Portal:Japan/Anniversaries/January/January 22

January 22:

Events
 * 646 - Emperor Kōtoku issues the Taika Reform Edicts. (Traditional Japanese Date: First Day of the First Month, 646)
 * 1887 - Tōkyō Denkō begins selling electric lights.
 * 1916 - Japan launches its first domestically manufactured blimp. The blimp left Tokorozawa at 1:30 p.m. and, after landing and refueling at Toyohashi, landed in Osaka at 5:10 p.m. the next day.
 * 1947 - Armed police begin riding the Tōkaidō line to prevent illegal activity.

Births
 * 826 - Emperor Montoku (d. 858)
 * 1928 - Yoshihiko Amino (d. 2004), historian, author, and academic
 * 1939 - Sonny Chiba (d. 2021), actor and martial artist
 * 1955 - Keiko Takahashi, actress
 * 1967 - Manabu Nakanishi, wrestler and mixed martial artist
 * 1968 - Heath (d. 2023), singer-songwriter and bass player
 * 1972 - Romi Park, voice actress and singer
 * 1977 - Hidetoshi Nakata, footballer
 * 1993 - Tasuku Nagase, actor

Deaths
 * 1993 - Kōbō Abe (b. 1924), playwright and photographer