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- Emperor Hirohito (1926-1989)
- Prime Minister Hideki Tojo (October 18, 1941 to July 22, 1944)
- Prime Minister Kuniaki Koiso (July 22, 1944 to April 7, 1945)
- Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki (April 7, 1945 to August 17, 1945)
Politically, it covers the period from the enforced establishment of prefectures in place of feudal domains (廃藩置県; Hai-han Chi-ken) on July 14, 1871, through the expansion of Japan from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean during rapid industrialization and militarization of Japan, up until the formal surrender in September 2, 1945, when the Instrument of Surrender was signed immediately after atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States.
It was a signatory member of the Tripartite Pact between Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy as part of the Axis Powers of the Second World War that was fought against the Allies.
Brief description
The Japanese Empire and Imperial Japan are commonly known and used, referring to the same entity, though the literal translation of the title in Japanese is the Empire of Great Japan. It was a major Axis Power and a key ally of Nazi Germany's aggressive global policies. Emperor Hirohito was the Emperor of Japan during this period of Japanese history, though the emperor took on the role of a constitutional monarch after Japan's defeat in World War II. Japan's main military branches were the Imperial Japanese Army and the Imperial Japanese Navy and both were considered one of the most powerful in the world prior to the Second World War. During this period in Japan, there was rapid industrialization and increase of military resources. One example is the nationalized navy that was able to defeat both Russia and China in territorial wars. After this rapid industralization before the 1940s, Japan adopted a policy of outward expansion to acquire foreign colonies and resources, eyeing China, Korea and Southeast Asia.
The country had been called the Empire of Japan since the feudal anti-shogunate domains, Satsuma and Chōshū, formed the base of their new government during the Meiji Restoration, with the intention of making it an empire.
Politics
Constitution
Text to the en:Constitution of the Empire of Japan Imperial Japan was founded after the 1889 signing of Constitution of the Empire of Japan that formalized many of the political structure of Imperial Japan and gave many responsibilities and control to the Emperor.
Although it was in the 1889 Constitution of the Empire of Japan that the title Empire of Japan was officially used for the first time, it was not until 1936 that the proper official title of the country was legalized. Meanwhile, the names "Nippon" (日本; Japan), "Dai-Nippon" (大日本; Great Japan), "Dai-Nippon/-Nihon Koku" (大日本国; Nation of Great Japan), "Nihon Teikoku" (日本帝国; Empire of Japan) were all used officially.
In 1946, a year after the close of the war, Japan was restructured, and the country's title was once again revised, to “The State of Japan” (日本国; Nihon Koku) in the draft in the 1946 Constitution of Japan.
Economy
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 since Japan has very little natural resources to sustain growth.
Rapid growth and structural change characterized Japan's two periods of economic development since 1868. In the first period, the economy grew only moderately at first and relied heavily on traditional 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 23 % of GDP, compared with 21 % for all of agriculture. Transportation and communications had developed to sustain heavy industrial development.
Military
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:
Pre-World War Conflicts
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 the Kingdom of 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. It also established Japanese supremacy over China for the next fifty years.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 and 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 Shimonseki, Port Author had been given over to Japan. This part of the treaty was over ruled by Western powers, which in turn 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 fair as poorly for the Russians, the Japanese army was signficantly 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 half of Sakhalin Island, as well as many mineral rights to Manchuria.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 (then called 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 November 7 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
World War II
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Imperial Japan allied with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy militarily and had similar goals in their respective world regions with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy's expansion in Europe and Imperial Japan's expansion in Asia. 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 got increasingly powerful militarily and started contesting territories of other nations such as China, Russia the Allies, especially United States and Great Britain, restricted their trade with Imperial Japan as it was a danger to their military power and influence in the Pacific and Asia. The Axis alliance is also cited as Nazi Germany's desire to put pressure on Britain and United States and goes as a warning to US to remain 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 September 4, 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 ...
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.
Tripartite Pact
Japan joined Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler and Fascist Italy under Benito Mussolini as Axis Powers to "maintain new order of things" and defend each other in case if one of the countries got attacked, which was the result of the Tripartite Pact and an alliance.
Invasions
China
Japan set its sights on China, Korea and other countries in 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 (1910) and Formosa (Taiwan 1895) had earlier been annexed 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.
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.
Manchuria
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.Korea
Malaysia
Singapore
Thailand
Indonesia
Philippines
Japan launched air raids on US military positions in Philippines following the bombing of Pearl Harbor December 7th, 1941, and Japanese troops went ashore in the Philippines December 10th, 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 MacArthur and President 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 the resistance of several guerrilla armies and the incredible sufferings of the Philippine population.
The guerrilla forces were joined by General MacArthur and troops October 19th, 1944, and the Philippines campaign of 1944-45 was largely successful. Fighting ended with the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed on September 2nd, 1945.
Australia
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.
Atrocities in foreign territories
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 hotly 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.
Path to defeat
Battle of Midway
After a few months of unconcentrated naval engagements that followed Pearl Harbor, Japan would suffer a major military defeat at the Battle of Midway and lose most of its offensive carrier capabilities. Midway was a turning point in WWII and the beginning of the end for Imperial Japan. From this point until its surrender in August 1945, the Empire would focus on defending its territorial gains.Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The United States dropped two nuclear weapons on Japan at the end of the World War II. The atomic bombing was the first and last used against another nation in a time of war. These bombs killed around 100,000–200,000 people in a matter of minutes, and many more people died as a result of nuclear radiation in the following weeks, months, and years.
Defeat and surrender
Seven days after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Empire of Japan signed unconditional surrender and ended the war with the Allies in Potsdam Declaration. 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.
Timeline
- 1926: Emperor Taisho dies (December 25).
- 1927: Tanaka Giichi becomes prime minister (April 20).
- 1928: Hirohito 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.
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 Komei 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 Showa Emperor in fact continued until 1989 since he did not abdicate after WWII. | |||||
This period includes the Meiji Era, the Taisho Era, and a part of the Showa Era.
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"Empire of Japan"