Events
- 1165 - Emperor Goshirakawa holds an opening ceremony for the Sanjūsangendō, a temple built by Taira no Kiyomori. (Traditional Japanese Date: Seventeenth Day of the Twelfth Month, 1164)
- 1703 - The famed Forty-seven Samurai avenge their leader, Asano Naganori out of loyalty by attacking and killing Kira Kozuke no Suke Yoshinaka, despite being ordered not to. (Traditional Japanese Date: Fourteenth Day of the Twelfth Month, 1702)
- 1902 - Japan and England sign an alliance in London.
- 1920 - Hasegawa Machiko, author of the well known comic Sazae-san and Granny Mischief is born.
- 1943 - World War II: Second day of the Battle of Rennell Island. The USS Chicago (CA-29) is sunk and a U.S. destroyer is heavily damaged by Japanese torpedoes.
- 1944 - World War II: United States troops land on Majuro.
- 1945 - World War II: Raid at Cabanatuan: 126 American Rangers and Filipino resistance liberate from the Japanese Imperial Army 500 prisoners from the Cabanatuan POW camp.
- 1951 - The Pacific League's Clippers and the Central League's Pirates are merged into the Pacific League's Seibu Lions.
- 1957 - William S. Gerard, stationed at a U.S. military base in Gunma Prefecture, shoots and kills a local woman, Sakai Naka, (the Gerard Incident).
- 1974 - Japan and Korea enter into a treaty establishing their borders in the northern part of the Continental Shelf between the 33rd and 36th parallels.
- 1996 - Comet Hyakutake is discovered by amateur astronomer Yuji Hyakutake.
Births
- 1932 - Knock Yokoyama (d. 2007), comedian and politician
- 1956 - Keiichi Tsuchiya, race car driver and radio host
- 1958 - Sayuri Ishikawa, singer
- 1975 - Yumi Yoshimura, singer and actress
- 1982 - Hidenori Tokuyama, actor and singer
- 1984 - Midori Kuzuoka, model
- 1985 - Yuuri Morishita, model
- 1986 - Asami Shimoda, voice actress and singer
- 1995 - Misaki Iwasa, singer
Deaths
- 1181 - Emperor Takakura (b. 1161)
- 1867 - Emperor Kōmei (b. 1831)