Culture
Japan’s population continues to decline, and according to recent statistics, the country’s population has fallen to below 123 million
Japan’s population continues to decline, and according to recent statistics, the country’s population has fallen to below 123 million. Experts attribute this decline to several major factors, including a persistently low birth rate, a growing tendency among young people to delay marriage and have fewer children, and a rapidly ageing population. Japan is among the countries with the highest proportion of elderly people in the world.
Geographical and Historical Background
Japan is often regarded as one of the few major countries that remained free from occupation by foreign invaders until 1945. Geographically, it lies in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, at the eastern edge of Asia, approximately 150 kilometers from the Korean Peninsula at its nearest point. The country consists of more than 6,500 islands, of which only four are considered its principal islands: Honshu, Hokkaido, Shikoku and Kyushu.
Honshu is the largest and most important of these islands. It is home to major Japanese cities, including Kyoto, the country’s historic imperial capital, and Tokyo, its modern capital. Japan’s famous sacred mountain, Mount Fuji, is also located on Honshu. Around 600 of Japan’s islands are uninhabited.
Much of Japan’s terrain is mountainous, which is why a large proportion of its population lives in the narrow coastal plains between Tokyo and Osaka. Only about 18 per cent of the country’s land is arable. Japan also lacks abundant mineral resources and is frequently exposed to earthquakes and typhoons. Despite these natural challenges and limited resources, the Japanese people have maintained a strong appreciation for beauty and have long been devoted to the fine arts.
The Origins of the Japanese People
There is a lack of definitive information about Japan’s earliest history because written records in the country began only around the eighth century CE, when the Japanese adopted Chinese writing through Korea. Consequently, it is difficult to establish with complete certainty when the ancestors of modern Japanese people arrived on the islands and began developing a distinct culture.
The first historical reference to Japan is said to appear in a Chinese travel account known as the Book of Han, dating to around 200 CE. According to traditional Japanese mythology, the country’s first emperor, Jimmu Tenno, was a descendant of the Sun Goddess and ascended the throne in 660 BCE. However, this account is regarded as a legendary tradition rather than an established historical fact. Archaeological evidence suggests that human settlement in the Japanese islands dates back to approximately 30,000 BCE. According to experts, Japan passed through a Stone Age period that continued until around 1000 BCE.
Researchers believe that many of the ancestors of modern Japanese people shared historical connections with populations from southern China, Indochina, Korea and Manchuria. Some may also have arrived from the southern islands and regions around Brunei, Java and the Philippines. Over time, these migrants gradually displaced, assimilated or absorbed the earlier inhabitants of the islands. The Ainu are regarded as one of Japan’s oldest Indigenous peoples. Tools associated with their ancestors have been discovered and are reported to date back approximately 6,000 years. Today, the Ainu population is estimated at around 20,000, although estimates vary. These Indigenous people have a distinct physical and linguistic heritage, and many live on Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost major island.
Prehistoric Periods of Japan
Historians and archaeologists have divided Japan’s prehistoric era—the period before the emergence of written records in the country—into several distinct periods, as outlined below.
The period from approximately 13,000 BCE to 1,000 BCE is known as the Jōmon Period, named after the distinctive cord-marked pottery discovered in Japan. It was a Stone Age period during which people primarily depended on hunting and gathering for their livelihoods.
Following the Jōmon Period came the era known as the Yayoi Period. According to some historical accounts, the Yayoi people migrated from continental Asia to Japan between approximately 1,000 and 800 BCE. Many modern Japanese people are believed to have ancestry linked to two major population groups: the Jōmon people, who inhabited the Japanese islands earlier, and the Yayoi people, who arrived from the Asian mainland through different routes and at different times.
The Yayoi people introduced iron tools, agriculture, silk production, glassmaking and new architectural techniques to Japan. They eventually outnumbered the Jōmon communities, whose livelihoods were based primarily on hunting and gathering. Over time, Yayoi groups began to establish increasingly organized political authorities. According to the Chinese historical text known as the Book of Han, one of the earliest written references to Japan, the Japanese archipelago was divided into numerous local political entities during the first century CE. Japan was then known as Wa. A later Chinese historical account indicates that by around 240 CE, the Yamatai polity had emerged as a dominant power.
The term Kofun refers to the large burial mounds constructed in Japan from the middle of the third century to the early seventh century. The period takes its name from these distinctive tombs. During this era, Japan gradually moved towards regional unification under the leadership of the Yamato clan. For this reason, the period is sometimes also referred to as the Yamato Period.
The center of the emerging Yamato-led state or political federation was located in the region of the Nara Basin. The hereditary imperial line associated with the Yamato rulers is traditionally regarded as the origin of Japan’s continuing imperial dynasty. All Japanese emperors belong to this imperial lineage according to the traditional account. The Yamato rulers expanded their authority and promoted political unity not only through military conquests but also by negotiating and cooperating with local chiefs. They established formal diplomatic relations with China, acknowledging the authority of Chinese dynasties. Chinese historical records mention five rulers of Wa, commonly known as the Five Kings of Wa.
As contact with China increased, Chinese ideas, customs, traditions and political institutions began to influence Japanese society. During the sixth century, craftsmen, scholars and specialists from China and, particularly, the Korean Peninsula played an important role in introducing continental technologies, administrative expertise and cultural knowledge to Japan. According to historians, prolonged and intense struggles took place between the Yamato federation and rival tribal powers, including a coalition known as Izumo.
The period from 538 to 1185 CE is generally known as Japan’s Classical Period. It is traditionally divided into three historical periods.
The Asuka Period is generally considered to have begun around 538 CE, when Buddhism was introduced to Japan through the Korean Peninsula. From that time onward, Buddhism coexisted with Shinto, Japan’s indigenous religion, and both became important elements of Japanese religious life. Shinto, Japan’s ancient indigenous religion, literally means “the way of the gods.” Its fundamental principle is the worship of nature. Shinto beliefs include the presence of numerous deities and spirits throughout the natural world, with the Sun Goddess occupying a central position in Japanese mythology.
The period takes its name from Asuka, a region in the Nara Basin where the imperial court was established during this era. In the 580s, the Soga clan, which supported Buddhism, gained control of the government. The clan maintained political dominance for approximately 60 years. One of the strongest supporters and most influential advocates of Buddhism was Prince Shōtoku, who played a leading political role from approximately 594 to 622 CE. In 607 CE, he dispatched missions to China to study Chinese government, culture and civilization in greater depth.
Prince Shōtoku also introduced a constitution for government officials and citizens based on principles associated with the Chinese philosopher Confucius. The document sought to promote proper conduct, discipline and orderly government. In 645 CE, the Soga clan lost its dominant position, and nobles associated with the Fujiwara clan rose to prominence. They introduced a series of significant reforms known as the Taika Reforms. Under these reforms, land was brought under state ownership and redistributed equally among cultivators. The principal objective was to strengthen the central government and increase the authority of the imperial court, which was increasingly modelled on the Chinese administrative system.
Because of these reforms, the Asuka Period is also sometimes referred to as the Taika Era. During this period, Japanese missions continued to travel to China to study Chinese writing, politics, art and religion. Following a succession dispute in 672 CE, the Taihō Code was subsequently promulgated in 701 CE. It consolidated existing regulations and established a more structured system of central and provincial administration. These legal reforms helped shape Japan’s central government along Chinese lines.
One of the most remarkable achievements of the Asuka Period was the construction of Hōryū-ji Temple, a Buddhist temple whose surviving wooden structures are regarded as some of the oldest wooden buildings in the world.
In 710 CE, Japan established its first permanent capital at Nara, then known as Heijō-kyō. The city was designed on the model of Chang’an, the capital of China during the Tang dynasty, which is now known as Xi’an. The period takes its name from this capital and is known as the Nara Period. During this era, Japan continued to draw inspiration from Chinese civilization. Confucianism was also introduced through China. Parks and pagodas were constructed in the capital, while art and literature began to flourish.
Japanese poetry known as waka increasingly appeared in written form as the written language developed. The compilation of books and the recording of historical accounts also began to gain importance. Differences between Buddhism and Shinto were addressed, allowing the two religious traditions to coexist more closely. The Nara Period was an important phase in Japan’s cultural and political development. However, towards the end of the period, epidemics and famines severely affected the country’s population.
In 784 CE, the Japanese capital was moved from Nara to Nagaoka-kyō. However, the area was subsequently considered inauspicious, and eleven years later, in 794 CE, Emperor Kanmu established a new capital approximately 28 miles to the north at Heian-kyō, present-day Kyoto.
The period takes its name from the new capital and is known as the Heian Period. It is widely regarded as one of the golden ages of Japanese history. With the support and influence of the powerful Fujiwara aristocratic family, Japan began to move away from certain elements of the Chinese model and place greater emphasis on developing its own distinctive culture. The Japanese writing system evolved to better accommodate the Japanese language rather than relying exclusively on Chinese characters. This development proved beneficial for the growth of vernacular literature.
Similarly, many aspects of the Chinese-style system of government were gradually abandoned or adapted. Political power increasingly came into the hands of the Fujiwara aristocracy, their appointees and hereditary officials. The Heian Period became particularly famous for its aristocratic society and imperial court culture. Among the upper classes, an appreciation for literature and the fine arts was considered an important social virtue. One of the most celebrated literary works of this period was The Tale of Genji, written around the beginning of the 11th century by Murasaki Shikibu, a Japanese noblewoman. It is widely regarded as one of the world’s earliest psychological novels.
After approximately 1000 CE, a feudal system resembling that of medieval Europe gradually emerged in Japan over the following century and a half. Each feudal lord maintained a group of samurai, loyal warriors who served and protected their masters. Armed conflicts among rival feudal lords became increasingly common. Farmers generally paid taxes to the feudal lord who controlled their local area rather than directly to the central government.
During the 12th century, two powerful clans, the Minamoto and the Taira, fought a prolonged war lasting approximately 30 years on the island of Honshu. Both clans commanded substantial forces of samurai. In 1185, the Minamoto clan emerged victorious. The military government established by the Minamoto was known as the bakufu, meaning a military government or shogunate. In 1192, the Japanese emperor granted Minamoto no Yoritomo, the leader of the Minamoto clan, the title of shogun, or supreme military commander.
Although the emperor remained the formal head of state, actual political and military power rested largely with the shogun. Major areas of administration, including government appointments, the judiciary, finance, military affairs and communications, came under the shogunate’s authority. The emperor’s court remained in Kyoto, in the Kansai region of Honshu, while Yoritomo established his headquarters in Kamakura, approximately 300 miles east of Kyoto, near present-day Tokyo. Although the shogunate did not exercise uniform control over the entire country, it ruled a substantial territory and maintained a strong hold over the regions under its authority. The 13th-century era is remembered in Japanese history as the period of the Kamakura Shogunate.
After Yoritomo’s death in 1199, his son succeeded him. However, the son lacked the political ability to maintain the same level of authority. During the early 13th century, the Hōjō clan, the family of Yoritomo’s wife, gradually increased its influence. As a result, the Kamakura Shogunate increasingly became a government dominated by the Hōjō clan. For the remainder of this period, the Hōjō regents exercised much of the effective political power in Japan.
In 1192, the Japanese emperor granted Minamoto no Yoritomo, the leader of the Minamoto clan, the title of shogun, or supreme military commander. Although the emperor remained the formal head of state, actual political and military power rested largely with the shogun. Major areas of administration, including government appointments, the judiciary, finance, military affairs and communications, came under the shogunate’s authority.
The emperor’s court remained in Kyoto, in the Kansai region of Honshu, while Yoritomo established his headquarters in Kamakura, approximately 300 miles east of Kyoto, near present-day Tokyo. Although the shogunate did not exercise uniform control over the entire country, it ruled a substantial territory and maintained a strong hold over the regions under its authority. In Japanese history, the 13th-century era is remembered as the period of the Kamakura Shogunate.
After Yoritomo’s death in 1199, his son succeeded him. However, he lacked the political ability to maintain the same level of authority. During the early 13th century, the Hōjō clan, the family of Yoritomo’s wife, gradually increased its influence. As a result, the Kamakura Shogunate increasingly became a government dominated by the Hōjō clan. For the remainder of this period, the Hōjō regents exercised much of the effective political power in Japan. The system of government under the shoguns continued in Japan for approximately 700 years, until 1868.
During the early shogunate period, local feudal lords wielded considerable influence. Rather than abolishing feudalism, the Kamakura military rulers relied on the existing system and maintained cooperation with local lords.
The Kamakura shoguns were also successful in defending Japan against foreign invasions. During the reign of Kublai Khan, the Mongol ruler of China, they repelled Mongol naval invasions in 1274 and 1281. However, these military campaigns placed a considerable financial burden on the Japanese treasury. The government found it increasingly difficult to pay the samurai for their service. As a result, many samurai began to rely more heavily on their local lords rather than on the central military government under the shogun. This weakened the shogun’s power and influence. Eventually, the authority of the Kamakura Shogunate became largely nominal. Powerful landowners emerged as independent rulers within their own territories. These regional warrior lords were known as daimyō, and they maintained their own armed forces.
In 1333, during an uprising against the shogunate led by Emperor Go-Daigo, one of the shogunate’s generals, Ashikaga Takauji, joined forces with the emperor and helped overthrow the Kamakura Shogunate. However, when the emperor refused to appoint Takauji as shogun, Takauji seized Kyoto in 1338 and installed another member of the imperial family as emperor. The deposed Emperor Go-Daigo fled to Yoshino, south of Kyoto, where he established a rival court. This led to a prolonged conflict between the Northern Court in Kyoto and the Southern Court in Yoshino. Takauji established his headquarters in Muromachi, a district of Kyoto. He faced two major challenges: fighting the Southern Court and restoring his authority over rebellious provincial governors who were supposed to serve under him.
In 1368, Takauji’s grandson, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, came to power. Through a political settlement in 1392, he reunited the Northern and Southern Courts and brought the long-running civil conflict to an end. This helped restore the authority of the shogunate. Conditions remained relatively stable for several decades. However, in 1467, a bitter civil war erupted among the daimyō, or regional warrior lords, over the succession to the Ashikaga Shogunate. The conflict, known as the Ōnin War, devastated Kyoto, with large parts of the city burned down.
Although the succession dispute was formally settled in 1477, the shogun had largely lost control over the daimyō. Across Japan, these powerful lords established hundreds of semi-independent domains and fought one another for territory and influence. Rebellious peasants and militant Buddhist monks also organized armed forces. As a result, Japan became engulfed in widespread warfare and political disorder. The period from 1467 to 1568 is known in Japanese history as the Sengoku Period, meaning the “Warring States Period.” During this era, Kyoto was repeatedly attacked and burned. The powerless emperors were forced to live in poverty amid the ruins of their capital, while disorder spread throughout the country. Japanese pirates also began raiding coastal areas of Japan and cities along the southern Chinese coast.
Amid this period of warfare and instability, the first Portuguese ship to reach Japan arrived off its southern coast in 1543. With no strong central government in place, it was difficult to regulate the activities of the Portuguese according to a consistent set of national rules. Some daimyō welcomed Portuguese merchants and Christian missionaries, seeing opportunities for trade and access to new technologies. Merchants from other European countries soon followed. Japanese traders exchanged silk for various imported goods, including firearms. Japanese craftsmen began manufacturing guns based on European designs, and regional warlords increasingly equipped their armies with firearms alongside traditional swords.
Portuguese merchants were accompanied by Catholic missionaries. One of the earliest prominent Christian missionaries to visit Japan was Francis Xavier, who arrived in 1549 and remained until 1551. During his mission, he helped introduce Christianity to Japan and converted some Japanese people to the faith. Christian missionaries subsequently preached in Japan for decades, although their freedom to do so varied over time and according to the policies of individual rulers. Christianity gradually gained followers in several regions of the country.
Despite the arrival of European traders and missionaries, the wars among Japan’s feudal lords continued. Eventually, three successive military leaders played decisive roles in reunifying the country and restoring internal order: Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu.
The first of these leaders was Oda Nobunaga, who used newly introduced firearms and other military innovations to defeat rival warlords. In 1568, he seized Kyoto and its surrounding areas, effectively bringing the Ashikaga Shogunate to an end. He also attacked powerful Buddhist monasteries and fortified religious centers that maintained their own military forces. To weaken their influence, Nobunaga encouraged Portuguese traders and Christian missionaries, whose presence sometimes challenged the authority of established Buddhist institutions. Despite his ruthless campaigns against his opponents, Nobunaga was unable to bring all of Japan under his control before his death in 1582.
After Nobunaga’s death, his successor and former ally, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, continued the campaign to unify Japan. He subdued rebellious warlords and introduced measures to disarm non-samurai, including farmers and ordinary people. These policies helped strengthen central authority and move the country toward greater stability. Concerned about the growing influence of Christianity, Hideyoshi issued an edict in 1587 ordering Christian missionaries to leave Japan, although enforcement was initially limited and Christianity did not immediately disappear.
By 1590, Hideyoshi had brought most of Japan under his control. Although he did not formally assume the title of shogun, he exercised effective authority over the country. Having consolidated his power, Hideyoshi turned his attention to overseas conquest. In 1592, he launched an invasion of Korea, seeking to advance toward China. The campaign developed into a prolonged conflict involving Korean forces and their Chinese allies, but it failed to achieve its objectives. Following Hideyoshi’s death in 1598, Japanese forces withdrew from Korea. The period from 1568 to 1600 is associated with the Azuchi–Momoyama Period, named after the military centers of Nobunaga and Hideyoshi.
After Hideyoshi’s death, a struggle for succession and political supremacy broke out among rival military leaders. In 1600, one of Hideyoshi’s former allies, Tokugawa Ieyasu, defeated his principal opponents at the Battle of Sekigahara and emerged as the dominant military power in Japan. In 1603, Ieyasu received the title of shogun and established the Tokugawa Shogunate, bringing most of Japan under a unified military government. He established his administrative headquarters in Edo, a relatively small town in eastern Japan that later developed into present-day Tokyo. Although local lords retained authority over their own territories, Ieyasu introduced regulations designed to keep them under the shogunate’s control. These measures were crucial in restoring centralized authority and establishing a more orderly political system.
One of Ieyasu’s major concerns was the growing influence of Western traders and, in particular, Christian missionaries. Their criticism of traditional Japanese beliefs and, in some cases, involvement in local political affairs caused concern among Japanese rulers. In 1612, the Tokugawa authorities began imposing restrictions on Christianity in territories under their direct control, and the prohibition was extended more broadly in subsequent years. Ieyasu died in 1616, but the Tokugawa Shogunate he founded remained in power until 1867–1868, providing Japan with a long period of relative peace and stability. During this era, trade, urban life and cultural activities expanded.
After Ieyasu’s death, his successors continued to persecute Christians. In 1637–1638, a major uprising known as the Shimabara Rebellion broke out in southwestern Japan. Many of the rebels were Christians, although economic hardship and opposition to harsh local rule were also major causes. The shogunate suppressed the rebellion with great brutality, executing or expelling many people associated with Christianity and intensifying its anti-Christian policies. Japanese authorities also required many people to demonstrate their affiliation with Buddhist temples as part of the system used to identify and suppress Christians. These measures drove Christianity underground in much of Japan, although small Christian communities survived.
The suppression of Christianity formed part of a broader policy to restrict foreign religious and political influence. Although European trade could be profitable, the Tokugawa government increasingly regarded Christian missionary activity as a potential threat to its authority. In 1639, under Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu, the government prohibited Portuguese ships from entering Japan. Restrictions on foreign contact were tightened, and Japan adopted a policy commonly known as sakoku, or national seclusion.
Japan did not, however, become completely isolated from the outside world. Chinese merchants and the Dutch were permitted to conduct limited trade through Nagasaki under strict government supervision. Certain contacts with Korea, the Ryukyu Kingdom and the Ainu also continued through regulated channels. For approximately two centuries, Japan severely restricted its relations with most Western countries. This policy limited access to some European scientific, technological and military developments. On the other hand, it contributed to prolonged internal stability and allowed domestic commerce, education and cultural life to flourish. Japan’s economy increasingly developed around its cities rather than remaining predominantly rural. Merchants benefited from expanding domestic trade, while improvements in education and urban life supported economic and cultural growth. Japanese culture became particularly rich and creative during the Edo Period. Notable achievements emerged in art, literature, architecture and traditional crafts.
During this period, Zen Buddhism exerted a significant influence on Japanese culture. Zen emphasizes meditation and direct insight as paths toward spiritual understanding and awakening. Its influence extended beyond religious practice into Japanese gardens, architecture, painting, calligraphy, tea culture and other artistic traditions.
For more than two centuries, foreign attempts to persuade Japan to expand trade had achieved limited success. That changed in 1853, when a United States naval expedition led by Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in Japanese waters and demanded that Japan open its ports to American ships and trade. In 1854, Japan signed the Convention of Kanagawa, agreeing to open certain ports to American vessels and establish formal relations with the United States. Similar treaties were subsequently concluded with Britain, France, Russia and the Netherlands. These developments marked the end of Japan’s long-standing policy of restricted foreign contact and set the stage for profound political and economic change.
Following the opening of Japan to Western trade, many Japanese leaders concluded that major reforms were necessary to protect the country from foreign domination and strengthen its position in the modern world. In 1868, a coalition of powerful nobles and samurai overthrew the Tokugawa Shogunate and restored political authority to the imperial institution. The young Emperor Mutsuhito, who was 15 years old when he ascended the throne in 1867, became the central figure of the new government. His reign was named Meiji, meaning “Enlightened Rule.”
The political transformation of 1868 is known as the Meiji Restoration. The imperial capital was subsequently moved from Edo to Tokyo, as the city came to be known. The Meiji Period was a revolutionary era in Japanese history. The feudal system was dismantled, and a new constitution modeled partly on Western systems was promulgated in 1889. In 1890, a national parliament, known as the Imperial Diet, convened under the new constitutional framework.
Unlike China’s largely unsuccessful attempts to preserve its traditional political order while selectively adopting Western technologies during parts of the same era, Japan pursued a more comprehensive program of modernization. The government hired thousands of foreign engineers, technicians, military advisers and specialists to help modernize the country. It invested in the army and navy and promoted industries such as chemicals, cement, iron, steel, silk and cotton textiles. By the 1890s, major Japanese cities and towns were connected by telegraph and railway networks. Agricultural output increased, education became compulsory, and laws inherited from the feudal era were revised to meet the needs of an industrializing society. Japanese officials and students also traveled to Europe and other Western countries to study modern government, science, industry and military organization.
Alongside economic development, Japan rapidly modernized its army and navy. This strengthened its ability to challenge the unequal treaties imposed by Western powers during the 1850s and eventually helped it recover important elements of its legal and economic sovereignty. By the late 19th century, Japan had become one of Asia’s most industrially advanced countries. However, its growing economic and military strength also encouraged imperial expansion. Economic interests, national prestige and the desire to demonstrate military power all contributed to this shift. China became Japan’s first major target. During the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895), Japan defeated China and strengthened its influence over Korea. It subsequently sought greater control over Manchuria, a region in northeastern China that was also of strategic interest to Russia.
Competition over Korea and Manchuria led to war between Japan and Russia in 1904. Japan inflicted a series of unexpected defeats on Russian forces, emerging as a major military power. Under the Treaty of Portsmouth in 1905, Russia recognized Japan’s predominant interests in Korea and transferred its leasehold rights in Port Arthur and the Liaodong Peninsula, along with the southern half of Sakhalin Island, to Japan. Japan subsequently established colonial control over Korea, formally annexing it in 1910. Its victory over Russia marked a major turning point, as Japan demonstrated that an Asian power could defeat a major European empire in modern warfare.
After Emperor Meiji died in 1912, Emperor Taishō succeeded him as Japan’s 123rd emperor. His reign lasted until 1926. During this period, the First World War broke out in 1914. Japan joined the Allied Powers and declared war on Germany, capturing German-controlled territories and colonial possessions in China and the Pacific. Following the war, the Treaty of Versailles transferred Germany’s former rights in Shandong, China, and its Pacific islands north of the equator to Japan under a mandate arrangement. Japan also retained its earlier gains in southern Manchuria and southern Sakhalin, although these arrangements arose from different treaties and agreements.
The war disrupted European exports of textiles, machinery and chemicals to international markets. As a result, demand for Japanese manufactured goods increased, creating new opportunities for Japanese merchants and industrialists. Japanese businesses expanded their investments, thousands of factories were built, and textile exports grew substantially. Manufacturers also imported modern machinery and adopted advanced production techniques to improve quality and efficiency. Large industrial and financial groups expanded, concentrating a significant share of the country’s wealth and economic influence.
During the 1920s, Japan experienced a series of democratic reforms and a wider role for political parties. This period became known as Taishō Democracy. However, democratic development was undermined by growing militarism, economic difficulties and imperial ambitions. After 1920, political instability intensified, and several politicians, including a prime minister, were assassinated. The military enjoyed considerable independence from civilian political leaders. Neither the parliament nor the government exercised effective control over all military decisions, and the emperor’s practical ability to restrain the armed forces was limited.
The global economic crisis that began in 1929 deepened Japan’s economic difficulties. Influential military leaders increasingly argued that the country needed a colonial empire across East Asia and the Pacific to secure resources, markets and strategic power. They favored an aggressive expansionist policy similar in some respects to those pursued by Germany and Italy. In 1931, despite existing agreements with China, the Japanese army occupied Manchuria in northeastern China and established a puppet state known as Manchukuo.
In 1937, Japan launched a full-scale invasion of China. Japanese forces captured Beijing and other major cities in northern China before advancing on Nanjing, then the Chinese capital. Following the capture of Nanjing in December 1937, Japanese troops carried out mass killings and other atrocities. Estimates of the number of Chinese civilians and disarmed soldiers killed during the Nanjing Massacre vary, but the death toll is widely understood to have reached tens or hundreds of thousands. Chinese resistance continued despite the enormous losses.
During the Second World War, Japan was allied with Germany and Italy as part of the Axis Powers. In December 1941, Japan attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, bringing the United States directly into the war. By the middle of 1942, Japanese forces had occupied extensive territories in Southeast Asia and the western Pacific, including colonial possessions previously controlled by the Netherlands, Britain, France and the United States. However, the tide of war eventually turned against Japan. In 1945, Allied forces regained the territories Japan had occupied. The United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August, while the Soviet Union entered the war against Japan and invaded Japanese-held territories in northeast Asia. Japan announced its surrender in August 1945, and the formal surrender was signed on September 2, 1945. The country then came under Allied occupation led by the United States, which lasted until 1952.
During the occupation, Japan adopted a new constitution that came into effect in 1947. It established a parliamentary system with a bicameral legislature, known as the National Diet. The emperor retained his position but was redefined as a symbolic figure and the symbol of the state, with no governing powers. One of the constitution’s most notable provisions is Article 9, under which Japan renounces war as a sovereign right and declares that it will not maintain war potential for settling international disputes. Japan subsequently developed armed forces for self-defense under its postwar security framework.
In 1951, Japan signed the Treaty of San Francisco with the United States and other countries. The treaty came into force in 1952, formally ending the state of war with most Allied countries and restoring Japan’s sovereignty. Former enemies, the United States and Japan, gradually became close allies. In the decades that followed, Japan experienced remarkable economic growth. Advances in steelmaking, shipbuilding, automobile manufacturing and electronics, combined with agricultural reforms, investment in education and the dedication of its workforce, helped transform the country into one of the world’s leading industrial economies. Despite its limited natural resources, vulnerability to earthquakes and the devastation caused by the atomic bombings, Japan rebuilt itself into a major global economic power.
