On the 20th, under clear autumn skies, the 83rd annual festival was held at Mainichi Shrine on the building's roof, and officers of The Mainichi Newspapers and others prayed for aerial reporting and safety in the skies.
The shrine was founded in 1939 after the twin-engine aircraft Nippon of The Mainichi Newspapers (then the Tokyo Nichi Nichi and Osaka Mainichi) completed a round-the-world flight. The enshrined deities are Amaterasu Omikami and Oyamakuino-kami, and the shrine holds many ofuda and amulets sent from across Japan to pray for the Nippon's safety.
The world flight left Haneda (Tokyo) on August 26, 1939, headed from Chitose Airport in Hokkaido to Nome, Alaska, then on through U.S. cities, South America, Spain and Italy. Via Calcutta, Bangkok and Taipei it returned safely to Haneda on October 20. Flight time was 194 hours and the distance 52,860 kilometers, showcasing the performance of Japanese aircraft to the world.