Showa Station Opening Day

What Is Showa Station Opening Day?

Every January 29th is also "Showa Station Opening Day" (昭和基地開設記念日, Shōwa Kichi Kaisetsu Kinenbi) in Japan. On January 29, 1957, members of Japan's first Antarctic expedition team landed on East Ongul Island (東オングル島) in Antarctica and established Japan's Antarctic research base — "Showa Station" (昭和基地, Shōwa Kichi). This landing marked Japan's entry into Antarctic science and established a Japanese presence on the ice that continues today — with interruptions in 1958–1959, when the base was left unmanned (the period when the dogs Taro and Jiro survived alone), and from 1962 to 1965, when observations were suspended because the ship Sōya had grown too old.

Japan's First Antarctic Expedition

Japan's first Antarctic Research Expedition (第1次南極地域観測隊) was organized as Japan's contribution to the International Geophysical Year (IGY, 1957-1958) — a coordinated international scientific effort involving 67 nations. The Japanese expedition departed Tokyo in November 1956 aboard the icebreaker Sōya (宗谷) and reached Antarctica in January 1957. The establishment of Showa Station — named after Japan's Showa imperial era — gave Japan a permanent scientific foothold on the continent.

Showa Station Today

Apart from those interruptions, Showa Station has operated for decades, supporting Japanese scientific research in glaciology, meteorology, aurora observation, geology, and atmospheric science. The station is staffed year-round by teams of approximately 30 scientists and support personnel, rotating annually. Its facilities have been progressively upgraded and now include living quarters, laboratories, a meteorological observatory, and a greenhouse for growing vegetables in Antarctica's extreme conditions.

Japan's Antarctic Science

Japan has made significant contributions to Antarctic science, including ice core drilling at the inland Dome Fuji Station that has provided climate records stretching back hundreds of thousands of years, early observations at Showa Station (1982) that are known as a forerunner of the discovery of the ozone hole, meteorite collection (Japan has found some of the world's largest collections of Antarctic meteorites), aurora observation, and cosmic ray research. The Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE) continues to recruit scientists and support staff for annual rotations.

Fun Facts

• The icebreaker Sōya: The original icebreaker Sōya that carried Japan's first expedition is preserved as a museum ship at the Museum of Maritime Science (船の科学館) in Tokyo's Odaiba area — visitors can board the historic vessel that opened Japan's Antarctic chapter.
• Antarctic meteorites: Japan has collected over 17,000 meteorites in Antarctica — one of the world's largest national collections — because the ice sheet concentrates meteorites that have fallen over thousands of years, making Antarctica the world's best meteorite hunting ground.