Portal:Japan/Anniversaries/December/December 9

December 9:

Events
 * 1937 - Second Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Nanking – Japanese troops under the command of Lt. Gen. Asaka Yasuhiko launch an assault on the Chinese city of Nanjing (Nanking).
 * 1941 - World War II: The Republic of China, Cuba, Guatemala, and the Philippine Commonwealth, declare war on Japan.
 * 1941  - World War II: The American 19th Bombardment Group attacks Japanese ships off the coast of Vigan, Luzon.

Births
 * 1911 - Ryūzō Sejima (d. 2007), colonel and businessman
 * 1941 - Kayoko Shiraishi, actress
 * 1944 - Tadashi Irie, mobster
 * 1955 - Takeshi Masu, actor
 * 1963 - Masako, Crown Princess of Japan
 * 1979 - Olivia Lufkin, Japanese-American singer-songwriter
 * 1979  - Aiko Uemura, skier
 * 1980 - Issey Takahashi, actor
 * 1987 - Hikaru Nakamura, Japanese-American chess player

Deaths
 * 1916 - Natsume Sōseki (b. 1867), author and poet