Portal:Japan/Anniversaries/August/August 5

August 5:

Events
 * 1874 - Japan launches its postal savings system, modeled after a similar system in England.
 * 1882 - Martial law is enacted in Japan.
 * 1912 - Japan's first taxicab service begins in Ginza, Tokyo.
 * 1944 - World War II: Possibly the biggest prison breakout in history occurs as 545 Japanese POWs attempt to escape outside the town of Cowra, NSW, Australia.

Births
 * 1948 - Shin Takamatsu, architect and professor
 * 1965 - Motoi Sakuraba, keyboard player and composer
 * 1968 - Kendo Kashin, wrestler
 * 1972 - Ikuto Hidaka, wrestler
 * 1981 - Kō Shibasaki, singer and actress
 * 1993 - Suzuka Ohgo, actress
 * 1998 - Kanon Suzuki, singer and actress

Deaths
 * 1364 - Emperor Kōgon (b. 1313)
 * 1991 - Soichiro Honda (b. 1906), engineer and businessman, founded Honda