Portal:Japan/Anniversaries/May/May 8

May 8:

Events
 * 1942 - World War II: The Battle of the Coral Sea comes to an end with Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carrier aircraft attacking and sinking the United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Lexington (CV-2). The battle marks the first time in the naval history that two enemy fleets fight without visual contact between warring ships.

Births
 * 1929 - Miyoshi Umeki (d. 2007), Japanese-American actress and singer
 * 1936 - Kazuo Koike, author
 * 1957 - Rino Katase, actress
 * 1959 - Ikue Sakakibara, actress and singer
 * 1961 - Akira Taue, wrestler
 * 1962 - Masaki Terasoma, actor and voice actor
 * 1969 - Akebono Tarō, American-Japanese sumo wrestler, the 64th Yokozuna
 * 1973 - Hiromu Arakawa, author and illustrator
 * 1977 - Chiaki Takahashi, model and voice actress
 * 1981 - Yasuko Tajima, swimmer