Empire of Japan

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The Empire of Japan (Kyūjitai: 大日本帝國; Shinjitai: 大日本帝国; pronounced Dai Nippon Teikoku; officially Empire of Greater Japan; also known as Imperial Japan and the Japanese Empire) was Japan and territories ruled by Japan during the period under the Constitution of the Empire of Japan, from November 29, 1889, to September 2, 1945. The Emperors during this time, which spanned the Meiji, Taishō and Shōwa eras, are now known by their posthumous names which coincide with those era names: Emperor Meiji (Mutsuhito), Emperor Taishō (Yoshihito) and Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito).

Notable events during this period were the return of power to the Emperor (大政奉還, Tai-sei Hou-kan^?) on 9 November 1867, the Abolition of the Han system (廃藩置県, Hai-han Chi-ken^?) on July 14, 1871, the country's rapid industrialization and militarization under the slogan Fukoku Kyohei 富国強兵 (Enrich the Country, Strengthen the Military), leading to its emergence as a world power, the expansion of the Empire into Southeast Asia and the Pacific, including China and Korea, and its participation in the Axis Powers alliance.

The Empire of Japan surrendered to the Allies on September 2, 1945 after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, following a long Pacific War against the Allies (mostly the United States) of World War II.

A period known as occupied Japan followed the surrender and dissolution of the Empire and a new constitution was created with American input. American occupation and reconstruction of the country continued well into the 1950s.

Contents 1 Background and terminology 2 Politics 2.1 Founding of the constitution 3 Change and philosophy 3.1 Meiji Restoration 3.2 Change and philosophy 3.3 Emulation of the West 4 Economic development 5 Military and social organizations 6 Militarization and territorial expansion 6.1 The growth of military dominance in East Asia 7 Pre-World War I wars 7.1 First Sino-Japanese War 7.2 Russo-Japanese War 8 World War I 9 World War II 9.1 Tripartite Pact 9.2 Military campaigns 9.2.1 Second Sino-Japanese War 9.2.1.1 Manchuria 9.2.1.2 China 9.2.2 Clashes with the Soviet Union 9.2.3 Second World War 9.2.4 Attack on Pearl Harbor 9.2.4.1 Battle of Malaya 9.2.4.2 Battle of Singapore 9.2.4.3 Burma Campaign 9.2.4.4 Netherlands East Indies 9.2.4.5 Battle of the Philippines 9.2.4.6 Battle for Australia 10 War crimes 10.1 Unit 731 10.2 Nanking Massacre 10.3 Sook Ching massacre 11 Path to defeat 11.1 Significant defeats 11.2 Kamikaze attacks 11.3 Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 12 Defeat, surrender and regime change 12.1 Regime change 13 Prominent political leaders 14 Prominent military personnel 15 Timeline 15.1 Emperors of the Empire of Japan 16 External links 17 See also

[edit] Background and terminology

Constitutionally, the Japanese Imperial period lasted from November 29, 1890, to May 3, 1947 under the 1889 Constitution of the Empire of Japan that was promulgated as part of a massive set of political reforms after the Meiji Restoration, the most important being the restoration of power to the Emperor as head of state and head of government from the Tokugawa shogun. More realistically]], however, the empire existed from 1871, when the Meiji government first turned its attention to Japan's borders, until the enactment of the American authored post-war constitution in May, 1947. It spans the eras that are known as the Meiji period (1867 - 1912), the Taishō period (1912 - 1926), and the first twenty-one years of the Shōwa period (1926 - 1989).

Although the empire is commonly referred to as "the Japanese Empire" or "Imperial Japan" in English, the literal translation from Japanese is Empire of Greater Japan. The country was a major Axis Power and a key ally of Nazi Germany and its aggressive global policies. Though Emperor Shōwa ruled during the war, the title of Emperor became one of a constitutional monarch following Japan's defeat. Its main military branches were the Imperial Japanese Army and the Imperial Japanese Navy. These wings accumulated great influence within the Japanese government, and the country was increasingly ruled by military personnel as time progressed.

Under the Empire, there was rapid industrialization and militarization, culminating in the adoption of a foreign policy of outward expansion. Conquered lands included Korea, Southeast Asia and large portions of China, after the Japanese Navy's defeat of both Russia and China in territorial wars.

The Empire of Japan nomenclature had existed since the feudal anti-shogunate domains, Satsuma and Chōshū, which founded their new government during the Meiji Restoration, with the intention of forming an empire.

[edit] Politics

[edit] Founding of the constitution

Main article: Constitution of the Empire of Japan

The constitution also recognized the aforementioned acknowledgment of a need for change and modernization after removal of the shogunate:

“

We, the Successor to the prosperous Throne of Our Predecessors, do humbly and solemnly swear to the Imperial Founder of Our House and to Our other Imperial Ancestors that, in pursuance of a great policy co-extensive with the Heavens and with the Earth, We shall maintain and secure from decline the ancient form of government...In consideration of the progressive tendency of the course of human affairs and in parallel with the advance of civilization, We deem it expedient, in order to give clearness and distinctness to the instructions bequeathed by the Imperial Founder of Our House and by Our other Imperial Ancestors, to establish fundamental laws....

”

Imperial Japan was founded after the 1889 signing of Constitution of the Empire of Japan. The constitution formalized much of its political structure and gave many responsibilities and powers to the Emperor:

“

Article 3. The Emperor is sacred and inviolable. Article 4. The Emperor is the head of the Empire, combining in Himself the rights of sovereignty, and exercises them, according to the provisions of the present Constitution. Article 6. The Emperor gives sanction to laws, and orders them to be promulgated and executed. Article 11. The Emperor has the supreme command of the Army and Navy.[1]

”

Although it was in this constitution that the title Empire of Japan was officially used for the first time, it was not until 1936 that this title was legalized. Until then, the names "Nippon" (日本; Japan), "Dai-Nippon" (大日本; Great Japan), "Dai-Nippon/-Nihon Koku" (日本國; Nation of Great Japan), "Nihon Teikoku" (日本帝國; Empire of Japan) were all used.

In 1946, a year after the end of World War II, Japan's government was restructured. The country's name was revised once again in the draft of the 1946 Constitution of Japan, this time to "The State of Japan" (日本国; Nihon Koku).

[edit] Change and philosophy

[edit] Meiji Restoration

Main article: Meiji Restoration

The founding of the Empire of Japan (Dai Nippon Teikoku) traces its roots to the Meiji Restoration, a political movement which vastly restructured the politics of Japan. At the time, the Tokugawa shogunate was in full control of the Japanese islands. During the Tokugawa era, Japan's foreign policy was one of isolationism. This lack of influence from other peoples enabled a flourishing period in Japan's arts and culture. Contemporaneous to Japan's self-removal from world politics, Western powers were becoming increasingly powerful militarily and economically, with colonies in many parts of the world, including the control of Southeast Asian nations by the UK, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Germany.

Largely because of the Western nations' military and cultural influence, Japan felt compelled to establish economic relations with the United States by signing the Convention of Kanagawa. This was the first of many treaties which would come to be known as the Unequal Treaties because of their perceived bias toward Western interests, opened as a result of gunboat diplomacy in East Asia. With this unfavorable treaty came a loss of confidence among the people in their nation's strength. With the help of progressive and revolutionary thinkers such as Fukuzawa Yukichi and others, Japan moved to transcend the influence of these Western powers and to be overall powerful themselves. This led to the Meiji Restoration, with its aggressive and sometimes frantic industrialization, as well as the sending of envoys, students, and observers to Western nations. Through consultation with European leaders, especially the Chancellor of Germany^{[citation needed]}, Japan concluded that display of military might was the foremost tool for ensuring Japan's continued prosperity and autonomy from Western powers. This development would need external resources achievable through colonization, because of lack of abundant natural resources in Japan. Japan's new military strength directly resulted in conquests and military conflicts with many of its neighbors including China, Korea, Russia, and most of the Southeast Asian countries including Australia, and, eventually the Allies of World War II.

[edit] Change and philosophy

Several writers from publications that include writers like Fukuzawa Yukichi were influential in encouraging Japanese people to adopt change. Fukuzawa's articles and books like "Conditions in the West", "Leaving Asia", "An Outline of a Theory of Civilization" were widely distributed among the Japanese people. Fukuzawa encouraged Japanese people to educate, individualize and Westernize in order to compete with other nations and become powerful, stating that civilization is dependent on time and circumstance. Fukuzawa wrote that "Civilization is like the measles. It's better than measles [in] that it can bring interests."

In the Meiji Restoration period, military and economic power was well emphasized. Military strength became the means for national development and stability. Imperial Japan became a world power in less than 30-50 years as a result of industrialization and economic development.

[edit] Emulation of the West

Japanese Meiji restoration governers officially rapidly adopted numerous Western customs, cultures and institutions that include clothes, etiquette, uniforms, style, military ranks, peerage system (e.g. Count, Viscount, Duke, Baron), judicial system and many others under strict pragmatism along with traditional Japanese culture, and even moustaches. Wearing of swords (such as katana) and displaying top knot that is characteristic of the samurai was made illegal in the public.

They saw that these changes were necessities and largely wholeheartedly embraced them in order to make Japan powerful like the European countries at the time. They also brought in European military personel to train their conscription based army to defeat the remnants of the Shogunate and the samurai that opposed the Meiji restoration. For instance, the Imperial Japanese Navy was largely modeled after the British Royal Navy, and the Imperial Japanese Army was largely modeled after the German army. Meiji government bought numerous American and European guns, weapons, etc through number of arms agreements. They brought in many foreign advisors from variety of areas such as music, architecture, agriculture, military to teach and train European things to the Japanese subjects.

[edit] Economic development

Main article: Economic history of Japan#Militarism

Before World War II, Japan built an extensive empire that included Taiwan, Korea, Manchuria, and parts of northern China. The Japanese regarded this sphere of influence as a political and economic necessity, preventing foreign states from strangling Japan by blocking its access to raw materials and crucial sea-lanes. Japan's large military force was regarded as essential to the empire's defense and prosperity through obtaining natural resources, in which the Japanese islands are lacking.

Rapid growth and structural change characterized Japan's two periods of economic development after 1868. Initially, the economy grew only moderately and relied heavily on traditional Japanese agriculture to finance modern industrial infrastructure. By the time the Russo-Japanese War began in 1904, 65% of employment and 38% of the gross domestic product (GDP) was still based on agriculture, but modern industry had begun to expand substantially. By the late 1920s, manufacturing and mining contributed to 23% of GDP, compared with the 21% for all of agriculture. Transportation and communications developed to sustain heavy industrial development.

[edit] Military and social organizations

Main articles: Imperial Japanese Military, Tokkou keisatu, and Kempeitai

Important institutional links existed between the Party in Government (Kodoha) and Military and Political Organizations like the Imperial Young Federation, and the "Political Department" of the Kempeitai;Amongst the himitsu kessha (secret societies), the Kokuryu-kai (Black Dragon Society), and Kokka Shakai Shugi Gakumei (the National Socialist League) also had close ties to the government. The Tonarigumi (residents committee) groups, the Nation Service Society (national government trade union) and Imperial Farmers Association were all allied as well. See more:List of Japanese institutions (1930 - 1945)

Other organizations and groups related with the government in wartime were: Double Leaf Society, Toseiha, Kodaha, Kokuhonsha, Taisei Yokusankai, Imperial Youth Corps, League of Diet Members Believing the Objectives of the Holy War, Tokko,Tokeitai, Keishicho (to 1945), Shintoist Rites Research Council, Treaty Faction, Fleet Faction and Imperial Volunteer Corps

[edit] Militarization and territorial expansion

Main articles: Imperial Way Faction and Japanese nationalism

At same time, the zaibatsu capitalist groups (principally Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Sumitomo, and Yasuda) looked toward great future expansion. Their main concern was a shortage of raw materials. Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoye combined social concerns with the needs of capital, and planned for expansion.

The economic seeds of World War II were planted in the mid 19th century. Main goals of this expansionism were acquisition and protection of spheres of influence, maintenance of territorial integrity, acquisition of raw materials, and access to Asian markets. Western nations, notably Great Britain, France, and the United States, had for long exhibited great interest in the commercial opportunities in China and other parts of Asia. These opportunities had attracted Western investment because of the availability of raw materials for both domestic production and re-export to Asia. Japan desired these opportunities in planning the development of the Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere.

Once outright war began, the Domei Tsushin Press Agency celebrated the quality of Japan's armaments, stating that Mitsubishi and the others had taken the measure of the "white barbarians".

Sadao Araki was an important figurehead and founder of the Army party and the most important right-wing thinker in that time; his first ideological works date from his leadership of the Kodaha (Imperial Benevolent Rule or Action Group), opposed by the Toseiha (Control Group) led by General Kazushige Ugaki. He linked the ancient (bushido code) and contemporary local and European fascist ideals (see Japanese fascism), to form the ideological basis of the movement (Shōwa nationalism).

From September 1932, the Japanese were becoming more locked into the course that would lead them into the Second World War, with Araki leading the way. Totalitarianism, militarism and expansionism were to become the rule with fewer voices able to speak against it. In a September 23 news conference, Araki first mentioned the philosophy of "Kodoha" (The Imperial Way Faction). The concept of Kodo linked the Emperor, the people, land and morality as indivisible. This led to the creation of a "new" Shinto and increased Emperor worship.

The state was being transformed to serve the Army and the Emperor. Symbolic katana swords came back into fashion as the martial embodiment of these beliefs, and the Nambu pistol became its contemporary equivalent, with the implicit message that the Army doctrine of close combat would prevail.

The final objective, as envisioned by Army thinkers and right-wing line followers, was a return to the old Shogunate system, but in the form of a contemporary Military Shogunate. In such a government the Emperor would once more be a figurehead (as in the Edo period). Real power would fall to a leader very similar to a Führer or Duce, though with the power less nakedly held. On the other hand, the traditionalist Navy militarists defended the Emperor and a constitutional monarchy with a significant religious aspect.

[edit] The growth of military dominance in East Asia

The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page.

The Japanese Empire's main problem lay in that rapid industrial expansion had turned Japan into a major manufacturing center requiring raw materials that could only be obtained overseas. Hence Japan's swift advance in securing those areas, bringing Japan into immediate conflict with the Western powers, who also had considerable political and economic interests in the Far East. The Japanese move into French Indo-China and diplomatic discourse with Siam (Thailand) constituted a threat to the security of British Malaya, the American Philippines, Dutch East Indies, Portuguese enclaves, and the southern lands of Australia and New Zealand.

On Sunday 7 December 1941 the Imperial Japanese Navy hit the American military base at Pearl Harbor with an aerial onslaught. The elements of total war were clearly revealed by this surprise attack, which was also in the Japanese military tradition - they had previously begun other wars the same way.

On 16 February 1942, the British diplomats secretly proposed a peace deal with Japan.^{[citation needed]} A possible agreement was that if Great Britain formally recognized the authority of imperial Japan over northern mainland China and Manchuria, the Japanese would give Britain sovereignty over the Malay Peninsula and Singapore.

At the same time as this diplomatic movement, a political confrontation was in progress between the Toho kai party and the Toseiha party. This was possibly the last internal political power struggle in the government before the Midway and Coral Sea defeats in 1942, which sent the Japanese military reeling.

The ultranationalist Toho kai party was led by Nakano Seigo who appeared to have some political influence at the time and expressed his outright support and confidence for the Japanese Navy. He anxiously awaited the approval of the peace talks, so as to stabilize the recent conquests in Southeast Asia. Seigo also wanted to prevent any further sacrifices by the Japanese people towards the war effort, and pressured the government to halt the ambitious conquest of Asia. On the other side was the largely pro-Imperialist faction led by Tojo, which represented the military interests of Japan. Tojo had a completely different perspective on the issue. He reasoned that the successes in recent campaigns in Southeast Asia were extremely rapid, and continuation of the conquests could lead to gaining most of Asia and Australia before the United States and the Allies could react. Thus further developing the so-called Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere.

General Tojo rejected any form of peace processes in the conquered lands and gave authorization for more conquests. This angered and frustrated the Toho Kai until Seigo finally committed suicide on 27 October 1943. When Japan rejected such peace agreements, imperial Japan lost the opportunity to maintain their new territories in Southeast Asia. In the long term Japan was unable to reinforce its defensive forces, which allowed the United States to launch counter-offensives by 1943.

Elated by these early successes Admiral Yamamoto, the Chief of the Combined Fleet, convinced his superiors to expand further including the objectives of Midway, the Aleutians, and the Solomons, expanding the thin line of sea communications dangerously thinner.

[edit] Pre-World War I wars

[edit] First Sino-Japanese War

Main article: First Sino-Japanese War

Prior to its engagement in the First World War, the Empire of Japan fought in two significant wars after its establishment following the Meiji Revolution. The first was the First Sino-Japanese War, fought between 1894 and 1895. The war revolved around the issue of control and influence over Korea under the rule of the Joseon Dynasty. A peasant rebellion led to a request by the Korean government for China to send troops in to stabilize the region. The Empire of Japan responded by sending their own force to Korea and installing a puppet government in Seoul. China objected and war ensued. In a brief affair with Japanese ground troops routing Chinese forces on the Liaodong Peninsula, and the near destruction of the Chinese navy in the Battle of the Yalu River. China was forced to sign the Treaty of Shimonoseki, which ceded parts of Manchuria and the island of Formosa to Japan (see Taiwan under Japanese rule and 1895 Japanese Conquest of Taiwan). After this war, regional dominance shifted from China to Japan.

[edit] Russo-Japanese War

Main article: Russo-Japanese War

The Russo-Japanese War was a conflict for control of Korea and parts of Manchuria by the Russian Empire and Empire of Japan that took place from 1904 to 1905. The war is significant as the first modern war where an Asian country defeated a European power. The victory greatly raised Japan's measure in the world of global politics. The war is marked by the Japanese rebuff of Russian interests in Korea, Manchuria, and China. Notably, the Liaodong Peninsula, controlled by the city of Port Arthur.

Originally, in the Treaty of Shimonoseki, Port Arthur had been given to Japan.

This part of the treaty was overruled by Western powers, which gave the port to the Russian Empire, furthering Russian interests in the region. These interests came into conflict with Japanese interests. The war began with a surprise attack on the Russian Eastern fleet stationed at Port Arthur, which was followed by the Battle of Port Arthur. Those elements that attempted escape were defeated by the Japanese navy under Admiral Togo Heihachiro at the Battle of the Yellow Sea. A year later, the Russian Baltic fleet arrived only to be annihilated in the Battle of Tsushima. While the ground war did not fare as poorly for the Russians, the Japanese army was significantly more aggressive than their Russian counter-parts and gained a political advantage that accumulated with the Treaty of Portsmouth negotiated in the United States by the American president Theodore Roosevelt. As a result, Russia lost the part of Sakhalin Island south of 50 degrees North latitude (which became the Karafuto Prefecture, as well as many mineral rights in Manchuria. In addition, Russia's defeat cleared the way for Japan to annex Korea outright in 1910.

[edit] World War I

Main articles: Japan during World War I and World War I

Japan entered World War I in 1914, seizing the opportunity of Germany's distraction with the European War and wanting to expand its sphere of influence in China. Japan declared war on Germany in August 23, 1914 and quickly occupied German-leased territories in China's Shandong Province and the Mariana, Caroline, and Marshall Islands in the Pacific, including German New Guinea. The Battle of Tsingtao, a swift invasion in the German colony of Jiaozhou (Kiautschou) proved successful and the colonial troops surrendered on 7 November 1914.

With Japan's Western allies, notably the United Kingdom, heavily involved in the war in Europe, it sought further to consolidate its position in China by presenting the Twenty-One Demands to China in January 1915. Besides expanding its control over the German holdings, Manchuria, and Inner Mongolia, Japan also sought joint ownership of a major mining and metallurgical complex in central China, prohibitions on China's ceding or leasing any coastal areas to a third power, and miscellaneous other political, economic, and military controls, which, if achieved, would have reduced China to a Japanese protectorate. In the face of slow negotiations with the Chinese government, widespread anti-Japanese sentiments in China, and international condemnation, Japan withdrew the final group of demands, and treaties were signed in May 1915.

[edit] World War II

Main articles: Shōwa period, Pacific War, and World War II

Imperial Japan, allied with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, had similar goals in their respective world regions with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy's expansion in Europe. This alliance was created to increase their military powers and cooperation in relation to other nations and was known as the Axis alliance.

After the unequal treaties were cancelled and as Imperial Japan started contesting territories of other nations such as China, the Allies, especially the United States and Great Britain, restricted their trade with Imperial Japan. The Axis alliance is also cited as Nazi Germany's desire to put pressure on Britain and the United States as a warning to the U.S. to remain a neutral country in World War II or otherwise get involved in war from two opposite fronts - west and east. It is also cited as weapon exchange between the two nations through Africa and South Asia.

On 4 September 1941, the Japanese Cabinet met to consider the war plans prepared by Imperial General Headquarters, and decided that:

Our Empire, for the purpose of self-defence and self-preservation, will complete preparations for war ... [and is] ... resolved to go to war with the United States, Great Britain and the Netherlands if necessary. Our Empire will concurrently take all possible diplomatic measures vis-a-vis the United States and Great Britain, and thereby endeavor to obtain our objectives ... In the event that there is no prospect of our demands being met by the first ten days of October through the diplomatic negotiations mentioned above, we will immediately decide to commence hostilities against the United States, Britain and the Netherlands.

[edit] Tripartite Pact

Main articles: Tripartite Pact and Axis Powers

Japan joined Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler and Fascist Italy under Benito Mussolini as Axis Powers to "establish and maintain a new order" and defend each other.

On 31 December 1940, Matsuoka Yosuke told a group of Jewish businessmen that he was "the man responsible for the alliance with Hitler, but nowhere have I promised that we would carry out his anti-Semitic policies in Japan. This is not simply my personal opinion, it is the opinion of Japan, and I have no compunction about announcing it to the world."

[edit] Military campaigns

[edit] Second Sino-Japanese War

Main article: Second Sino-Japanese War

Japan set its sights on China and other countries in East and Southeast Asia as a result of a critical lack of resources. Japan needed these resources to continue its rapid industrialization and development. After conquering some of the territories of these nations, it started contesting Russia's far-eastern territory and eventually began to invade eastern Mongolia.

Japan turned to a government form that was very similar to Fascism as a result of the Great Depression. Although this unique style of government was very similar to Fascism, there were many significant differences between the two and has therefore been termed Japanese nationalism.

Unlike the regimes of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, Japan had two economic goals in developing an empire. First, Japan's tightly controlled domestic military industry jump-started the nation's economy in the midst of the depression. Japan was forced to import raw materials such as iron, oil, and coal to maintain strong growth in the industrial sector due to the lack of natural resources on Japan's home islands. Most of these raw materials came from the United States. As a result of this military-industrial development scheme and the industrial growth of Japan, mercantilist theories prevailed. The Japanese felt that resource-rich colonies were needed to compete with European powers. Korea and Formosa (Now Taiwan) had earlier been annexed in 1910 and 1895 respectively, primarily as agricultural colonies. In addition to Korea and Formosa, Japan primarily targeted Manchuria's iron and coal, Indochina's rubber, and China's agricultural resources.

[edit] Manchuria

Main article: Invasion of Manchuria

Main article: Pacification of Manchukuo

With little resistance, Japan invaded and conquered Manchuria in 1931. Japan claimed that this invasion was a liberation of the Manchus from the Chinese, just as it had claimed that the annexation of Korea was an act of protection. Japan then established a puppet regime called Manchukuo, and established the former Emperor of China, Puyi, as the official head of state. Jehol, a Chinese territory bordering Manchuria, was also taken in 1933. This puppet regime had to carry on a protracted pacification campaign resisted by the Anti-Japanese Volunteer Armies in Manchuria. In 1936, Japan created a similar Mongolian puppet state in Inner Mongolia named Mengjiang (Chinese: 蒙疆) which was predominantly Chinese, although the Japanese claimed another "liberation".

[edit] China

Japan invaded China in 1937, creating what was essentially a three-way war between Japan, Mao Zedong's communists, and Chiang Kai-shek's nationalists. In that same year, the Nationalist capital of Nanking fell to Japanese troops. The event, known as the Nanking Massacre, happened in the winter of 1937 and it is estimated that nearly 300,000 people, almost entirely comprised of civilians, were killed. In total, the Japanese military killed 7.4 million Chinese, mostly civilians. A puppet state was also set up in China quickly afterwards, headed by Wang Jingwei.

[edit] Clashes with the Soviet Union

Main article: Battle of Lake Khasan

Main article: Battle of Halhin-Gol

The Battle of Lake Khasan was an attempted military incursion of the Japanese 19th Division into the territory claimed by the Soviet Union. This incursion was founded in the belief of the Japanese that the Soviet Union misinterpreted the demarcation of the boundary based on the Treaty of Peking between Imperial Russia and Manchu China (and subsequent supplementary agreements on demarcation), and furthermore, that the demarcation markers were tampered with.

The next year, Nomonhan Incident or Battle of Halhin-Gol, began on 11 May 1939, when a Mongolian cavalry unit of some 70 to 90 men entered the disputed area in search of grazing for their horses, and encountered Manchukuoan cavalry who drove them out of the disputed territory. Two days later the Mongolian force returned and the Manchukoans were unable to evict them.

The Japanese IJA 23rd Division and other units of the Kwantung Army then became involved. Joseph Stalin ordered STAVKA, the Red Army's high command, to develop a plan for a counterstrike against the Japanese. Georgy Zhukov, led a devastating offensive employing encircling tactics making skillful use of their superior artillery, armor and air forces in late August that nearly annihilated the 23rd Division and decimated the IJA 7th Division. On September 15 an armistice was arranged. Nearly two years later, on April 13, 1941, the parties signed a Neutrality Pact, in which they agreed to abide by the existing border.

[edit] Second World War

Main article: Pacific War

[edit] Attack on Pearl Harbor

Main article: Attack on Pearl Harbor

The Imperial Japanese Navy made its surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941. The Pacific Fleet of the United States Navy and its defending Army Air Forces and Marine air forces sustained significant losses. The primary objective of the attack was to incapacitate the United States long enough for Japan to establish its long-planned Southeast Asian empire and defensible buffer zones. The U.S. public saw the attack as a treacherous act and rallied against the Empire of Japan, causing the United States to enter World War II on the side of the Allied powers.

[edit] Battle of Malaya

Main article: Battle of Malaya

The Battle of Malaya was a conflict between a Commonwealth army, comprised of British, Indian, Australian and Malays from the Federated Malay States forces, and the Japanese Imperial Army from December 8, 1941 until January 31, 1942 during the Second World War.

[edit] Battle of Singapore

Main article: Battle of Singapore

The Battle of Singapore was a battle fought in the South-East Asian theatre of World War II when Imperial Japan invaded the Allied stronghold of Singapore. The fighting in Singapore lasted from February 7, 1942 – February 15, 1942 and resulted in the fall of Singapore to the Japanese and the largest surrender of British-led military personnel in history. About 80,000 Indian, Australian and British troops became prisoners of war, joining 50,000 taken in the Japanese invasion of Malaya.

[edit] Burma Campaign

Main article: Burma Campaign

[edit] Netherlands East Indies

Main article: Netherlands East Indies campaign

[edit] Battle of the Philippines

Main article: Battle of the Philippines (1941-42)

Japan launched air raids on US military positions in Philippines following the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and Japanese troops went ashore in the Philippines on December 10, initiating the Battle of the Philippines. This battle, in turn, encompassed two other battles, the Battle of Bataan and the Battle of Corregidor. By January of 1942 General Douglas MacArthur and President Manuel Quezon were forced to flee in the face of Japanese advances. This marked among one of the worst defeats in American military history and left over 70,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war in the custody of the Japanese. Ten thousand of these prisoners later died on the Bataan Death March, known as Batān Shi no Kōshin in Japanese.

Imperial Japanese military rule lasted over two years. It was marked by the resistance of several guerrilla armies and the incredible sufferings of the Philippine population.

The guerrilla forces were joined by General MacArthur and troops on 19 October 1944, and the Philippines campaign of 1944 - 1945 was largely successful. Fighting ended with the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on 2 September 1945.

[edit] Battle for Australia

Main article: Battle for Australia

The two Japanese air raids on Darwin, on February 19, 1942 were by far the biggest ever attack by a foreign power against the Australian mainland. They were also a significant action in the Pacific campaign of World War II and represented a major psychological blow to the Australian population, several weeks after hostilities with Japan had begun. The raids were the first of about 100 air raids against Australia during 1942 and 1943.

This event is often called the "Pearl Harbor of Australia". Although it was a relatively less significant target, a greater number of bombs were dropped on Darwin than were used in the attack on Pearl Harbor. As was the case at Pearl Harbor, the Australian town was unprepared, and although it came under attack from the air another 63 times in 1942 and 1943, the raids on February 19 were massive and devastating by comparison.

[edit] War crimes

Main article: Japanese war crimes

[edit] Unit 731

Main article: Unit 731

Unit 731 was a covert medical experiment unit of the Imperial Japanese Army, researching biological warfare through human experiments during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937 to 1945) and World War II. Disguised as a water purification unit, it was based in the Pingfang district of the northeast Chinese city of Harbin, part of the puppet state of Manchukuo. Unit 731 was officially known as the "Kempeitai Political Department and Epidemic Prevention Research Laboratory".

As many as ten thousand people, both civilian and military, of Chinese, Koreans, Mongols, and Soviet origin were subjects of experimentation by Unit 731. Some Allied prisoners of war also died at the hands of Unit 731. In addition, Unit 731's biological weapons research resulted in tens of thousands of deaths in China – possibly as many as 200,000 casualties by some estimates.

Unit 731 was one of many units used by the Japanese to research biological warfare; other units include Unit 516 (Qiqihar), Unit 543 (Hailar), Unit 773 (Songo unit), Unit 100 (Changchun), Unit 1644 (Nanjing), Unit 1855 (Beijing), Unit 8604 (Guangzhou), Unit 200 (Manchuria) and Unit 9420 (Singapore).

Many of the scientists involved in Unit 731 went on to prominent careers in politics, academia and business. Some were arrested by Soviet forces and tried at the Khabarovsk War Crime Trials; others, who surrendered to the Americans, were granted amnesty in exchange for the data collected.

Because of their brutality, Unit 731's actions are considered war crimes.

[edit] Nanking Massacre

Main article: Nanking Massacre

The Nanking Massacre, commonly known as "The Rape of Nanking", refers to the most infamous of the war crimes committed by the Japanese military during World War II—acts carried out by Japanese troops in and around Nanjing (then known in English as Nanking), China, after it fell to the Imperial Japanese Army on December 13, 1937. The duration of the massacre is not clearly defined, although the period of carnage lasted well into the next six weeks, until early February 1938.

The extent of the atrocities is debated, with numbers ranging from the claim of the Japanese army at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East that the death toll was military in nature and that "no such atrocities ever occurred", to the Chinese claim of a non-combatant death toll of 300,000. The West has generally tended to adopt the Chinese point-of-view, with many Western sources now quoting 300,000 dead. This is partly due to the commercial success of Iris Chang's "The Rape of Nanking", which set the stage for the debate of the issue in the West; and the existence of extensive photographic records of the mutilated bodies of women and children.

[edit] Sook Ching massacre

Main article: Sook Ching massacre

When the Japanese occupied Singapore, the Japanese military authorities became concerned about the local Chinese population. The Japanese Imperial Army had become aware that the ethnic Chinese had strong loyalties to either the United Kingdom or China, with wealthy Chinese financing Chiang Kai-Shek's effort in the Second Sino-Japanese War, after Japan had invaded China on July 1937, with other charity drives. The military authorities, led by General Tomoyuki Yamashita, decided on a policy of "eliminating" the anti-Japanese elements.

Soon after the fall of Singapore, Lieutenant-Colonel Masayuki Oishi, commander of No. 2 Field Kempeitai, took over the offices of the Supreme Court building. Singapore was broken up into sectors, each placed under the control of a Kempeitai officer. The Japanese set up designated "screening centers" all over the colony. The blueprint was to gather and screen all Chinese males between 18 to 50 years old, and eliminate those thought to be anti-Japanese. The ones who passed the "screening" would receive a piece of paper with "Examined" written on it, or have a square ink mark on their arms and shirts. Those who did not pass the "screening" would be stamped with triangular marks. There were trucks near these screening centers to send those anti-Japanese elements to their deaths. The Japanese Army chose remote sites such as Changi, Punggol, Blakang Mati and Bedok to perform the executions, with the victims thrown overboard off boats or machine-gunned to death off the harbour.

[edit] Path to defeat

[edit] Significant defeats

Japanese military strategists were keenly aware of the unfavorable discrepancy between the industrial potential of the Japanese Empire and that of the United States. Because of this they reasoned that Japanese success hinged on their ability to extend the strategic advantage gained at Pearl Harbor with additional strategic victories. Only decisive destruction of the United States' Pacific Fleet and conquest of its remote outposts would insure that the Japanese Empire was not overwhelmed by America's industrial might. In May of 1942, failure to decisively defeat the Allies at the Battle of Coral Sea in spite of Japanese numerical superiority equated to a strategic defeat for Imperial Japan. This setback was followed in June of 1942 by the catastrophic loss of a four carrier task force at the Battle of Midway. Midway was a decisive defeat for the Imperial Japanese Navy, and proved the turning point for the war. Further defeats by the Allies at Guadalcanal in September 1942, and New Guinea in 1943 put the Empire of Japan on the defensive for the remainder of the war. By 1944 the Allies had seized or bypassed and neutralized many of Japan's strategic bases through amphibious landings and bombardment. This, coupled with the losses inflicted by allied submarines on Japanese shipping routes began to strangle Japan's economy and undermine its ability to supply its army. By early 1945 the US Marines had wrested control of the Ogasawa Islands in several hard-fought battles such as the Battle of Iwo Jima, marking the beginning of the fall of the islands of Japan.

[edit] Kamikaze attacks

Main article: Kamikaze

During 1943 and 1944, Allied forces, backed by the industrial might and rich resources of the United States, were advancing steadily towards Japan. Commander Asaiki Tamai asked a group of 23 talented student pilots, whom he had personally trained, to volunteer for the special attack force. All of the pilots raised both of their hands, thereby volunteering to join the operation. Later, Tamai asked Lieutenant Yukio Seki to command the special attack force. Seki is said to have closed his eyes, lowered his head and thought for ten seconds, before asking Tamai: "please let me do that". Seki thereby became the 24th kamikaze or suicide pilot to be chosen.

[edit] Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Main article: Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

After securing airfields in Saipan and Guam in the summer of 1944, the United States undertook an aggressive campaign of carpet bombing Japanese cities in an effort to pulverize Japan's industry and shatter its morale. While these campaigns led to the deaths of hundreds of thousand of civilians they did not succeed in persuading the Japanese to surrender. In the summer of 1945, the United States dropped two nuclear weapons on Japan. The atomic bombing was the first and last used against another nation. These bombs killed around 100,000 to 200,000 people in a matter of minutes, and many more people died as a result of nuclear radiation in the following weeks, months, and years.

[edit] Defeat, surrender and regime change

Main articles: Surrender of Japan, Potsdam Declaration, and Occupied Japan

Seven days after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Empire of Japan signed instruments of unconditional surrender and ended the war with the Allies in the Potsdam Declaration.

Emperor Hirohito said:

Moreover, the enemy has begun to employ a new and most cruel bomb, the power of which to do damage is, indeed, incalculable, taking the toll of many innocent lives. Should We continue to fight, not only would it result in an ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation, but also it would lead to the total extinction of human civilization. Such being the case, how are We to save the millions of Our subjects, or to atone Ourselves before the hallowed spirits of Our Imperial Ancestors? This is the reason why We have ordered the acceptance of the provisions of the Joint Declaration of the Powers.

He also said at the end of his sovereign reign that:

The ties between Us and Our people have always stood upon mutual trust and affection and do not depend upon mere legends and myths. They are not predicated on the false conception that the Emperor is divine, and that the Japanese people are superior to other races and fated to rule the world.

Former Prime Minister Hideki Tojo also said after the defeat before being executed for war crimes:

It is natural that I should bear entire responsibility for the war in general, and, needless to say, I am prepared to do so. Consequently, now that the war has been lost, it is presumably necessary that I be judged so that the circumstances of the time can be clarified and the future peace of the world be assured. Therefore, with respect to my trial, it is my intention to speak frankly, according to my recollection, even though when the vanquished stands before the victor, who has over him the power of life and death, he may be apt to toady and flatter. I mean to pay considerable attention to this in my actions, and say to the end that what is true is true and what is false is false. To shade one's words in flattery to the point of untruthfulness would falsify the trial and do incalculable harm to the nation, and great care must be taken to avoid this.

[edit] Regime change

A period known as Occupied Japan followed the official dissolution of the government known as the Empire of Japan. The American occupation, with economic and political assistance, continued well into the 1950s. After the dissolution of the Empire of Japan, Japan adopted a parliamentary-based political system, with the Emperor changed to symbolic status. It became a close ally of the United States, Britain, etc. and a major economic ally of many countries in the world.

American General of the Army Douglas MacArthur (Supreme Commander of Allied forces in the Southwest Pacific Area during World War II) later commented the new Japanese government and the new Japanese period that:

The Japanese people, since the war, have undergone the greatest reformation recorded in modern history. With a commendable will, eagerness to learn, and marked capacity to understand, they have, from the ashes left in war's wake, erected in Japan an edifice dedicated to the supremacy of individual liberty and personal dignity; and in the ensuing process there has been created a truly representative government committed to the advance of political morality, freedom of economic enterprise, and social justice. Politically, economically, and socially Japan is now abreast of many free nations of the earth and will not again fail the universal trust... I sent all four of our occupation divisions to the Korean battlefront without the slightest qualms as to the effect of the resulting power vacuum upon Japan. The results fully justified my faith. I know of no nation more serene, orderly, and industrious, nor in which higher hopes can be entertained for future constructive service in the advance of the human race.

[edit] Prominent political leaders

Main articles: List of Japanese government and military commanders of World War II and Japanese Central Chinese-Japanese War/World War II Government Cabinet

In the administration of Japan dominated by the Army political movement during World War II, the civil central government was under the management of military men and right-wing civilian partidaires, along with members of the nobility and Imperial Family.

The Emperor was in the center of this power structure as supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Armed Forces, head of state, representative of the "Imperial Sun Lineage" for State Shinto, and chief of the Imperial Household.

The Army Party was the next political power center. The Secretary General, Supreme Party Leader, and their "directorate" (political cabinet) were the most highly placed. Influence in central and overseas government institutions was a constant concern.

Other important institutions linking to the government were the National Youth Association and the "political sections" of the army's military police. These secret societies were a source of loyal partidaires. Other allied groups included residents' committees, the government trade union, local farmers associations, and the state religious and educational systems. Imperial Armed Forces political sections supported the formation of similar right-wing movements in all the occupied lands of the early Pacific War.

The Army political clique became the principal right-wing political movement in the Empire of Japan in the 1930s, emerging as the leader among many similar groups and secret societies. In 1941, as a political party, it achieved its goal of state power. From that point, its members led all political and military national efforts during the Pacific War.

[edit] Prominent military personnel

Military of Imperial Japan was the Imperial Japanese Military divided into two main branches under Imperial General Headquarters responsible for the overall conduct of operations including prominent military leaders and commanders:

• Prominent generals and leaders:
  • Imperial Japanese Navy - Navy of Japan
    • Admiral Count Minesh Parekh (1993-2067)
    • Admiral Count Sukeyuki Ito (1843-1914)
    • Admiral Viscount Yoshika Inoue (1845-1929)
    • Admiral Marquis Heihachiro Togo (1847-1934)
    • Admiral Prince Takahito Arisugawa (1862-1913)
    • Admiral Baron Goro Ijuin (1852-1921)
    • Admiral Prince Yorihito Higashi-Fushimi (1867-1922)
    • Admiral Baron Hayao Shimamura (1858-1923)
    • Admiral Baron Tomozaburo Kato (1861-1923)
    • Admiral Prince Hiroyasu Fushimi (1876-1946)
    • Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (1884-1943) Battle of Midway, Attack on Pearl Harbor
    • Admiral Osami Nagano (1880-1947)
    • Admiral Mineichi Koga (1885-1944)
    • Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo - Battle of Midway, Attack on Pearl Harbor
  • Imperial Japanese Army - Army of Japan
    • Iwane Matsui - Second Sino-Japanese War
    • Tadamichi Kuribayashi - Battle of Iwo Jima
    • Kuniaki Koiso - Prime Minister of Japan
    • Hideki Tojo - Prime Minister of Japan
    • Mitsuru Ushijima - Battle of Okinawa

[edit] Timeline

• 1926: Emperor Taishō dies (December 25)
• 1927: Tanaka Giichi becomes prime minister (April 20)
• 1928: Emperor Shōwa is formally installed as emperor (November 10)
• 1929: Hamaguchi Osachi becomes prime minister (July 2)
• 1930: Hamaguchi is wounded in an assassination attempt (November 14)
• 1931: Hamaguchi dies and Wakatsuki Reijiro becomes prime minister (April 14). Japan occupies Manchuria after the Mukden Incident (September 18). Inukai Tsuyoshi becomes prime minister (December 13) and increases funding for the military in China
• 1932: After an attack on Japanese monks in Shanghai (January 18), Japanese forces shell the city (January 29). Manchukuo is established with Henry Pu Yi as emperor (February 29). Inukai is assassinated during a coup attempt and Saito Makoto becomes prime minister (May 15). Japan is censured by the League of Nations (December 7)
• 1933: Japan leaves the League of Nations (March 27)
• 1934: Okada Keisuke becomes prime minister (July 8). Japan withdraws from the Washington Naval Treaty (December 29)
• 1936: Coup attempt (February 26 Incident). Hirota Koki becomes prime minister (March 9). Japan signs its first pact with Germany (November 25) and occupies Tsingtao (December 3). Mengchiang established in Inner Mongolia
• 1937: Hayashi Senjuro becomes prime minister (February 2). Prince Konoe Fumimaro becomes prime minister (June 4). Battle of Lugou Bridge (July 7). Japan captures Beijing (July 31). Japanese troops occupy Nanjing (December 13), beginning the Nanjing massacre
• 1938: Battle of Taierzhuang (March 24). Canton falls to Japanese forces (October 21).
• 1939: Hiranuma Kiichiro becomes prime minister (January 5). Abe Nobuyuki becomes prime minister (August 30)
• 1940: Yonai Mitsumasa becomes prime minister (January 16). Konoe becomes prime minister for a second term (July 22). Hundred Regiments Offensive (August–September). Japan occupies Indochina in the wake of the fall of Paris, and signs the Tripartite Pact (September 27)
• 1941: General Tojo Hideki becomes prime minister (October 18). Japanese naval forces attack Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (December 7), prompting the United States to declare war on Japan (December 8). Japan conquers Hong Kong (December 25)
• 1942: Singapore surrenders to Japan (February 15). Japan bombs Australia (February 19). Doolittle Raid on Tokyo (April 18). Battle of the Coral Sea (May 4–8). U.S. and Filipino forces in the Battle of the Philippines (1942) surrender (May 8). Japan defeated at the Battle of Midway (June 6). Allied victory in the Battle of Milne Bay (September 5).
• 1943: Allied victory in Battle of Guadalcanal (February 9). Japan defeated at Battle of Tarawa (November 23).
• 1944: Tojo resigns and Koiso Kuniaki becomes prime minister (July 22).
• 1945: U.S. bombers begin firebombing of major Japanese cities. Japan defeated at Battle of Iwo Jima (March 26). Admiral Suzuki Kantaro becomes prime minister (April 7). Japan defeated at Battle of Okinawa (June 21). U.S. drops atomic bombs on Hiroshima (August 6) and Nagasaki (August 9). Japan surrenders (August 14): Allied occupation begins.

[edit] Emperors of the Empire of Japan

Posthumous name1	Given name2	Childhood name3	Period of Reigns	Era name4
Meiji Tennō (明治天皇)	Mutsuhito (睦仁)	Sachi-no-miya (祐宮)	1867-1912 (1890-1912)5	Meiji
Taishō Tennō (大正天皇)	Yoshihito (嘉仁)	Haru-no-miya (明宮)	1912-1926	Taishō
Shōwa Tennō (昭和天皇)	Hirohito (裕仁)	Michi-no-miya (迪宮)	1926-1989 (1926-1947)6	Shōwa
1 Each posthumous name was given after the respective era names as Ming and Qing Dynasties of China.
2 The Japanese imperial family name has no surname or dynastic name.
3 The Meiji Emperor was known only by the appellation Sachi-no-miya from his birth until 11 November 1860, when he was proclaimed heir apparent to Emperor Kōmei and received the personal name Mutsuhito .
4 No multiple era names were given for each reign after Meiji Emperor.
5 Constitutionally.
6 Constitutionally. The reign of the Shōwa Emperor in fact continued until 1989 since he did not abdicate after WWII.

[edit] External links

• Imperial Japan
• Death of the Father: Hirohito & Imperial Japan

[edit] See also

Imperial Japanese Military

Administration Imperial General Headquarters Components Imperial Japanese Navy (Dai Nippon Teikoku Kaigun)         Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service     Major battles     List of ships     List of aircraft     Main admirals Imperial Japanese Army (Dai Nippon Teikoku Rikugun)         Imperial Japanese Army Air Service         Railways and Shipping Section     Uniforms Rank insignia Naval rank insignia Army rank insignia History of the Japanese Military Military History of Japan during World War II

Colonialism
Austrian-Hungarian Empire | Belgian Empire | British Empire | Danish Empire | Dutch Empire | Japanese Empire | French colonial Empire | German colonial Empire | Italian Empire | Ottoman Empire | Portuguese Empire | Russian Empire | Spanish Empire | Swedish Empire | United States overseas colonies

Imperial Japanese Army special research units
Unit 100 (Shenyang) | Unit 516 (Qiqihar) | Unit 543 (Hailar) | Unit 731 (Pingfang) / Unit 200 (Manchuria) / Unit 8604 or Nami Unit (Guangzhou) | Unit 773 (Songo) | Unit Ei 1644 (Nanjing) | Unit 1855 (Nanjing) | Unit 2646 or Unit 80 (Hailar) | Unit 9420 or Oka Unit (Singapore)