UCLA Asia Institute
Today in Asian History
June 1
1927 The Minseito (People's) political party was established in Japan. The Minseito had its origins in Okuma Shigenobu's Kaishinto party (est. 1882). It was one of the parties which combined in 1955 to form the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Japan's dominant political party. Minseito was the name chosen in 1996 by former prime minister and LDP leader Hosokawa Morihiro and others. This group merged with others in 1998 to form the Democratic Party of Japan.
1929 Four years after his death, Sun Yatsen was buried in a large mausoleum in Nanjing, China. Sun worked to overthrow China's last dynasty, the Manchu Qing regime. He is recognized and honored as the founder of modern China by both the Beijing and Taipei governments. Click here to see a poster of him. His mausoleum is a massive hilltop structure and features a life size statue of him carved by Paul Randowsky in Paris. In a 1999 special on China, CNN prepared a profile of Sun Yatsen.
1945 In his most famous speech, Sukarno elucidates the Pantjasila, the five principles he wants to guide Indonesia. The five principles were (and remain Indonesian state aims) nationalism, internationalism, democracy, social prosperity, and belief in a single god. Click here to see these principles (and their subpoints) in Indonesian.
1959 Sax Rohmer, English author and creator of "Dr. Fu Manchu" died. The "Fu Manchu" books, radio serial, and films exploited and perpetuated stereotypes of Asians as cunning, cruel, and secretive. Lawrence Knapp has built an elaborate website devoted to Rohmer's creation.
1981 The first English language daily newspaper in the People's Republic of China, China Daily, began publication.
1982 Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang visited Tokyo to commemorate a decade of diplomatic relations between China and Japan. Zhao's visited Japan, May 31-June 5. During this visit Zhao declared that Sino-Japanese relations were to be based on three principles: 1) peace and friendship, 2) equality and mutual benefit, and 3) long-term stability. The Chinese foreign ministry website includes a chronology of post-1972 Sino-Japanese relations.
1998 Japanese pediatrician Matsuda Michio died at age 89. Matsuda worked to eradicate tuberculosis early in his career, but then focused on child care issues. He drew upon traditional Japanese culture to develop his infant-rearing approach. His most popular book Ikuji no Hyakka (An Encyclopedia of Child Care, 1967) remains influential.
The AI "Today in Asian History" page was compiled by Clayton Dube. He welcomes your comments and suggestions. Send them to <cdube@isop.ucla.edu>.
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