Portal:Japan/Anniversaries/January/January 1

January 1:

Events
 * 1873 - Japan begins using the Gregorian calendar
 * 1930 - The Ministry of Rail adopts the metric system for all of Japan's railways
 * 1946 - Emperor Shōwa renounces his divinity, known in Japanese as the Human Declaration
 * 1948 - The Nijūbashi Bridge, a well known double arched stone bridge located between the front and middle gates of the Imperial Palace, is opened to the public
 * 1950 - The old practice of advancing one's age every New Year's Day (regardless of one's date of birth) is replaced by the western style of advancing one's age on each anniversary of one's date of birth. Under the old system, someone born on November 1, for example, would turn one on January 1, two months later.
 * 1963 - The well known animated television show Astro Boy begins a four-year 200-episode run
 * 1973 - Health care for those over 70 years of age is made free of charge
 * 1991 - Telephone numbers in Tokyo are expanded from 7 digits to 8 digits

Births
 * 1638 - Emperor Go-Sai (d. 1685)
 * 1884 - Chikuhei Nakajima (d. 1949), naval officer, engineer, and politician, founded Nakajima Aircraft Company
 * 1894 - Shitsu Nakano (d. 2007), super-centenarian
 * 1900 - Chiune Sugihara (d. 1986), diplomat
 * 1907 - Kinue Hitomi (d. 1931), sprinter and long jumper
 * 1919 - Yoshio Tabata (d. 2013), singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1929 - Haruo Nakajima, actor, stuntman, and choreographer
 * 1956 - Kōji Yakusho, actor
 * 1968 - Miki Higashino, pianist and composer
 * 1975 - Eiichiro Oda, illustrator
 * 1979 - Koichi Domoto, singer-songwriter and actor
 * 1983 - Emi Kobayashi, model and actress

Holidays and observances
 * New Year's Day, most businesses are closed