Military history of Japan
Encyclopedia
The military history of Japan
is characterised by a long period of feudal wars, followed by domestic stability, and then rampant imperialism. It culminates with Japan's defeat
by the Allies
in World War II
. Since then, Japan's constitution
has prohibited the use of military force to wage war against other nations.
Unless one counts the Allied occupation following World War II
, the Japanese main islands have never been successfully invaded in recorded history.
(ca. 10,000–300 BC) between the various tribes existing on the Japanese Archipelago
. Some theorists believe that shortly after the Yayoi period
(ca. 300 BC – 250 AD) horse riders from the Korean Peninsula
invaded southern Kyūshū
, then spread to all the way to northern Honshū
. This is when horse-riding and iron
tools were first introduced to the islands.
(ca. 300 BC), villages and towns became surrounded by moat
s and wooden fences due to increasing violence within or between communities. Some remains were found with head and arrow injuries. Battles were fought with weapons like the sword
, sling
, spear
, and bow
and arrow
.
goods and bronze-making techniques from the Asian mainland reached what is now Japan as early as the 3rd century BC. It is believed that horses were introduced to Japan near the end of this time (and well into the early Yamato era), as were bronze
and later iron
implements and weapons. Archaeological findings suggest that bronze and iron weapons were not used for war until later, particularly at the beginning of the Yamato era, as the metal weapons found from the remains do not show wear consistent with use as weapons. The transition from the Jōmon to Yayoi, and later to the Yamato, period is likely to have been characterized by violent struggle as the natives were soon displaced by the invaders and their vastly superior military technology.
Around this time, the San Guo Zhi first refer to the nation of Wo (or "Wa
" in Japanese). According to this work, Wa was "divided into more than 100 tribes" and for some 70 or 80 years there were many disturbances and warfare. About 30 of the communities had been united by a sorceress-queen named Pimiko (or "Himiko" in Japanese). She sent an emissary named Nashonmi with a tribute of slaves and cloth to Daifang in China, establishing diplomatic relations with Cao Wei
(the Chinese kingdom of Wei). Cao was competing with the three kingdoms.
By the end of the 4th century, the Yamato clan
was well settled on the Nara
plain with considerable control over the surrounding areas. Five kings of Wa
sent envoys to China for the dominion of the Japanese Islands and a Korean peninsula. The Nihon Shoki claims that Yamato was even strong enough to have sent an army against the powerful state of Goguryeo
, which dominated the Korean Peninsula
at the time. Yamato Japan had close relations with the southwestern Korean kingdom of Baekje
from which it received Buddhism and Chinese writing system. When Baekje requested help from the Japanese, they were then defeated by an alliance of Tang China
and Silla
in Battle of Baekgang
in 663. As a result, the Japanese were banished from the Korean Peninsula. To defend the Japanese Archipelago, a military base was constructed in Dazaifu, Fukuoka
of Kyushu.
Near the end of the Heian period
, the samurai
became a powerful political force, thus starting the feudal period.
in the Korean Peninsula
as well as with the Korean kingdom of Baekje
. Gaya exported abundant quantities of iron armor and weapons to Wa (there was an abundance of naturally-occurring iron in that region) and there may have even been a Japanese military post there with Gaya and Baekje cooperation.
In 552, the ruler of Baekje appealed to Yamato for help against its enemies, the neighboring Silla
. Along with his emissaries to the Yamato court, the Baekje king sent bronze images of Buddha
, some Buddhist scriptures, and a letter praising Buddhism
. These gifts triggered a powerful burst of Japanese interest in Buddhism.
The Battle of Baekgang
(白村江) took place in 663, near the conclusion of the Korean Three Kingdoms period. The Nihonshoki records that Yamato sent 32,000 troops and 1,000 ships to support Baekje against the Silla-Tang force. However, these ships were intercepted by a Silla-Tang fleet and defeated. Baekje, without aid and surrounded by Silla and Tang forces on the land, collapsed. A hostile Silla (Silla was a rival of Baekje, and as Baekje had a close relationship with Wa Japan, Silla viewed Wa Japan also as a rival and was hostile to it) prevented Japan from having any further meaningful contact with the Korean Peninsula until far later in time. The Japanese then turned directly to China.
was the beginning of Japanese culture becoming what we today think of as Japanese. It was in this period that Japan first gained Buddhism
, the Chinese writing system
, and law system
. The country was united and centrally governed for the first time, and much of the basics of the feudal system were set down.
While much of the discipline, weapons, armor, and technique of the samurai was probably not developed yet, the skeleton of the Japanese feudal warrior began here. Mounted archers, swordsmen, and spearmen fought with weapons not too different from those of any other culture, across the world, who had the same level of technology.
Succession disputes were prevalent here, just as in most of the later periods, and the Nara period also saw the first Shogun
, Sakanoue no Tamuramaro
.
. The Imperial family struggled against the control of the Fujiwara clan, which almost exclusively monopolized the post of regent (Sesshō and Kampaku
). Feudal conflicts over land, political power, and influence eventually culminated in the Genpei War
between the Taira and Minamoto clans, and a large number of smaller clans allied with one side or the other. The end of the Genpei War brought about the end of the Heian
and the beginning of the Kamakura period
.
During this period, samurai
were still, largely, archers first and foremost, before swordsmen. Nearly all duels and battles began with an exchange of arrowfire, before single combat was entered, with sword and dagger.
The 12th century conflicts, particularly the Genpei War, and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate that followed, mark the rise of the samurai class over the court nobility (kuge
). Shogunates, essentially military governments, dominated Japanese politics for nearly seven hundred years (1185-1868), subverting the power of the Emperor and of the Court.
Militarily speaking, this period also marks a crucial shift from a state that was united in relative peace against outside threats, to one that did not fear invasion and instead focused on internal division and clashes between societal factions. With the exception of the Mongol invasions
of the 13th century, Japan did not face considerable outside threats until the arrival of European
s in the 16th century. Thus, pre-modern Japanese military history is largely defined not by wars with other states but by internal conflicts.
, Japan successfully repulsed Mongol invasions
and this started a change to conscripted armies with a core of samurai as an elite force and as commanders. Following roughly fifty years of bitter fighting over control of the Imperial succession, the Muromachi period
under the Ashikaga shogunate
saw a brief period of peace before the traditional systems of administration under the Court collapsed. Provincial governors and other officials under the Imperial government transformed into a new class of daimyo
(feudal lords), and bringing the archipelago into a period of 150 years of fractious disunity and war.
The Mongols
, who controlled China at the time under the Yuan Dynasty
, attempted to invade Japan twice in the 13th century, marking the key military events of the Kamakura period, and two of the very few invasion attempts upon Japan in the 2nd millennium. In early October 1274, the Battle of Bun'ei
began with a combined force of Mongols
and Koreans seizing Tsushima
, and then attacking Kyūshū
, landing at Hakata Bay
. On October 19, they lost many battle ships due to typhoon and the remaining troops retreated. Anticipating a second assault, the shogunate organized the construction of walls and fortresses along the shore, and gathered forces to defend against further invasions. A second invasion attempt was made in 1281, in what has come to be known as the Battle of Kōan
; the Mongol-led forces retreated after losing many ships due to a typhoon once again.
The equipment, tactics, and military attitudes of the samurai and their Mongol opponents differed greatly, and while both invasions failed miserably, their impact on developments and changes in samurai battle were quite significant. The samurai remained attached to ideas of single combat, that of honorable battle between individual warriors, and to certain ritual elements of battle, such as a series of archery exchanges conducted before entering into hand-to-hand fighting. The Mongols, of course, knew nothing of Japanese conventions, and were arguably much more organized in their strike tactics. They did not select individual opponents with whom to conduct honorable duels, but rode forth on horseback, with various forms of gunpowder weapons and the now-famous Mongol bow
, charging into enemy lines and killing as many as they could without regard to Japanese conceptions of protocol. Though archery and mounted combat were central to Japanese warfare as well at this time, the Mongols remain famous even today for their prowess in these matters. The ways samurai tactics and attitudes were affected directly by these experiences, and their extent, are of course difficult to ascertain, but were certainly significant.
, an uprising against the shogunate organized by the Emperor Go-Daigo
. After a brief period
under true Imperial rule, the Ashikaga shogunate
was established in 1336, and a series of conflicts known as the Nanboku-chō
Wars began. For over fifty years, the archipelago became embroiled in disputes over control of the Imperial succession, and thus over the country.
Battles grew larger in this period, and were less ritualized. Though single combats and other elements of ritual and honorable battle remained, organized strategies and tactics under military commanders began to emerge, along with a greater degree of organization of formations and divisions within armies. It was in this period as well that weaponsmithing techniques emerged creating so-called "Japanese steel" blades, flexible yet extremely hard and sharp; the katana
, and myriad similar or related blade weapons, appeared at this time and would dominate Japanese arms, relatively unchanged, through the mid-20th century. As a result, it was also during this period that the shift of samurai from archers to swordsmen began in a significant way.
, a roughly ten-year struggle that converted the capital of Kyoto into a battlefield and a heavily fortified city that suffered severe destruction.
The authority of both the shogunate and the Imperial Court all but collapsed, and provincial Governors (shugo
) and other local samurai leaders emerged as the daimyo
, who would battle each other, religious factions (e.g. the Ikkō-ikki
) and others for land and power for the next 150 years or so. The period has come to be called Sengoku (戦国), after the Warring States period in ancient Chinese history. Over one hundred domains clashed and warred throughout the archipelago, as clans rose and fell, boundaries shifted, and some of the largest battles in all of global pre-modern history were fought.
A great many developments and significant events took place during this period, ranging from advances in castle design to the advent of the cavalry charge, the further development of campaign strategies on a grand scale, to the significant changes brought on by the introduction of firearms.
Army compositions changed and grew more strategic; masses of ashigaru
footsoldiers, armed with long lances (yari
) served a role alongside mounted samurai, archers, and later, gunners. Siege tactics and weaponry were exceedingly rare until the modern era. Naval battles likewise consisted of little more than using boats to move troops within range of bow or arquebus
, and then into hand-to-hand fighting.
The Hōjō clan
, in and around the Kantō area, were among the first to establish networks of satellite castles, and the complex use of these castles both for mutual defense and coordinated attacks. The Takeda, under Takeda Shingen
, developed the Japanese equivalent of the cavalry charge
; though debate continues today as to the force of his charges, and the appropriateness of the term, comparing them to Western cavalry charges, it is evident from contemporary sources that it was a revolutionary development, and powerful against defenders unused to it. Battles of particular interest or significance are too numerous to list here, but suffice it to say that this period saw a myriad of strategic and tactical developments, and some of the longest sieges and largest battles in the history of the pre-modern world.
This period, named for the increasingly important castle-cities, is marked with the introduction of firearms, after contact with the Portuguese
, and a further push towards all-out battle, away from individual combats and the influences of concepts of personal honor and bravery.
The arquebus
was introduced to Japan in 1543, by Portuguese onboard a Chinese ship that crashed upon the tiny island of Tanegashima
in the southernmost parts of the Japanese archipelago. Though their introduction was not seen to have particularly dramatic effects for several decades, by the 1560s, thousands of gunpowder weapons were in use in Japan, and began to have revolutionary effects upon Japanese battle tactics and strategies, army compositions, and castle architecture.
The 1575 Battle of Nagashino
, in which about 3,000 arquebus
iers led by Oda Nobunaga
cut down charging ranks of thousands of samurai, remains one of the chief examples of the effect of these weapons. Highly inaccurate, and taking a long time to reload, arquebusses, or teppō (鉄砲) as they are called in Japanese, did not win battles on their own. Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi
, and other commanders, developed tactics that honed arquebus use to the greatest advantage. At Nagashino, Nobunaga's gunners hid behind wooden barricades, embedded with large wooden spikes to ward off cavalry, and took turns firing volleys and reloading.
As in Europe, the debilitating effects of wet (and therefore largely useless) gunpowder were decisive in a number of battles. But, one of the key advantages of the weapon was that unlike bows, which required years of training largely available only to the samurai class, guns could be used by relatively untrained footmen. Samurai stuck to their swords and their bows, engaging in cavalry or infantry tactics, while the ashigaru
wielded the guns. Some militant Buddhist factions, began to produce firearms in the foundries normally employed to make bronze temple bells. In this manner, the Ikkō-ikki
, a group of monks and lay religious zealots, turned their Ishiyama Honganji cathedral-fortress into one of the most well-defended fortresses in the country. The ikki and a handful of other militant religious factions thus presented significant powers unto themselves, and fought fierce battles against some of the chief generals and samurai clans in the archipelago.
Though Sengoku battles continued to rage as they had for the previous century, growing larger and more tactically complex, it was at this time that the many "warring states" began to be united, first under Oda Nobunaga, then under Toyotomi Hideyoshi
, and finally by Tokugawa Ieyasu
.
In 1592 and 1598 Toyotomi Hideyoshi organized a 160,000 army and navy for the conquest of China's Ming Dynasty
by way of Korea, after the latter's refusal to allow Japanese forces to march through. Japan completed the occupation of a Korean peninsula in three months. However, a Chinese army was sent to a Korean peninsula by the Korean king's petition. The supply line of a Japanese army was cut by Korean people's guerrilla though the sniper in Japan overwhelmed the Chinese cavalry
. Before long ,
It becomes impossible for a Japanese army to maintain the occupation of a Korean peninsula.After Hideyoshi's death, the Council of Five Elders
ordered the remaining Japanese forces in Korea to retreat.
Tokugawa Ieyasu
, one of the regents, took control of most of the former leader's forces. In 1600 he won the battle of Sekigahara
and solidified his rule. In 1603, he received the title of shogun
, making him the nominal ruler of the entire country.
This period was one of relative peace under the authority of the Tokugawa shogunate
. This was a forced peace—maintained through a variety of measures that weakened the daimyo and ensured their loyalty to the shogunate. The Tokugawa peace was ruptured only rarely and briefly prior to the violence that surrounded the Meiji Restoration
of the 1860s.
The siege of Osaka
, which took place in 1614–1615, was essentially the last gasp for Toyotomi Hideyori
, heir to Hideyoshi, and an alliance of clans and other elements who opposed the shogunate. A samurai battle on a grand scale, in terms of strategy, scale, methods employed, and the political causes behind it, this is widely considered the final conflict of the Sengoku period.
Outside of the siege of Osaka, and the later conflicts of the 1850s-60s, violence in the Edo period was restricted to small skirmishes in the streets, peasant rebellions, and the enforcement of maritime restrictions
. Social tension in the Edo period brought a number of rebellions and uprisings, the largest of which was the 1638 Shimabara Rebellion
. In the far north of the country, the island of Hokkaido
was inhabited by Ainu
villagers and Japanese settlers. In 1669 an Ainu leader, led a revolt
against the Matsumae clan
who controlled the region, it was the last mayor uprising against Japanese control of the region and it was put down in 1672. In 1789 another Ainu revolt, the Menashi-Kunashir Rebellion
, was crushed.
The appearance of gunboat diplomacy
in Japan in the 1850s, and the forced so-called "opening of Japan" by Western forces underscored the weaknesses of the shogunate and led to its collapse. Though the actual end of the shogunate and establishment of an Imperial government following Western modes was handled entirely peacefully, through political petitions and the like, the years surrounding the event were not an entirely bloodless revolution. Following the formal termination of the shogunate, the Boshin War
(戊辰戦争 Boshin Sensō, literally "War of the Year of the Dragon") was fought in 1868-1869 between the Tokugawa army and a number of factions of nominally pro-Imperial forces to seize power and fill the gap thus created.
(1904–1905), Japan became the first Asian nation since Genghis Khan
's Mongols to win a war against a European nation. In 1902 it became the first Asian nation to sign a mutual defense pact with a European nation, Britain
.
Japan was also the last major power to enter the race of global colonization. Severely hampered by its still-developing industries, Japan started a war against the United States during World War II
with less than one-tenth of the industrial capabilities of the U.S.
Japan has not participated in a major war as a combatant since being defeated in World War II. Even though Japan maintains a powerful defense force, its Constitution, originally drawn under the guidelines of General Douglas MacArthur
in 1945, formally renounces war and the use of military force in aggressive or offensive ways. Japan also maintains a policy against the exporting of military hardware. In addition, Japan is the only nation with a space exploration program not to have nuclear weapons.
From 1867, Japan requested various Western military missions in order to help Japan to modernize its armed forces. The first Foreign military mission in Japan was held by France in 1867. Captain Jules Brunet
, initialy a French artillery
advisor of the Japanese central government, eventually took up arms
alongside the Shogun
's army against the Imperial troops
, during the Boshin War
. His life inspired the movie The Last Samurai
, starring Tom Cruise
and Ken Watanabe
.
In 1873, the Imperial government enacted the conscription law and established the Imperial Japanese Army
. As class distinctions were all but eliminated in attempts to modernize and create a representative democracy, samurai lost their status as the only class with military obligations. A sensationalized depiction of this can also be seen in The Last Samurai.
was fought against the forces of the Qing Dynasty
of China in the Korean peninsula
, Manchuria
, and the coast of China. It was the first major conflict between Japan and an overseas military power in modern times.
The signed between Japan and China ended the war. Through this treaty, Japan forced China to open ports for international trade and ceded the southern portion of China's Liaoning province as well as the island of Taiwan
to Japan. China also had to pay a war indemnity of 200 million Kuping tael
s. As a result of this war, Korea ceased to be a tributary state of China, but fell into Japan's sphere of influence. However, many of the material gains from this war were lost by Japan due to the Triple Intervention
.
of 1904-1905 marks the emergence of Japan as a major military power. Japan demonstrated that it could apply Western technology, discipline, strategy, and tactics in an effective war.
during World War I
and was rewarded with control of German colonies in the Pacific. The 70,000-strong Japanese force also intervened in Russia
during the Russian Civil War
, supporting the anti-Communist factions, but failed to achieve their objective and was forced to withdraw. A small group of Japanese cruisers and destroyers also participated in various missions in the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.
Already controlling an area directly surrounding the South Manchuria Railroad, Japan's Kwantung Army further invaded Manchuria
(Northeast China
) in 1931, following the Mukden Incident
, in which they claimed to have had territory attacked by the Chinese (a few meters of the South Manchuria Railway
was destroyed in a bombing sabotage). By 1937, Japan had annexed territory north of Beijing and, following the Marco Polo Bridge Incident
, a full-scale invasion of China began. Japanese military superiority over a weak and demoralized Chinese Republican army allowed for swift advances down the eastern coast, leading to the fall of Shanghai and Nanjing
(Nanking, then capital of the Republic of China
) the same year. The Chinese suffered greatly in both military and civilian casualties. An estimated 300,000 civilians were killed during the first weeks of Japanese occupation of Nanjing, during the Nanking Massacre
.
In September 1940, Germany, Italy, and Japan became allies under the Tripartite Pact
. Germany, which had previously trained and supplied the Chinese army, halted all Sino-German cooperation, and recalled its military advisor (Alexander von Falkenhausen
). In July 1940, the U.S. banned the shipment of aviation gasoline to Japan, while Imperial Japanese Army
invaded French Indochina and occupied its naval and air bases in September 1940.
In April 1941, the Empire of Japan
and the Soviet Union
signed a neutrality pact and Japan increased pressure on the Vichy French
and Dutch
colonies
in Southeast Asia
to cooperate in economic matters. Following Japan's refusal to withdraw from China (with the exclusion of Manchukuo
) and Indochina, United States, Great Britain and Netherlands imposed, on July 22, 1941, an embargo on gasoline
while shipments of scrap metal
, steel
and other materials had virtually ceased. Meanwhile, American economic support to China began to increase.
Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
and against several other countries on December 7, 1941, the United States, United Kingdom and the other Allies
declared war; the Second Sino-Japanese War
became part of the global conflict of World War II
. Japanese forces initially experienced great success against Allied forces in the Pacific and South East Asia, capturing Thailand
, Hong Kong
, Malaya
, Singapore
, the Dutch East Indies
, the Philippines and many Pacific Islands
. They also made major offensives in Burma
and air and naval attacks against Australia
. The Allies turned the tide of war at sea in mid-1942, at the Battle of Midway
. Japanese land forces continued to advance in the New Guinea
and Solomon Islands campaign
s but suffered significant defeats and/or were forced to retreat at the battles of Milne Bay
, the Kokoda Track
and Guadalcanal.
From 1943 onwards, hard-fought campaigns at the battles of Buna-Gona
, the Tarawa
, Philippine Sea
, Leyte Gulf
, Iwo Jima
, Okinawa
, and others resulted in horrific casualties, mostly on Japanese side, and produced further Japanese retreats. Very few Japanese ended up in POW camps, this may have been due to Japanese soldiers reluctance to surrender. The brutality of the conflict is exemplified by US troops taking body parts from dead Japanese soldiers as "war trophies" or "war souvenirs"
and Japanese cannibalism.
Throughout the Pacific War the Japanese military engaged in war crimes, in particular the mistreatment of prisoners of war and civilians, on a scale comparable to that of Nazi Germany
. Some estimate that around 6 million people were killed by Japanese forces, primarily Chinese civilians. These numbers are disputed given that between 1939–1945, more than 16 million civilians were injured
in China alone. This was the largest civilian casualty count in any country. Mistreatment of Allied prisoners through forced labour and brutality received extensive coverage in the west. It is widely perceived that the Japanese government has failed to acknowledge the suffering caused by its forces and in particular the teaching of history in its schools has caused international protest
.
On August 6 and August 9, 1945, the U.S. dropped two atomic bombs, on Hiroshima
and on Nagasaki respectively. More than 200,000 people died as a direct result of these two bombings, during which the Soviet Union entered the war against Japan.
Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945 and a formal Instrument of Surrender was signed on September 2, 1945, on the battleship USS Missouri
in Tokyo Bay
. The surrender was accepted by General Douglas MacArthur
as Supreme Allied Commander, with representatives of each Allied nation, from a Japanese delegation led by Mamoru Shigemitsu
. A separate surrender ceremony between Japan and China was held in Nanking on September 9, 1945.
Following this period, MacArthur established bases in Japan to oversee the postwar development of the country. This period in Japanese history is known as the Occupation
. U.S. President Harry Truman officially proclaimed an end of hostilities on December 31, 1946.
Over the course of the war, Japan displayed many significant advances in military technology, strategy and tactics. Among them were the Yamato class battleship
, the Sensuikan Toku
submarine bomber carriers, the Mitsubishi Zero fighters, and Kamikaze
bombers.
, codes
, and information on Australia and New Zealand, as well as an appraisal of Japanese intentions. These documents were captured by the German
Hilfskreuzer (auxiliary cruiser) Atlantis
, on 1940-11-11. Other elements show that Japanese military command chose to invade allied territory as a result of a failure to defend itself against Soviet forces in 1938-1939 during the Nomonhan Incident.
(1945–1952), Japan regained its independence. Japan was also forbidden to have a standing army or wage war by Article nine of its Constitution.
Although the Japanese constitution says "land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained," the Jieitai (自衛隊), or Japan Self-Defense Forces
were created shortly after the end of U.S. occupation. The Jieitai is one of the most technologically advanced armed forces in the world and Japanese military expenditures are the seventh highest in the world. Though the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security, signed in 1960, allows for the continued presence of American military bases in Japan, most of them on Okinawa, no formal agreement was ever set by which Japan officially relies on the United States, United Nations
, or anybody else for its defense.
In the aftermath of the Occupation, attempts were made by some administrations in Japan, particularly at the urging of the United States, to amend the Constitution and rearm. This was prevented by intense popular sentiment against this action, and against war in general, along with the attitudes and agendas of significant elements within the government. In 1967, Prime Minister
Eisaku Satō
outlined the Three Non-Nuclear Principles
by which Japan stands against its production, or possession of nuclear weaponry. Similar ideas were expressed several years later against the production and export of conventional arms. The Diet of Japan
is currently deliberating an amendment to the Constitution that would repeal Article Nine, and allow Japan to once again have projective military capacity.
For the time being, Japan has deployed the Jieitai to aid in a number of non-combat missions, especially those involving humanitarian aid, such as aiding the victims of the 1995 Kobe earthquake
, providing administrative support to the United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL) Norwegian Battalion (NORBATT) in the 1990s, and helping rebuild Iraq
.
Some Japanese state a desire to have their own military due to fear of the growing power of China and the hostility of North Korea
. They claim that the U.S. has failed to properly address these issues, and therefore Japan must grant itself "the power to defend itself".
In 2004, then-United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan
announced a plan to expand the number of permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council
, and Japan seeks to gain one of those seats. Despite Japan's economic power and political influence, some debate whether or not a country with no standing military can be considered a "world power" that should have a permanent seat on the Council. Recent disputes with neighboring countries like China, Taiwan, South Korea, and Russia over territories such as the Senkaku Islands
, Liancourt Rocks
, and the Kuril Islands
, as well as accusations of Japanese whitewashing of history in various textbook controversies
have also complicated this process.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
is characterised by a long period of feudal wars, followed by domestic stability, and then rampant imperialism. It culminates with Japan's defeat
Surrender of Japan
The surrender of Japan in 1945 brought hostilities of World War II to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy was incapable of conducting operations and an Allied invasion of Japan was imminent...
by the Allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Since then, Japan's constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
has prohibited the use of military force to wage war against other nations.
Unless one counts the Allied occupation following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Japanese main islands have never been successfully invaded in recorded history.
Prehistory
Recent archaeological research has uncovered traces of wars as far back as the Jōmon periodJomon period
The is the time in Japanese prehistory from about 14,000 BC to 300 BC.The term jōmon means "cord-patterned" in Japanese. This refers to the pottery style characteristic of the Jōmon culture, and which has markings made using sticks with cords wrapped around them...
(ca. 10,000–300 BC) between the various tribes existing on the Japanese Archipelago
Japanese Archipelago
The , which forms the country of Japan, extends roughly from northeast to southwest along the northeastern coast of the Eurasia mainland, washing upon the northwestern shores of the Pacific Ocean...
. Some theorists believe that shortly after the Yayoi period
Yayoi period
The is an Iron Age era in the history of Japan traditionally dated 300 BC to 300 AD. It is named after the neighbourhood of Tokyo where archaeologists first uncovered artifacts and features from that era. Distinguishing characteristics of the Yayoi period include the appearance of new...
(ca. 300 BC – 250 AD) horse riders from the Korean Peninsula
Korean Peninsula
The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. It extends southwards for about 684 miles from continental Asia into the Pacific Ocean and is surrounded by the Sea of Japan to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the west, the Korea Strait connecting the first two bodies of water.Until the end of...
invaded southern Kyūshū
Kyushu
is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
, then spread to all the way to northern Honshū
Honshu
is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
. This is when horse-riding and iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
tools were first introduced to the islands.
Jōmon Period (ca. 10,000–300 BC)
Near the end of the Jōmon periodJomon period
The is the time in Japanese prehistory from about 14,000 BC to 300 BC.The term jōmon means "cord-patterned" in Japanese. This refers to the pottery style characteristic of the Jōmon culture, and which has markings made using sticks with cords wrapped around them...
(ca. 300 BC), villages and towns became surrounded by moat
Moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
s and wooden fences due to increasing violence within or between communities. Some remains were found with head and arrow injuries. Battles were fought with weapons like the sword
Sword
A sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...
, sling
Sling (weapon)
A sling is a projectile weapon typically used to throw a blunt projectile such as a stone or lead "sling-bullet". It is also known as the shepherd's sling....
, spear
Spear
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head.The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to the shaft, such as flint, obsidian, iron, steel or...
, and bow
Bow (weapon)
The bow and arrow is a projectile weapon system that predates recorded history and is common to most cultures.-Description:A bow is a flexible arc that shoots aerodynamic projectiles by means of elastic energy. Essentially, the bow is a form of spring powered by a string or cord...
and arrow
Arrow
An arrow is a shafted projectile that is shot with a bow. It predates recorded history and is common to most cultures.An arrow usually consists of a shaft with an arrowhead attached to the front end, with fletchings and a nock at the other.- History:...
.
Yayoi Period (300 BC – 250 AD)
BronzeBronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
goods and bronze-making techniques from the Asian mainland reached what is now Japan as early as the 3rd century BC. It is believed that horses were introduced to Japan near the end of this time (and well into the early Yamato era), as were bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
and later iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
implements and weapons. Archaeological findings suggest that bronze and iron weapons were not used for war until later, particularly at the beginning of the Yamato era, as the metal weapons found from the remains do not show wear consistent with use as weapons. The transition from the Jōmon to Yayoi, and later to the Yamato, period is likely to have been characterized by violent struggle as the natives were soon displaced by the invaders and their vastly superior military technology.
Around this time, the San Guo Zhi first refer to the nation of Wo (or "Wa
Wa (Japan)
Japanese is the oldest recorded name of Japan. Chinese, Korean, and Japanese scribes regularly wrote Wa or Yamato "Japan" with the Chinese character 倭 until the 8th century, when the Japanese found fault with it, replacing it with 和 "harmony, peace, balance".- Historical references :The earliest...
" in Japanese). According to this work, Wa was "divided into more than 100 tribes" and for some 70 or 80 years there were many disturbances and warfare. About 30 of the communities had been united by a sorceress-queen named Pimiko (or "Himiko" in Japanese). She sent an emissary named Nashonmi with a tribute of slaves and cloth to Daifang in China, establishing diplomatic relations with Cao Wei
Cao Wei
Cao Wei was one of the states that competed for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period. With the capital at Luoyang, the state was established by Cao Pi in 220, based upon the foundations that his father Cao Cao laid...
(the Chinese kingdom of Wei). Cao was competing with the three kingdoms.
Ancient and Classical Japan
Yamato people
is a name for the dominant native ethnic group of Japan. It is a term that came to be used around the late 19th century to distinguish the residents of the mainland Japan from other minority ethnic groups who have resided in the peripheral areas of Japan, such as the Ainu, Ryukyuan, Nivkh, Ulta, as...
was well settled on the Nara
Nara, Nara
is the capital city of Nara Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. The city occupies the northern part of Nara Prefecture, directly bordering Kyoto Prefecture...
plain with considerable control over the surrounding areas. Five kings of Wa
Five kings of Wa
The five kings of Wa are kings of ancient Japan who sent envoys to China during the 5th century to strengthen the legitimacy of their claims to power by gaining the recognition of the Chinese emperor. Details about them are unknown...
sent envoys to China for the dominion of the Japanese Islands and a Korean peninsula. The Nihon Shoki claims that Yamato was even strong enough to have sent an army against the powerful state of Goguryeo
Goguryeo
Goguryeo or Koguryŏ was an ancient Korean kingdom located in present day northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula, southern Manchuria, and southern Russian Maritime province....
, which dominated the Korean Peninsula
Korean Peninsula
The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. It extends southwards for about 684 miles from continental Asia into the Pacific Ocean and is surrounded by the Sea of Japan to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the west, the Korea Strait connecting the first two bodies of water.Until the end of...
at the time. Yamato Japan had close relations with the southwestern Korean kingdom of Baekje
Baekje
Baekje or Paekche was a kingdom located in southwest Korea. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla....
from which it received Buddhism and Chinese writing system. When Baekje requested help from the Japanese, they were then defeated by an alliance of Tang China
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
and Silla
Silla
Silla was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and one of the longest sustained dynasties in...
in Battle of Baekgang
Battle of Baekgang
The Battle of Baekgang, also known as Battle of Baekgang-gu or by the Japanese name Battle of Hakusukinoe , was a battle between Baekje restoration forces and their ally, Yamato Japan, against the allied forces of Silla and the Tang Dynasty of ancient China...
in 663. As a result, the Japanese were banished from the Korean Peninsula. To defend the Japanese Archipelago, a military base was constructed in Dazaifu, Fukuoka
Dazaifu, Fukuoka
is a city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. Nearby cities include Ōnojō and Chikushino. Although mostly urban, it does have arable land used for paddy fields and market gardening....
of Kyushu.
Near the end of the Heian period
Heian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...
, the samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
became a powerful political force, thus starting the feudal period.
Yamato Period (250–710 AD)
Ancient Japan had close ties with the Gaya ConfederacyGaya confederacy
Gaya was a confederacy of territorial polities in the Nakdong River basin of southern Korea, growing out of the Byeonhan confederacy of the Samhan period.The traditional period used by historians for Gaya chronology is 42–532 CE...
in the Korean Peninsula
Korean Peninsula
The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. It extends southwards for about 684 miles from continental Asia into the Pacific Ocean and is surrounded by the Sea of Japan to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the west, the Korea Strait connecting the first two bodies of water.Until the end of...
as well as with the Korean kingdom of Baekje
Baekje
Baekje or Paekche was a kingdom located in southwest Korea. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla....
. Gaya exported abundant quantities of iron armor and weapons to Wa (there was an abundance of naturally-occurring iron in that region) and there may have even been a Japanese military post there with Gaya and Baekje cooperation.
In 552, the ruler of Baekje appealed to Yamato for help against its enemies, the neighboring Silla
Silla
Silla was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and one of the longest sustained dynasties in...
. Along with his emissaries to the Yamato court, the Baekje king sent bronze images of Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
, some Buddhist scriptures, and a letter praising Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
. These gifts triggered a powerful burst of Japanese interest in Buddhism.
The Battle of Baekgang
Battle of Baekgang
The Battle of Baekgang, also known as Battle of Baekgang-gu or by the Japanese name Battle of Hakusukinoe , was a battle between Baekje restoration forces and their ally, Yamato Japan, against the allied forces of Silla and the Tang Dynasty of ancient China...
(白村江) took place in 663, near the conclusion of the Korean Three Kingdoms period. The Nihonshoki records that Yamato sent 32,000 troops and 1,000 ships to support Baekje against the Silla-Tang force. However, these ships were intercepted by a Silla-Tang fleet and defeated. Baekje, without aid and surrounded by Silla and Tang forces on the land, collapsed. A hostile Silla (Silla was a rival of Baekje, and as Baekje had a close relationship with Wa Japan, Silla viewed Wa Japan also as a rival and was hostile to it) prevented Japan from having any further meaningful contact with the Korean Peninsula until far later in time. The Japanese then turned directly to China.
Nara Period (710–784 AD)
In nearly all of the ways that matter, the Nara periodNara period
The of the history of Japan covers the years from AD 710 to 794. Empress Gemmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō . Except for 5 years , when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capital of Japanese civilization until Emperor Kammu established a new capital, Nagaoka-kyō, in 784...
was the beginning of Japanese culture becoming what we today think of as Japanese. It was in this period that Japan first gained Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, the Chinese writing system
Kanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
, and law system
Ritsuryo
is the historical law system based on the philosophies of Confucianism and Chinese Legalism in Japan. The political system in accord to Ritsuryō is called "Ritsuryō-sei"...
. The country was united and centrally governed for the first time, and much of the basics of the feudal system were set down.
While much of the discipline, weapons, armor, and technique of the samurai was probably not developed yet, the skeleton of the Japanese feudal warrior began here. Mounted archers, swordsmen, and spearmen fought with weapons not too different from those of any other culture, across the world, who had the same level of technology.
Succession disputes were prevalent here, just as in most of the later periods, and the Nara period also saw the first Shogun
Shogun
A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...
, Sakanoue no Tamuramaro
Sakanoue no Tamuramaro
was a general and shogun of the early Heian Period of Japan. He was the son of Sakanoue no Karitamaro.-Military career:Serving Emperor Kammu, he was appointed shogun and given the task of conquering the Emishi , a people native to the north of Honshū, which he subjugated...
.
Heian Period (794–1185 AD)
The Heian Period, militarily, consisted mainly of conflicts and battles between samurai clans over political power and influence, especially fought over control over the line of succession to the Chrysanthemum ThroneChrysanthemum Throne
The is the English term used to identify the throne of the Emperor of Japan. The term can refer to very specific seating, such as the takamikura throne in the Shishin-den at Kyoto Imperial Palace....
. The Imperial family struggled against the control of the Fujiwara clan, which almost exclusively monopolized the post of regent (Sesshō and Kampaku
Sessho and Kampaku
In Japan, was a title given to a regent who was named to assist either a child emperor before his coming of age, or an empress. The was theoretically a sort of chief advisor for the emperor, but was the title of both first secretary and regent who assists an adult emperor. During the Heian era,...
). Feudal conflicts over land, political power, and influence eventually culminated in the Genpei War
Genpei War
The was a conflict between the Taira and Minamoto clans during the late-Heian period of Japan. It resulted in the fall of the Taira clan and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto Yoritomo in 1192....
between the Taira and Minamoto clans, and a large number of smaller clans allied with one side or the other. The end of the Genpei War brought about the end of the Heian
Heian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...
and the beginning of the Kamakura period
Kamakura shogunate
The Kamakura shogunate was a military dictatorship in Japan headed by the shoguns from 1185 to 1333. It was based in Kamakura. The Kamakura period draws its name from the capital of the shogunate...
.
During this period, samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
were still, largely, archers first and foremost, before swordsmen. Nearly all duels and battles began with an exchange of arrowfire, before single combat was entered, with sword and dagger.
The 12th century conflicts, particularly the Genpei War, and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate that followed, mark the rise of the samurai class over the court nobility (kuge
Kuge
The was a Japanese aristocratic class that dominated the Japanese imperial court in Kyoto until the rise of the Shogunate in the 12th century at which point it was eclipsed by the daimyo...
). Shogunates, essentially military governments, dominated Japanese politics for nearly seven hundred years (1185-1868), subverting the power of the Emperor and of the Court.
Militarily speaking, this period also marks a crucial shift from a state that was united in relative peace against outside threats, to one that did not fear invasion and instead focused on internal division and clashes between societal factions. With the exception of the Mongol invasions
Mongol invasions
Mongol invasions progressed throughout the 13th century, resulting in the vast Mongol Empire which covered much of Asia and Eastern Europe by 1300....
of the 13th century, Japan did not face considerable outside threats until the arrival of European
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
s in the 16th century. Thus, pre-modern Japanese military history is largely defined not by wars with other states but by internal conflicts.
Feudal Japan
This period is marked by the departure from tournament-like battles, and a move to massive clashes of clans for the control of Japan. In the Kamakura periodKamakura period
The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura Shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo....
, Japan successfully repulsed Mongol invasions
Mongol invasions of Japan
The ' of 1274 and 1281 were major military efforts undertaken by Kublai Khan to conquer the Japanese islands after the submission of Goryeo to vassaldom. Despite their ultimate failure, the invasion attempts are of macrohistorical importance, because they set a limit on Mongol expansion, and rank...
and this started a change to conscripted armies with a core of samurai as an elite force and as commanders. Following roughly fifty years of bitter fighting over control of the Imperial succession, the Muromachi period
Muromachi period
The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate, which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi shogun, Ashikaga Takauji, two years after the brief Kemmu restoration of imperial...
under the Ashikaga shogunate
Ashikaga shogunate
The , also known as the , was a Japanese feudal military regime, ruled by the shoguns of the Ashikaga clan.This period is also known as the Muromachi period and gets its name from Muromachi Street of Kyoto where the third shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu established his residence...
saw a brief period of peace before the traditional systems of administration under the Court collapsed. Provincial governors and other officials under the Imperial government transformed into a new class of daimyo
Daimyo
is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...
(feudal lords), and bringing the archipelago into a period of 150 years of fractious disunity and war.
Kamakura Period (1185–1333)
Having subdued their rivals, the Taira clan, the Minamoto samurai clan established the Kamakura shogunate, which brought a period of peace. The only battles fought between Japanese in this period, prior to those that brought the fall of the shogunate, consisted of agents of the Minamoto suppressing rebellions or the like.The Mongols
Mongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
, who controlled China at the time under the Yuan Dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
, attempted to invade Japan twice in the 13th century, marking the key military events of the Kamakura period, and two of the very few invasion attempts upon Japan in the 2nd millennium. In early October 1274, the Battle of Bun'ei
Battle of Bun'ei
The , also known as the First Battle of Hakata Bay was the first attempt by the Yuan Dynasty founded by the Mongols to invade Japan. After conquering the Tsushima Island and Iki, Kublai Khan's fleet moved on to Japan proper, landing at Hakata Bay, a short distance from Kyūshū's administrative...
began with a combined force of Mongols
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
and Koreans seizing Tsushima
Tsushima Island
Tsushima Island is an island of the Japanese Archipelago situated in the middle of the Tsushima Strait at 34°25'N and 129°20'E. The main island of Tsushima was once a single island, but the island was divided into two in 1671 by the Ōfunakosiseto canal and into three in 1900 by the Manzekiseto canal...
, and then attacking Kyūshū
Kyushu
is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
, landing at Hakata Bay
Hakata Bay
Hakata Bay is a bay in the northwestern part of Fukuoka city, on the Japanese island of Kyūshū. It faces the Tsushima Strait, and features beaches and a port, though parts of the bay have been reclaimed in the expansion of the city of Fukuoka...
. On October 19, they lost many battle ships due to typhoon and the remaining troops retreated. Anticipating a second assault, the shogunate organized the construction of walls and fortresses along the shore, and gathered forces to defend against further invasions. A second invasion attempt was made in 1281, in what has come to be known as the Battle of Kōan
Battle of Koan
The ', also known as the Second Battle of Hakata Bay, was the second attempt by the Yuan Dynasty founded by the Mongols to invade Japan...
; the Mongol-led forces retreated after losing many ships due to a typhoon once again.
The equipment, tactics, and military attitudes of the samurai and their Mongol opponents differed greatly, and while both invasions failed miserably, their impact on developments and changes in samurai battle were quite significant. The samurai remained attached to ideas of single combat, that of honorable battle between individual warriors, and to certain ritual elements of battle, such as a series of archery exchanges conducted before entering into hand-to-hand fighting. The Mongols, of course, knew nothing of Japanese conventions, and were arguably much more organized in their strike tactics. They did not select individual opponents with whom to conduct honorable duels, but rode forth on horseback, with various forms of gunpowder weapons and the now-famous Mongol bow
Mongol bow
The Mongol bow is a recurved composite bow renowned for its military effectiveness. The old Mongolian bows that were used during the times of Genghis Khan were smaller than the modern weapons used at most Naadam festivals today. Modern Mongolian bows are larger and have string bridges...
, charging into enemy lines and killing as many as they could without regard to Japanese conceptions of protocol. Though archery and mounted combat were central to Japanese warfare as well at this time, the Mongols remain famous even today for their prowess in these matters. The ways samurai tactics and attitudes were affected directly by these experiences, and their extent, are of course difficult to ascertain, but were certainly significant.
Muromachi Period (1336–1467)
The shogunate fell in the wake of the 1331 Genkō WarGenko War
The —also known as the —was a civil war in Japan which marked the fall of the Kamakura shogunate and end of the power of the Hōjō clan. The war thus preceded the Nanboku-chō period and the rise of the Ashikaga shogunate...
, an uprising against the shogunate organized by the Emperor Go-Daigo
Emperor Go-Daigo
Emperor Go-Daigo was the 96th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession....
. After a brief period
Kemmu restoration
The is the name given to both the three year period of Japanese history between the Kamakura period and the Muromachi period, and the political events that took place in it...
under true Imperial rule, the Ashikaga shogunate
Ashikaga shogunate
The , also known as the , was a Japanese feudal military regime, ruled by the shoguns of the Ashikaga clan.This period is also known as the Muromachi period and gets its name from Muromachi Street of Kyoto where the third shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu established his residence...
was established in 1336, and a series of conflicts known as the Nanboku-chō
Nanboku-cho
The , spanning from 1336 to 1392, was a period that occurred during the formative years of the Muromachi bakufu of Japan's history.During this period, there existed a Northern Imperial Court, established by Ashikaga Takauji in Kyoto, and a Southern Imperial Court, established by Emperor Go-Daigo in...
Wars began. For over fifty years, the archipelago became embroiled in disputes over control of the Imperial succession, and thus over the country.
Battles grew larger in this period, and were less ritualized. Though single combats and other elements of ritual and honorable battle remained, organized strategies and tactics under military commanders began to emerge, along with a greater degree of organization of formations and divisions within armies. It was in this period as well that weaponsmithing techniques emerged creating so-called "Japanese steel" blades, flexible yet extremely hard and sharp; the katana
Katana
A Japanese sword, or , is one of the traditional bladed weapons of Japan. There are several types of Japanese swords, according to size, field of application and method of manufacture.-Description:...
, and myriad similar or related blade weapons, appeared at this time and would dominate Japanese arms, relatively unchanged, through the mid-20th century. As a result, it was also during this period that the shift of samurai from archers to swordsmen began in a significant way.
Sengoku Period (1467–1603)
Less than a century after the end of the Nanboku-chō Wars, peace under the relatively weak Ashikaga shogunate was destroyed by the outbreak of the Ōnin WarOnin War
The ' was a civil war that lasted 10 years during the Muromachi period in Japan. A dispute between Hosokawa Katsumoto and Yamana Sōzen escalated into a nationwide war involving the Ashikaga shogunate and a number of daimyo in many regions of Japan....
, a roughly ten-year struggle that converted the capital of Kyoto into a battlefield and a heavily fortified city that suffered severe destruction.
The authority of both the shogunate and the Imperial Court all but collapsed, and provincial Governors (shugo
Shugo
was a title, commonly translated as "Governor," given to certain officials in feudal Japan. They were each appointed by the shogun to oversee one or more of the provinces of Japan...
) and other local samurai leaders emerged as the daimyo
Daimyo
is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...
, who would battle each other, religious factions (e.g. the Ikkō-ikki
Ikko-ikki
', literally "Ikkoshū Uprising", were mobs of peasant farmers, Buddhist monks, Shinto priests and local nobles, who rose up against samurai rule in 15th to 16th century Japan. They followed the beliefs of the Jōdo Shinshū sect of Buddhism which taught that all believers are equally saved by Amida...
) and others for land and power for the next 150 years or so. The period has come to be called Sengoku (戦国), after the Warring States period in ancient Chinese history. Over one hundred domains clashed and warred throughout the archipelago, as clans rose and fell, boundaries shifted, and some of the largest battles in all of global pre-modern history were fought.
A great many developments and significant events took place during this period, ranging from advances in castle design to the advent of the cavalry charge, the further development of campaign strategies on a grand scale, to the significant changes brought on by the introduction of firearms.
Army compositions changed and grew more strategic; masses of ashigaru
Ashigaru
The Japanese ashigaru were foot-soldiers of medieval Japan. The first known reference to ashigaru was in the 1300s, but it was during the Ashikaga Shogunate-Muromachi period that the use of ashigaru became prevalent by various warring factions.-Origins:Attempts were made in Japan by the Emperor...
footsoldiers, armed with long lances (yari
Yari
is the term for one of the traditionally made Japanese blades in the form of a spear, or more specifically, the straight-headed spear...
) served a role alongside mounted samurai, archers, and later, gunners. Siege tactics and weaponry were exceedingly rare until the modern era. Naval battles likewise consisted of little more than using boats to move troops within range of bow or arquebus
Arquebus
The arquebus , or "hook tube", is an early muzzle-loaded firearm used in the 15th to 17th centuries. The word was originally modeled on the German hakenbüchse; this produced haquebute...
, and then into hand-to-hand fighting.
The Hōjō clan
Late Hojo clan
The ' was one of the most powerful warrior clans in Japan in the Sengoku period and held domains primarily in the Kantō region.The clan is traditionally reckoned to be started by Ise Shinkurō, who came from a branch of the prestigious Ise clan, a family in the direct employment of the Ashikaga...
, in and around the Kantō area, were among the first to establish networks of satellite castles, and the complex use of these castles both for mutual defense and coordinated attacks. The Takeda, under Takeda Shingen
Takeda Shingen
, of Kai Province, was a preeminent daimyo in feudal Japan with exceptional military prestige in the late stage of the Sengoku period.-Name:Shingen was called "Tarō" or "Katsuchiyo" during his childhood...
, developed the Japanese equivalent of the cavalry charge
Charge (warfare)
A charge is a maneuver in battle in which soldiers advance towards their enemy at their best speed in an attempt to engage in close combat. The charge is the dominant shock attack and has been the key tactic and decisive moment of most battles in history...
; though debate continues today as to the force of his charges, and the appropriateness of the term, comparing them to Western cavalry charges, it is evident from contemporary sources that it was a revolutionary development, and powerful against defenders unused to it. Battles of particular interest or significance are too numerous to list here, but suffice it to say that this period saw a myriad of strategic and tactical developments, and some of the longest sieges and largest battles in the history of the pre-modern world.
Azuchi-Momoyama Period (1568–1600)
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
, and a further push towards all-out battle, away from individual combats and the influences of concepts of personal honor and bravery.
The arquebus
Arquebus
The arquebus , or "hook tube", is an early muzzle-loaded firearm used in the 15th to 17th centuries. The word was originally modeled on the German hakenbüchse; this produced haquebute...
was introduced to Japan in 1543, by Portuguese onboard a Chinese ship that crashed upon the tiny island of Tanegashima
Tanegashima
is an island lying to the south of Kyushu, in southern Japan, and is part of Kagoshima Prefecture. The island is the second largest of the Ōsumi Islands....
in the southernmost parts of the Japanese archipelago. Though their introduction was not seen to have particularly dramatic effects for several decades, by the 1560s, thousands of gunpowder weapons were in use in Japan, and began to have revolutionary effects upon Japanese battle tactics and strategies, army compositions, and castle architecture.
The 1575 Battle of Nagashino
Battle of Nagashino
The ' took place in 1575 near Nagashino Castle on the plain of Shitaragahara in the Mikawa province of Japan. Forces under Takeda Katsuyori had besieged the castle since the 17th of June; Okudaira Sadamasa , a Tokugawa vassal, commanded the defending force...
, in which about 3,000 arquebus
Arquebus
The arquebus , or "hook tube", is an early muzzle-loaded firearm used in the 15th to 17th centuries. The word was originally modeled on the German hakenbüchse; this produced haquebute...
iers led by Oda Nobunaga
Oda Nobunaga
was the initiator of the unification of Japan under the shogunate in the late 16th century, which ruled Japan until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was also a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. His opus was continued, completed and finalized by his successors Toyotomi...
cut down charging ranks of thousands of samurai, remains one of the chief examples of the effect of these weapons. Highly inaccurate, and taking a long time to reload, arquebusses, or teppō (鉄砲) as they are called in Japanese, did not win battles on their own. Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...
, and other commanders, developed tactics that honed arquebus use to the greatest advantage. At Nagashino, Nobunaga's gunners hid behind wooden barricades, embedded with large wooden spikes to ward off cavalry, and took turns firing volleys and reloading.
As in Europe, the debilitating effects of wet (and therefore largely useless) gunpowder were decisive in a number of battles. But, one of the key advantages of the weapon was that unlike bows, which required years of training largely available only to the samurai class, guns could be used by relatively untrained footmen. Samurai stuck to their swords and their bows, engaging in cavalry or infantry tactics, while the ashigaru
Ashigaru
The Japanese ashigaru were foot-soldiers of medieval Japan. The first known reference to ashigaru was in the 1300s, but it was during the Ashikaga Shogunate-Muromachi period that the use of ashigaru became prevalent by various warring factions.-Origins:Attempts were made in Japan by the Emperor...
wielded the guns. Some militant Buddhist factions, began to produce firearms in the foundries normally employed to make bronze temple bells. In this manner, the Ikkō-ikki
Ikko-ikki
', literally "Ikkoshū Uprising", were mobs of peasant farmers, Buddhist monks, Shinto priests and local nobles, who rose up against samurai rule in 15th to 16th century Japan. They followed the beliefs of the Jōdo Shinshū sect of Buddhism which taught that all believers are equally saved by Amida...
, a group of monks and lay religious zealots, turned their Ishiyama Honganji cathedral-fortress into one of the most well-defended fortresses in the country. The ikki and a handful of other militant religious factions thus presented significant powers unto themselves, and fought fierce battles against some of the chief generals and samurai clans in the archipelago.
Though Sengoku battles continued to rage as they had for the previous century, growing larger and more tactically complex, it was at this time that the many "warring states" began to be united, first under Oda Nobunaga, then under Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...
, and finally by Tokugawa Ieyasu
Tokugawa Ieyasu
was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan , which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but...
.
In 1592 and 1598 Toyotomi Hideyoshi organized a 160,000 army and navy for the conquest of China's Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
by way of Korea, after the latter's refusal to allow Japanese forces to march through. Japan completed the occupation of a Korean peninsula in three months. However, a Chinese army was sent to a Korean peninsula by the Korean king's petition. The supply line of a Japanese army was cut by Korean people's guerrilla though the sniper in Japan overwhelmed the Chinese cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
. Before long ,
It becomes impossible for a Japanese army to maintain the occupation of a Korean peninsula.After Hideyoshi's death, the Council of Five Elders
Council of Five Elders
The council of five elders, also known as the five Tairō , was formed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi to rule Japan in the place of his son, Hideyori, until such time as he came of age. Hideyoshi chose his five most powerful daimyo: Ukita Hideie, Maeda Toshiie, Uesugi Kagekatsu, Mōri Terumoto, and the...
ordered the remaining Japanese forces in Korea to retreat.
Tokugawa Ieyasu
Tokugawa Ieyasu
was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan , which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but...
, one of the regents, took control of most of the former leader's forces. In 1600 he won the battle of Sekigahara
Battle of Sekigahara
The , popularly known as the , was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 which cleared the path to the Shogunate for Tokugawa Ieyasu...
and solidified his rule. In 1603, he received the title of shogun
Shogun
A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...
, making him the nominal ruler of the entire country.
Edo Period (1603–1867)
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
. This was a forced peace—maintained through a variety of measures that weakened the daimyo and ensured their loyalty to the shogunate. The Tokugawa peace was ruptured only rarely and briefly prior to the violence that surrounded the Meiji Restoration
Meiji Restoration
The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...
of the 1860s.
The siege of Osaka
Siege of Osaka
The was a series of battles undertaken by the Tokugawa shogunate against the Toyotomi clan, and ending in that clan's destruction. Divided into two stages , and lasting from 1614 to 1615, the siege put an end to the last major armed opposition to the shogunate's establishment...
, which took place in 1614–1615, was essentially the last gasp for Toyotomi Hideyori
Toyotomi Hideyori
was the son and designated successor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the general who first united all of Japan. His mother, Yodo-dono, was the niece of Oda Nobunaga....
, heir to Hideyoshi, and an alliance of clans and other elements who opposed the shogunate. A samurai battle on a grand scale, in terms of strategy, scale, methods employed, and the political causes behind it, this is widely considered the final conflict of the Sengoku period.
Outside of the siege of Osaka, and the later conflicts of the 1850s-60s, violence in the Edo period was restricted to small skirmishes in the streets, peasant rebellions, and the enforcement of maritime restrictions
Sakoku
was the foreign relations policy of Japan under which no foreigner could enter nor could any Japanese leave the country on penalty of death. The policy was enacted by the Tokugawa shogunate under Tokugawa Iemitsu through a number of edicts and policies from 1633–39 and remained in effect until...
. Social tension in the Edo period brought a number of rebellions and uprisings, the largest of which was the 1638 Shimabara Rebellion
Shimabara Rebellion
The was an uprising largely involving Japanese peasants, most of them Catholic Christians, in 1637–1638 during the Edo period.It was one of only a handful of instances of serious unrest during the relatively peaceful period of the Tokugawa shogunate's rule...
. In the far north of the country, the island of Hokkaido
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
was inhabited by Ainu
Ainu
Ainu or Aynu may refer to:*Ainu people, of Japan and the Russian Far East**Ainu language**Ainu music**Ainu cuisine*Ainu , a primordial spirit in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings*Äynu people, of Western China...
villagers and Japanese settlers. In 1669 an Ainu leader, led a revolt
Shakushain's Revolt
was an Ainu rebellion against Japanese authority on Hokkaidō between 1669 to 1672. It was led by Ainu chieftain Shakushain against the Matsumae clan, who represented Japanese trading and governmental interests in the area of Hokkaidō then controlled by the Japanese .The war initially began as a...
against the Matsumae clan
Matsumae clan
The was a Japanese clan which was granted the area around Matsumae, Hokkaidō as a march fief in 1590 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and charged with defending it, and by extension all of Japan, from the Ainu 'barbarians' to the north. The clan was originally known as the Kakizaki clan who settled...
who controlled the region, it was the last mayor uprising against Japanese control of the region and it was put down in 1672. In 1789 another Ainu revolt, the Menashi-Kunashir Rebellion
Menashi-Kunashir Rebellion
or Menashi-Kunashir Battle was a battle in 1789 between Ainu and Japanese on the Shiretoko Peninsula in northeastern Hokkaidō. It began in May, 1789 when Ainu attacked Japanese on Kunashir Island and parts of the Menashi District as well as at sea. More than 70 Japanese were killed. The Japanese...
, was crushed.
The appearance of gunboat diplomacy
Gunboat diplomacy
In international politics, gunboat diplomacy refers to the pursuit of foreign policy objectives with the aid of conspicuous displays of military power — implying or constituting a direct threat of warfare, should terms not be agreeable to the superior force....
in Japan in the 1850s, and the forced so-called "opening of Japan" by Western forces underscored the weaknesses of the shogunate and led to its collapse. Though the actual end of the shogunate and establishment of an Imperial government following Western modes was handled entirely peacefully, through political petitions and the like, the years surrounding the event were not an entirely bloodless revolution. Following the formal termination of the shogunate, the Boshin War
Boshin War
The was a civil war in Japan, fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and those seeking to return political power to the imperial court....
(戊辰戦争 Boshin Sensō, literally "War of the Year of the Dragon") was fought in 1868-1869 between the Tokugawa army and a number of factions of nominally pro-Imperial forces to seize power and fill the gap thus created.
Modern Period
After a long peace, Japan rearmed by importing, then manufacturing Western weapons, and finally manufacturing weapons of Japanese design. During the Russo-Japanese WarRusso-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
(1904–1905), Japan became the first Asian nation since Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....
's Mongols to win a war against a European nation. In 1902 it became the first Asian nation to sign a mutual defense pact with a European nation, Britain
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
.
Japan was also the last major power to enter the race of global colonization. Severely hampered by its still-developing industries, Japan started a war against the United States during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
with less than one-tenth of the industrial capabilities of the U.S.
Japan has not participated in a major war as a combatant since being defeated in World War II. Even though Japan maintains a powerful defense force, its Constitution, originally drawn under the guidelines of General Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...
in 1945, formally renounces war and the use of military force in aggressive or offensive ways. Japan also maintains a policy against the exporting of military hardware. In addition, Japan is the only nation with a space exploration program not to have nuclear weapons.
Modern army established
Jules Brunet
Jules Brunet was a French officer who played an active role in Mexico and Japan, and later became a General and Chief of Staff of the French Minister of War in 1898...
, initialy a French artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
advisor of the Japanese central government, eventually took up arms
Boshin War
The was a civil war in Japan, fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and those seeking to return political power to the imperial court....
alongside the Shogun
Tokugawa Yoshinobu
was the 15th and last shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He was part of a movement which aimed to reform the aging shogunate, but was ultimately unsuccessful...
's army against the Imperial troops
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
, during the Boshin War
Boshin War
The was a civil war in Japan, fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and those seeking to return political power to the imperial court....
. His life inspired the movie The Last Samurai
The Last Samurai
The Last Samurai is a 2003 American epic drama film directed and co-produced by Edward Zwick, who also co-wrote the screenplay based on a story by John Logan. The film was inspired by a project developed by writer and director Vincent Ward, who had previously filmed the movie in 1990, starring...
, starring Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....
and Ken Watanabe
Ken Watanabe
is a Japanese stage, film, and television actor. To English-speaking audiences he is known for playing tragic hero characters, such as General Tadamichi Kuribayashi in Letters from Iwo Jima and Lord Katsumoto Moritsugu in The Last Samurai, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best...
.
In 1873, the Imperial government enacted the conscription law and established the Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
. As class distinctions were all but eliminated in attempts to modernize and create a representative democracy, samurai lost their status as the only class with military obligations. A sensationalized depiction of this can also be seen in The Last Samurai.
Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895)
The Sino-Japanese WarFirst Sino-Japanese War
The First Sino-Japanese War was fought between Qing Dynasty China and Meiji Japan, primarily over control of Korea...
was fought against the forces of the Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
of China in the Korean peninsula
Korean Peninsula
The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. It extends southwards for about 684 miles from continental Asia into the Pacific Ocean and is surrounded by the Sea of Japan to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the west, the Korea Strait connecting the first two bodies of water.Until the end of...
, Manchuria
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
, and the coast of China. It was the first major conflict between Japan and an overseas military power in modern times.
The signed between Japan and China ended the war. Through this treaty, Japan forced China to open ports for international trade and ceded the southern portion of China's Liaoning province as well as the island of Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
to Japan. China also had to pay a war indemnity of 200 million Kuping tael
Tael
Tael can refer to any one of several weight measures of the Far East. Most commonly, it refers to the Chinese tael, a part of the Chinese system of weights and currency....
s. As a result of this war, Korea ceased to be a tributary state of China, but fell into Japan's sphere of influence. However, many of the material gains from this war were lost by Japan due to the Triple Intervention
Triple Intervention
The was a diplomatic intervention by Russia, Germany, and France on 23 April 1895 over the terms of the Treaty of Shimonoseki signed between Japan and Qing dynasty China that ended the First Sino-Japanese War.-Treaty of Shimonoseki:...
.
Japanese invasion of Taiwan (1895)
The Japanese occupation of Taiwan was strongly resisted by various interests on the island, and was only completed after a full-scale military campaign requiring the commitment of the Imperial Guards Division and most of the 2nd and 4th Provincial Divisions. The campaign began in late May 1895 with a Japanese landing at Keelung, on the northern coast of Taiwan, and ended in October 1895 with the Japanese capture of Tainan, the capital of the self-styled 'Republic of Formosa'. The Japanese defeated regular Chinese and Formosan formations relatively easily but their marching columns were often harassed by guerilla formations. The Japanese responded with brutal reprisals, and sporadic resistance to their occupation of Taiwan continued until 1902.Russo-Japanese War
The Japanese victory in the Russo-Japanese WarRusso-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
of 1904-1905 marks the emergence of Japan as a major military power. Japan demonstrated that it could apply Western technology, discipline, strategy, and tactics in an effective war.
Taisho Period and World War I
1914: Japan was a member of the AlliesAllies
In everyday English usage, allies are people, groups, or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out between them...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and was rewarded with control of German colonies in the Pacific. The 70,000-strong Japanese force also intervened in Russia
Allied Intervention in the Russian Civil War
The Allied intervention was a multi-national military expedition launched in 1918 during World War I which continued into the Russian Civil War. Its operations included forces from 14 nations and were conducted over a vast territory...
during the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
, supporting the anti-Communist factions, but failed to achieve their objective and was forced to withdraw. A small group of Japanese cruisers and destroyers also participated in various missions in the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.
Showa Period and World War II
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
(Northeast China
Northeast China
Northeast China, historically known in English as Manchuria, is a geographical region of China, consisting of the three provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. The region is sometimes called the Three Northeast Provinces...
) in 1931, following the Mukden Incident
Mukden Incident
The Mukden Incident, also known as the Manchurian Incident, was a staged event that was engineered by Japanese military personnel as a pretext for invading the northern part of China known as Manchuria in 1931....
, in which they claimed to have had territory attacked by the Chinese (a few meters of the South Manchuria Railway
South Manchuria Railway
The , and operated within China in the Japanese-controlled South Manchuria Railway Zone. The railway itself ran from Lüshun Port at the southern tip of the Liaodong Peninsula to Harbin, where it connected to the Chinese Eastern Railway.-History:...
was destroyed in a bombing sabotage). By 1937, Japan had annexed territory north of Beijing and, following the Marco Polo Bridge Incident
Marco Polo Bridge Incident
The Marco Polo Bridge Incident was a battle between the Republic of China's National Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Japanese Army, often used as the marker for the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War .The eleven-arch granite bridge, Lugouqiao, is an architecturally significant structure,...
, a full-scale invasion of China began. Japanese military superiority over a weak and demoralized Chinese Republican army allowed for swift advances down the eastern coast, leading to the fall of Shanghai and Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
(Nanking, then capital of the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
) the same year. The Chinese suffered greatly in both military and civilian casualties. An estimated 300,000 civilians were killed during the first weeks of Japanese occupation of Nanjing, during the Nanking Massacre
Nanking Massacre
The Nanking Massacre or Nanjing Massacre, also known as the Rape of Nanking, was a mass murder, genocide and war rape that occurred during the six-week period following the Japanese capture of the city of Nanjing , the former capital of the Republic of China, on December 13, 1937 during the Second...
.
In September 1940, Germany, Italy, and Japan became allies under the Tripartite Pact
Tripartite Pact
The Tripartite Pact, also the Three-Power Pact, Axis Pact, Three-way Pact or Tripartite Treaty was a pact signed in Berlin, Germany on September 27, 1940, which established the Axis Powers of World War II...
. Germany, which had previously trained and supplied the Chinese army, halted all Sino-German cooperation, and recalled its military advisor (Alexander von Falkenhausen
Alexander von Falkenhausen
Alexander Ernst Alfred Hermann Freiherr von Falkenhausen was a German general. He was the head of the military government of Belgium from 1940–44 during its occupation by Germany in World War II....
). In July 1940, the U.S. banned the shipment of aviation gasoline to Japan, while Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
invaded French Indochina and occupied its naval and air bases in September 1940.
In April 1941, the Empire of Japan
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
signed a neutrality pact and Japan increased pressure on the Vichy French
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
and Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
colonies
Colony
In politics and history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception....
in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
to cooperate in economic matters. Following Japan's refusal to withdraw from China (with the exclusion of Manchukuo
Manchukuo
Manchukuo or Manshū-koku was a puppet state in Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia, governed under a form of constitutional monarchy. The region was the historical homeland of the Manchus, who founded the Qing Empire in China...
) and Indochina, United States, Great Britain and Netherlands imposed, on July 22, 1941, an embargo on gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...
while shipments of scrap metal
Scrap Metal
Scrap Metal were a band from Broome, Western Australia who played rock music with elements of country and reggae. The members had Aboriginal, Irish, Filipino, French, Chinese, Scottish, Indonesian and Japanese heritage. The band toured nationally as part of the Bran Nue Dae musical and with...
, steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
and other materials had virtually ceased. Meanwhile, American economic support to China began to increase.
Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
and against several other countries on December 7, 1941, the United States, United Kingdom and the other Allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
declared war; the Second Sino-Japanese War
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
became part of the global conflict of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Japanese forces initially experienced great success against Allied forces in the Pacific and South East Asia, capturing Thailand
Japanese Invasion of Thailand
The Japanese invasion of Thailand occurred on December 8, 1941. It was fought between Thailand and the Empire of Japan. Despite fierce fighting in Southern Thailand, Thai resistance lasted only a few hours before ending in a ceasefire.-Background:...
, Hong Kong
Battle of Hong Kong
The Battle of Hong Kong took place during the Pacific campaign of World War II. It began on 8 December 1941 and ended on 25 December 1941 with Hong Kong, then a Crown colony, surrendering to the Empire of Japan.-Background:...
, Malaya
Battle of Malaya
The Malayan Campaign was a campaign fought by Allied and Japanese forces in Malaya, from 8 December 1941 – 31 January 1942 during the Second World War. The campaign was dominated by land battles between British Commonwealth army units, and the Imperial Japanese Army...
, Singapore
Battle of Singapore
The Battle of Singapore was fought in the South-East Asian theatre of the Second World War when the Empire of Japan invaded the Allied stronghold of Singapore. Singapore was the major British military base in Southeast Asia and nicknamed the "Gibraltar of the East"...
, the Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies campaign
The Dutch East Indies campaign of 1941–1942 was the conquest of the Dutch East Indies by forces from the Empire of Japan in the early days of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Forces from the Allies attempted unsuccessfully to defend the islands. Indonesia was targeted by the Japanese for its...
, the Philippines and many Pacific Islands
Pacific Islands
The Pacific Islands comprise 20,000 to 30,000 islands in the Pacific Ocean. The islands are also sometimes collectively called Oceania, although Oceania is sometimes defined as also including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago....
. They also made major offensives in Burma
Burma Campaign
The Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II was fought primarily between British Commonwealth, Chinese and United States forces against the forces of the Empire of Japan, Thailand, and the Indian National Army. British Commonwealth land forces were drawn primarily from...
and air and naval attacks against Australia
Battle for Australia
The Battle for Australia is a contested historiographical term used to claim a link between a series of battles near Australia during the Pacific War of the Second World War...
. The Allies turned the tide of war at sea in mid-1942, at the Battle of Midway
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy decisively defeated...
. Japanese land forces continued to advance in the New Guinea
New Guinea campaign
The New Guinea campaign was one of the major military campaigns of World War II.Before the war, the island of New Guinea was split between:...
and Solomon Islands campaign
Solomon Islands campaign
The Solomon Islands campaign was a major campaign of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign began with Japanese landings and occupation of several areas in the British Solomon Islands and Bougainville, in the Territory of New Guinea, during the first six months of 1942...
s but suffered significant defeats and/or were forced to retreat at the battles of Milne Bay
Battle of Milne Bay
The Battle of Milne Bay, also known as Operation RE by the Japanese, was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II. Japanese marines attacked the Australian base at Milne Bay on the eastern tip of New Guinea on 25 August 1942, and fighting continued until the Japanese retreated on 5...
, the Kokoda Track
Kokoda Track campaign
The Kokoda Track campaign or Kokoda Trail campaign was part of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign consisted of a series of battles fought between July and November 1942 between Japanese and Allied—primarily Australian—forces in what was then the Australian territory of Papua...
and Guadalcanal.
From 1943 onwards, hard-fought campaigns at the battles of Buna-Gona
Battle of Buna-Gona
The Battle of Buna–Gona was a battle in the New Guinea campaign, a major part of the Pacific campaign of World War II. On 16 November 1942, Australian and United States forces attacked the main Japanese beachheads in New Guinea, at Buna, Sanananda and Gona. Both forces were riddled by disease and...
, the Tarawa
Battle of Tarawa
The Battle of Tarawa, code named Operation Galvanic, was a battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II, largely fought from November 20 to November 23, 1943. It was the first American offensive in the critical central Pacific region....
, Philippine Sea
Battle of the Philippine Sea
The Battle of the Philippine Sea was a decisive naval battle of World War II which effectively eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious invasion of the Mariana Islands during the Pacific War...
, Leyte Gulf
Battle of Leyte Gulf
The Battle of Leyte Gulf, also called the "Battles for Leyte Gulf", and formerly known as the "Second Battle of the Philippine Sea", is generally considered to be the largest naval battle of World War II and, by some criteria, possibly the largest naval battle in history.It was fought in waters...
, Iwo Jima
Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima , or Operation Detachment, was a major battle in which the United States fought for and captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Empire of Japan. The U.S...
, Okinawa
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945...
, and others resulted in horrific casualties, mostly on Japanese side, and produced further Japanese retreats. Very few Japanese ended up in POW camps, this may have been due to Japanese soldiers reluctance to surrender. The brutality of the conflict is exemplified by US troops taking body parts from dead Japanese soldiers as "war trophies" or "war souvenirs"
American mutilation of Japanese war dead
During World War II, some United States military personnel mutilated dead Japanese service personnel in the Pacific theater of operations. The mutilation of Japanese service personnel included the taking of body parts as “war souvenirs” and “war trophies”...
and Japanese cannibalism.
Throughout the Pacific War the Japanese military engaged in war crimes, in particular the mistreatment of prisoners of war and civilians, on a scale comparable to that of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. Some estimate that around 6 million people were killed by Japanese forces, primarily Chinese civilians. These numbers are disputed given that between 1939–1945, more than 16 million civilians were injured
World War II casualties
World War II was the deadliest military conflict in history. Over 60 million people were killed, which was over 2.5% of the world population. The tables below give a detailed country-by-country count of human losses.-Total dead:...
in China alone. This was the largest civilian casualty count in any country. Mistreatment of Allied prisoners through forced labour and brutality received extensive coverage in the west. It is widely perceived that the Japanese government has failed to acknowledge the suffering caused by its forces and in particular the teaching of history in its schools has caused international protest
Japanese history textbook controversies
Japanese history textbook controversies refers to controversial content in government-approved history textbooks used in the secondary education of Japan...
.
On August 6 and August 9, 1945, the U.S. dropped two atomic bombs, on Hiroshima
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...
and on Nagasaki respectively. More than 200,000 people died as a direct result of these two bombings, during which the Soviet Union entered the war against Japan.
Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945 and a formal Instrument of Surrender was signed on September 2, 1945, on the battleship USS Missouri
USS Missouri (BB-63)
|USS Missouri is a United States Navy Iowa-class battleship, and was the fourth ship of the U.S. Navy to be named in honor of the U.S. state of Missouri...
in Tokyo Bay
Tokyo Bay
is a bay in the southern Kantō region of Japan. Its old name was .-Geography:Tokyo Bay is surrounded by the Bōsō Peninsula to the east and the Miura Peninsula to the west. In a narrow sense, Tokyo Bay is the area north of the straight line formed by the on the Miura Peninsula on one end and on...
. The surrender was accepted by General Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...
as Supreme Allied Commander, with representatives of each Allied nation, from a Japanese delegation led by Mamoru Shigemitsu
Mamoru Shigemitsu
was a Japanese diplomat and politician in the Empire of Japan, who served as the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs at the end of World War II.-Biography:...
. A separate surrender ceremony between Japan and China was held in Nanking on September 9, 1945.
Occupied Japan
At the end of World War II, Japan was occupied by the Allied Powers, led by the United States with contributions also from Australia, India, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. This foreign presence marked the first time in its history that the island nation had been occupied by a foreign power...
. U.S. President Harry Truman officially proclaimed an end of hostilities on December 31, 1946.
Over the course of the war, Japan displayed many significant advances in military technology, strategy and tactics. Among them were the Yamato class battleship
Yamato class battleship
The were battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy constructed and operated during World War II. Displacing at full load, the vessels were the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever constructed. The class carried the largest naval artillery ever fitted to a warship, nine naval...
, the Sensuikan Toku
I-400 class submarine
The Imperial Japanese Navy submarines were the largest submarines of World War II and remained the largest ever built until the construction of nuclear ballistic missile submarines in the 1960s. They were submarine aircraft carriers able to carry three Aichi M6A Seiran aircraft underwater to their...
submarine bomber carriers, the Mitsubishi Zero fighters, and Kamikaze
Kamikaze
The were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible....
bombers.
Atlantis Documents
It is sometimes argued that the Japanese decision to attack the Allies was, in large part, influenced by the capture of British documents with regards to British forces, the defenses of SingaporeSingapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, codes
Cryptography
Cryptography is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of third parties...
, and information on Australia and New Zealand, as well as an appraisal of Japanese intentions. These documents were captured by the German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
Hilfskreuzer (auxiliary cruiser) Atlantis
German auxiliary cruiser Atlantis
The German auxiliary cruiser Atlantis , known to the Kriegsmarine as Schiff 16 and to the Royal Navy as Raider-C, was a converted German Hilfskreuzer of the Kriegsmarine, which, during World War II, travelled more than in 602 days, and sank or captured 22 ships totaling...
, on 1940-11-11. Other elements show that Japanese military command chose to invade allied territory as a result of a failure to defend itself against Soviet forces in 1938-1939 during the Nomonhan Incident.
Post–World War II
After a period of U.S. occupationOccupied Japan
At the end of World War II, Japan was occupied by the Allied Powers, led by the United States with contributions also from Australia, India, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. This foreign presence marked the first time in its history that the island nation had been occupied by a foreign power...
(1945–1952), Japan regained its independence. Japan was also forbidden to have a standing army or wage war by Article nine of its Constitution.
Although the Japanese constitution says "land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained," the Jieitai (自衛隊), or Japan Self-Defense Forces
Japan Self-Defense Forces
The , or JSDF, occasionally referred to as JSF or SDF, are the unified military forces of Japan that were established after the end of the post–World War II Allied occupation of Japan. For most of the post-war period the JSDF was confined to the islands of Japan and not permitted to be deployed...
were created shortly after the end of U.S. occupation. The Jieitai is one of the most technologically advanced armed forces in the world and Japanese military expenditures are the seventh highest in the world. Though the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security, signed in 1960, allows for the continued presence of American military bases in Japan, most of them on Okinawa, no formal agreement was ever set by which Japan officially relies on the United States, United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, or anybody else for its defense.
In the aftermath of the Occupation, attempts were made by some administrations in Japan, particularly at the urging of the United States, to amend the Constitution and rearm. This was prevented by intense popular sentiment against this action, and against war in general, along with the attitudes and agendas of significant elements within the government. In 1967, Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Japan
The is the head of government of Japan. He is appointed by the Emperor of Japan after being designated by the Diet from among its members, and must enjoy the confidence of the House of Representatives to remain in office...
Eisaku Satō
Eisaku Sato
This article is about the Prime Minister of Japan. For the governor of Fukushima Prefecture of Japan of the same name, see Eisaku Satō ....
outlined the Three Non-Nuclear Principles
Three Non-Nuclear Principles
Japan's are a parliamentary resolution that have guided Japanese nuclear policy since their inception in the late 1960s, and reflect general public sentiment and national policy since the end of World War II. The tenets state that Japan shall neither possess nor manufacture nuclear weapons, nor...
by which Japan stands against its production, or possession of nuclear weaponry. Similar ideas were expressed several years later against the production and export of conventional arms. The Diet of Japan
Diet of Japan
The is Japan's bicameral legislature. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives, and an upper house, called the House of Councillors. Both houses of the Diet are directly elected under a parallel voting system. In addition to passing laws, the Diet is formally...
is currently deliberating an amendment to the Constitution that would repeal Article Nine, and allow Japan to once again have projective military capacity.
For the time being, Japan has deployed the Jieitai to aid in a number of non-combat missions, especially those involving humanitarian aid, such as aiding the victims of the 1995 Kobe earthquake
Great Hanshin earthquake
The Great Hanshin earthquake, or Kobe earthquake, was an earthquake that occurred on Tuesday, January 17, 1995, at 05:46 JST in the southern part of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. It measured 6.8 on the moment magnitude scale , and Mj7.3 on JMA magnitude scale. The tremors lasted for approximately 20...
, providing administrative support to the United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL) Norwegian Battalion (NORBATT) in the 1990s, and helping rebuild Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
.
Some Japanese state a desire to have their own military due to fear of the growing power of China and the hostility of North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
. They claim that the U.S. has failed to properly address these issues, and therefore Japan must grant itself "the power to defend itself".
In 2004, then-United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...
announced a plan to expand the number of permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
, and Japan seeks to gain one of those seats. Despite Japan's economic power and political influence, some debate whether or not a country with no standing military can be considered a "world power" that should have a permanent seat on the Council. Recent disputes with neighboring countries like China, Taiwan, South Korea, and Russia over territories such as the Senkaku Islands
Senkaku Islands
The , also known as the Diaoyu Islands or Diaoyutai Islands or the Pinnacle Islands, are a group of disputed uninhabited islands in the East China Sea...
, Liancourt Rocks
Liancourt Rocks
The Liancourt Rocks, also known as Dokdo or Tokto in Korean or in Japanese, are a group of small islets in the Sea of Japan . Sovereignty over the islets is disputed between Japan and South Korea...
, and the Kuril Islands
Kuril Islands
The Kuril Islands , in Russia's Sakhalin Oblast region, form a volcanic archipelago that stretches approximately northeast from Hokkaidō, Japan, to Kamchatka, Russia, separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the North Pacific Ocean. There are 56 islands and many more minor rocks. It consists of Greater...
, as well as accusations of Japanese whitewashing of history in various textbook controversies
Japanese history textbook controversies
Japanese history textbook controversies refers to controversial content in government-approved history textbooks used in the secondary education of Japan...
have also complicated this process.
See also
- List of Japanese battles
- Battles of the Imperial Japanese NavyBattles of the Imperial Japanese NavyThe following are some of the battles of the Imperial Japanese Navy:-Boshin War :* Naval Battle of Awa, 28 January 1868.* Naval Battle of Miyako, March 1869....
- Greater East Asia War
- Military HistoryMilitary historyMilitary history is a humanities discipline within the scope of general historical recording of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, their cultures, economies and changing intra and international relationships....
- World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
- Pacific TheaterPacific WarThe Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
- Pacific Theater
- Imperial Japanese ArmyImperial Japanese Army-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
- Imperial Japanese NavyImperial Japanese NavyThe Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
- History of JapanHistory of JapanThe history of Japan encompasses the history of the islands of Japan and the Japanese people, spanning the ancient history of the region to the modern history of Japan as a nation state. Following the last ice age, around 12,000 BC, the rich ecosystem of the Japanese Archipelago fostered human...
- Japanese nationalismJapanese nationalismencompasses a broad range of ideas and sentiments harbored by the Japanese people over the last two centuries regarding their native country, its cultural nature, political form and historical destiny...
- Japan Self-Defense ForcesJapan Self-Defense ForcesThe , or JSDF, occasionally referred to as JSF or SDF, are the unified military forces of Japan that were established after the end of the post–World War II Allied occupation of Japan. For most of the post-war period the JSDF was confined to the islands of Japan and not permitted to be deployed...