Japan in World War II

1931 could reasonably be seen as the beginning of World War Two in East Asia. This was the year when Japan invaded mainland China, occupying the territory of Manchuria and insituting a puppet-government that lasted until the end of the war in 1945.

Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution is particularly important for understanding Japanese-American relations and Japanese-Chinese relations. The Article officially and permanently renounces Japan’s right to maintain an armed force for the purpose of using war to settle international disputes. According to the Article, Japan is effectively forbidden, in its constitution, from engaging in aggressive war and can only defend itself.

The only one of these answers that is an island that makes up part of the country of Japan is Honshu. The four main islands that make up the nation of Japan are Honshu, Hokkaido, Shikoku, and Kyushu. Honshu is the primary island that contains most of the nation’s largest cities, such as Tokyo. Seoul is the capital of South Korea, Osaka is a city in Japan, Hong Kong is an island off the coast of China, and Tahiti is an island nation in the South Pacific.

The Battle of Leyte Gulf was the largest naval battle of the Second World War. It was fought between the combined Allied forces, led by America and Australia, and the Japanese Imperial Navy. The battle resulted in an overwhelming defeat for the Japanese Imperial Navy, which was never again able to engage the Allied powers in large numbers.

The Japanese Emperor during the Second World War was Emperor Hirohito. He encouraged Japanese militarism and argued that he was divinely ordained to rule the nation. Following Japanese surrender, Hirohito renounced his divinity and agreed to constitutional rule.

The Bataan Death March happened in 1942 after the Battle of Bataan in the Philippines. It involved the forced transfer of American and Filipino prisoners of war by the Japanese Imperial army, in which several thousand American and Filipino soldiers perished. It was later deemed a war crime by the Allied military commission.

Hideki Tojo led Japan during the Second World War as Prime Minister. He authorized the attacks on Pearl Harbor that brought the United States of America into the Pacific and Atlantic theatres of World War Two.

Admiral Isokoru Yamamoto is one of the most famous military commanders of World War Two. He led the Japanese fleet in the attack on Pearl Harbor and coordinated the fleet at the Battle of Midway. He is also widely remembered for the pioneering developments in aviation that he fostered in the Japanese navy, namely the use of aircraft carriers and small planes used as the primary weapons of naval engagements. He is not, however, remembered for personally surrendering to the American forces at the end of World War Two, as his plane was shot down by an American pilot in 1943.

The Japanese invasion of mainland Asia began in 1931 with the Japanese invasion and conquest of Manchuria. The occupation of Manchuria, which was re-named Manchukuo, lasted until the Japanese defeat at the end of World War Two.