary campaign. He had served as prime minister since 1978. A foundation created to honor him gives a prize each year recognizing outstanding social science publications dealing with the Asia-Pacific region.
The Kagawa prefectural website includes Ohira among its famous natives, noting that during his prime ministership Japan established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China.
The Teaching about Japan website is
edited by Clayton Dube.
He welcomes your comments and suggestions.
© 2001 UCLA Center for East Asian Studies