Japan

The flag of Japan.

**Japan** (Japanese: **日本**, ***Nippon*** or ***Nihon***), officially the **State of Japan** (Japanese: **日本国**, ***Nippon-koku*** or ***Nihon-koku***), is a, island nation located in East Asia, in the northwest Pacific Ocean. Japan, as an archipelago, spans a total of 6,852 islands. The five islands that are considered Japan's "main islands" are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa. Tokyo is Japan's capital and largest city.

With a population of around 137 million, Japan is one of the most urbanized and densely populated countries in the world. In addition, Japan is divided into 47 prefectures and eight traditional regions. Japan shares maritime borders with the Russian Federation, China, and the Republic of Korea to the west and Taiwan to the south.

Several areas in Japan are recovering after Chinese bombings during the Sino-Korean War, including some major high-population areas. Tokyo remained relatively unscathed during the war, but the same can not be said about other major cities, where reconstruction efforts were began following the end of the war.

## History

### **Prehistoric to Classical Period (30,000 BC - 1185 AD)**

The first known human settlers in Japan arrived around 30,000 years ago. Over time, they spread across the islands and in 14,500 BC, the Jōmon Period began, characterized by a semi-sedentary hunter-gatherer culture that dwelled in pits and practiced some sort of early agriculture. During around 1,000 BC, the Yayoi people entered the Japanese Archipelago and joined with the Jōmon. The Yayoi Period introduced wet-rice farming, a new style of pottery, and metallurgy from other nations, China and Korea. According to Japanese tradition, the first Emperor of Japan, Emperor Jimmu, founded his kingdom in 660 BC, beginning the Japanese Imperial Dynasty that continues to this day.

Buddhism was introduced to Japan by the Korean kingdom Baekje in 552 but was also influenced by China. Buddhism would be promoted by the ruling class and gained more acceptance during the Asuka Period.

The 645 AD Taika Reforms nationalized all Japanese land, which was now to be distributed equally among farmers and also ordered a creation of a household registry to from a new system of taxation. More major administrative reforms were began after the Jinshin War of 672, a conflict between two Japanese princes. These reforms created the Taihō Code, creating the *ritsuryō* state a system of centralized government that continued for around 500 years.

Beginning in the Nara Period, a new Japanese state emerged, centered on the Imperial Court in the city of Heijō-kyō, or Nara in the modern day. A literary culture appeared during this time along with Buddhist-inspired art and architecture. A massive epidemic of smallpox, occurring from 735 to 737, may have killed nearly one-third of Japan's populace. Emperor Kanmu moved Japan's capital to Heian-kyō, now known as Kyoto, in 794, beginning the Heian Period, when a distinct Japanese culture finally emerged.

### **Feudalism in Japan (1185 - 1603)**

Feudalism in Japan was accompanied by the dominance of the warrior ruling class, known as the samurai. In 1185, after the defeat of the Taira Clan during the Genpei War, Minamoto no Yoritomo, a samurai, created a military government at Kamakura. After his death, the Hōjō Clan came to power as regents to the *shōgun.* Zen Buddhism became popular among samurai during the Kamakura Period. Japan, under the samurai, repelled a series of Mongol invasions in 1274 and 1281. The samurai were overthrown Emperor Go-Daigo, who himself was later overthrown by Ashikaga Takauji in 1336, marking the beginning of the Muromachi Period. The new Ashikaga Shogunate failed to effectively control the Japanese warlords, beginning a civil war in 1467, starting the Sengoku Period, or the Warring States Period.

In the 1500s, Europeans reached Japan for the first time when Portuguese traders and Jesuit missionaries, beginning commercial and cultural exchange between the two groups. Oda Nobunaga utilized firearms and European technology to conquer the warlords, beginning the Azuchi–Momoyama Period. After his death in 1582, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, unified Japan in the 1590s and attempted to invade Korea in 1592 and 1597; both attempts failed.

Tokugawa Ieyasu served as the regent for Hideyoshi's son, Toyotomi Hideroyi, and used his status to increase his political and military support. Ieyasu defeated his rivals after war broke out and was appointed *shōgun* by the Emperor, Go-Yōzei, establishing the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1603 at Edo, modern-day Tokyo. In 1639, Japan began its isolationist period which would continue for around two and a half centuries.

### **Modern Japan (1854 - present)**

In 1854, Commodore Matthew Perry, an officer of the United States Navy forced Japan to exit its isolationist state through the Convention of Kanagawa. This was followed by several treaties with other Western nations, leading to several political and economic crises. Soon after, the reigning *shōgun*, leading to the Boshin War and a more centralized state unified under the Emperor, known as the Meiji Restoration. During this period, the Meiji Period, the Empire of Japan emerged and became the most developed nation in Asia. Japan fought the First Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War, both of which were major victories. In these wars, Japan gained Taiwan, Korea and the southern half of Sakhalin. There was also a significant rise population due to intense urbanization.

In the early 20th century, Japan saw a period of Taishō democracy, accompanied by increasing expansion and militarization. Due to Japan's stance with the Allies in World War I, the nation was allowed to capture German territories in the Pacific Ocean and in China. In the 1920s, Japan saw a shift towards statism, a period of lawlessness after the 1923 Great Tokyo Earthquake, the passing of laws against political dissent, thereby restricting free speech, and some attempted coups. In the 1930s, a number of extreme nationalist groups emerged that were hostile towards liberal democracy and advocated for expansion. Japan invaded and occupied Manchuria in 1931, then resigned from the League of Nations two years after. Japan then signed the Anti-Comintern Pact with Nazi Germany in 1936, later also signing the 1940 Tripartite Pact, solidifying the Empire of Japan as an Axis Power.

The Second Sino-Japanese War began in 1937 with Japan's invasion of other parts of China, later invading French Indochina in 1940, causing the United States to place oil embargos on the nation. On December 7 to December 8, 1941, Japan launched surprise attacks on Pearl Harbor and British forces in Malaya, Singapore, Hong Kong, and other areas, therefore beginning World War II in the Pacific. During Japan's occupations, countless human rights abuses were committed against the locals, including experimentation and sex abuse. Japan unconditionally surrendered to the Allies in 1945 after suffering many defeats, the Soviet invasion of Manchuria and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Japanese Empire was eliminated as a state and many leaders were tried for war crimes.

Japan adopted its current constitution in 1947, adopting Western-style liberal democratic practices. The Allied Powers occupied the islands until 1952 with the signing of the Treaty of San Francisco, with admittance to the United Nations happening in 1956. Japan then experienced a period of rapid growth, becoming the second-largest economy in the world, ending in the 1900s. On March 11, 2011, Japan was hit by one of the largest earthquakes recorded which triggered the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster.

On May 1, 2019, after the abdication of Emperor Akihito, his son, Naruhito, became the reigning Emperor of Japan, beginning the Reiwa Era. After the beginning of the Sino-Korean War in 2023, Japan declared that it would not intervene in the conflict unless provoked by China and the forces of the former North Korea. In 2025, Japan was dragged into the conflict after a standoff with an encroaching Chinese naval fleet turned violent, with several Japanese vessels destroyed. Japan accompanied the United States and South Korea into battle with China, sustaining heavy casualties after several major battles with China. In addition, several major population areas were bombed by China, leading to considerable civilian casualties. In the present day, Japan is still a recovering nation, much like other developed countries.

## Conflicts

### **Iraq War**

Japanese forces were present during the Iraq War, but were not active in frontline combat. Japanese troops were active in water purification, reconstruction efforts and the building of infrastructure for the Iraqi people.

### **Sino-Korean War**

Japan entered the Sino-Korean War in 2025 after a violent confrontation with Chinese naval vessels. Japan sent troops and vehicles to support the fighting in Korea against China, but was then bombed by China. Japanese forces sustained a considerable amount of casualties while fighting alongside America and Korea.

## Military

Japan's modern military is unique, adopting a purely defensive doctrine. The Japan Self-Defense Force, the de facto Japanese Armed Forces, contains three branches: the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.

### **Japan Ground Self-Defense Force**

The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (Japanese: 陸上自衛隊, *Rikujō Jieitai*) is the de facto Japanese Army. The Japanese Army is one of the most powerful armies in Asia, operating a decently-sized number of modern vehicles, including the next-generation Type-20 MBT.

In addition, the JGSDF operates the previous Type-10 MBTs and the older Type-74 MBTs, while also operating a number of other combat support vehicles and transports. The Army also operates a large amount of helicopters and other aircraft, some for combat but mostly for transportation.

### **Japan Air Self-Defense Force**

The Japan Air Self-Defense Force (Japanese: 航空自衛隊, *Kōkū Jieitai*) is the de facto Japanese Air Force. The Japanese Air Force operates a decently-sized inventory of aircraft, with 146 F-35 Lightning IIs, 145 F-15J and F-15DJs, and F-2s making up its inventory of fighter aircraft.

The JASDF also operates some transport, trainer, aerial refueler, and intelligence aircraft, including, but not limited to, the Boeing E-767, E-2 Hawkeye, and the Kawasaki C-2.

### **Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force**

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (Japanese: 海上自衛隊, *Kaijō Jieitai*), is the de facto Japanese Navy. Japan currently operates one of the most powerful navies in the Pacific, with 5 *Izumo*-class Multipurpose Destroyers (de facto light aircraft carriers) and 2 Hyūga-class Helicopter Destroyers (de facto helicopter carriers). The JMSDF also operates amphibious craft and submarines.

Japan's fleet of destroyers consists of several classes, the newest of which is the *Ayanami*-class of guided missile destroyer. The Navy also operates frigates, destroyer escorts, minesweepers, training vessels, and other miscellaneous transport ships.

## Foreign Relations

Japan has established official alliances with the following nations:

* Indonesia
* Korea
* Philippines
* Taiwan
* United States of America