During the era of the weak emperor Taisho (1912-26), the political power shifted

from the oligarchic clique (genro) to the parliament and the democratic parties.
In the First World War, Japan joined the Allied powers, but played only a minor role
in fighting German colonial forces in East Asia. At the following Paris Peace
Conference of 1919, Japan's proposal of amending a "racial equality clause" to the
covenant of the League of Nations was rejected by the United States, Britain and
Australia. Arrogance and racial discrimination towards the Japanese had plagued
Japanese-Western relations since the forced opening of the country in the 1800s,
and were again a major factor for the deterioration of relations in the decades
preceding World War 2. In 1924, for example, the US Congress passed the Exclusion
Act that prohibited further immigration from Japan.
After WW1, Japan's economical situation worsened. The Great Kanto Earthquake of
1923 and the world wide depression of 1929 intensified the crisis.
During the 1930s, the military established almost complete control over the
government. Many political enemies were assassinated, and communists
persecuted. Indoctrination and censorship in education and media were further
intensified. Navy and army officers soon occupied most of the important offices,
including the one of the prime minister.
Already earlier, Japan followed the example of Western nations and forced China
into unequal economical and political treaties. Furthermore, Japan's influence over
Manchuria had been steadily growing since the end of the Russo-Japanese war of
1904-05. When the Chinese Nationalists began to seriously challenge Japan's
position in Manchuria in 1931, the Kwantung Army (Japanese armed forces in
Manchuria) occupied Manchuria. In the following year, "Manchukuo" was declared
an independent state, controlled by the Kwantung Army through a puppet
government. In the same year, the Japanese air force bombarded Shanghai in order
to protect Japanese residents from anti Japanese movements.
In 1933, Japan withdrew from the League of Nations since she was heavily criticized
for her actions in China.
In July 1937, the second Sino-Japanese War broke out.
A small incident was soon made into a full scale war by
the Kwantung army which acted rather independently
from a more moderate government. The Japanese
forces succeeded in occupying almost the whole coast
of China and committed severe war atrocities on the
Chinese population, especially during the fall of the
capital Nanking. However, the Chinese government
never surrendered completely, and the war continued
on a lower scale until 1945.

In 1940, Japan occupied French Indochina (Vietnam) upon agreement with the
French Vichy government, and joined the Axis powers Germany and Italy. These
actions intensified Japan's conflict with the United States and Great Britain which
reacted with an oil boycott. The resulting oil shortage and failures to solve the
conflict diplomatically made Japan decide to capture the oil rich Dutch East Indies
(Indonesia) and to start a war with the US and Great Britain.
In December 1941, Japan attacked the Allied
powers at Pearl Harbor and several other
points throughout the Pacific. Japan was able to
expand her control over a large territory that
expanded to the border of India in the West
and New Guinea in the South within the
following six months.
The turning point in the Pacific War was the
battle of Midway in June 1942. From then on,
the Allied forces slowly won back the territories
occupied by Japan. In 1944, intensive air raids
started over Japan. In spring 1945, US forces invaded Okinawa in one of the war's
bloodiest battles.
On July 27, 1945, the Allied powers requested
Potsdam Declaration to surrender
unconditionally, or destruction would continue.
However, the military did not consider
surrendering under such terms, partially even
after US military forces dropped two atomic
bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and
9, and the Soviet Union entered the war against
Japan on August 8.

Japan in the

On August 14, however, Emperor Showa finally decided to surrender

unconditionally.

Below is a summary of Japan's relations with some of the countries and regions
most important to it in the postwar period.

The United States. Since World War II, Japan's

most important tie has been with the United
States. The United States is committed to
defend Japan and maintains military bases in
Japan partially for that purpose. The United
States sponsored Japan's membership in
various international organizations, including
the United Nations, the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD), and the General Agreement on Tariffs
and Trade (GATT). Trade between the United
States and Japan is very important to both countries.
Southeast Asia. In World War II Japan went to war partly to gain control of this
region's resources. The harsh occupation of many Southeast Asian countries left
resentment and bitterness, and the Japanese government is today making efforts to
improve the relationship with those countries. Taken as a whole, the countries of
Southeast Asia make up Japan's second largest export market (after the United
States), and they provide important food, oil, metal ore, lumber and rubber imports.
Korea. While Korea and Japan have traditionally shared many cultural aspects-including the Chinese writing system and Chinese philosophical and religious
influences, Japan's harsh colonization of Korea in the early twentieth century has left
relations strained between the two countries.
Persian Gulf Nations. Japan's relations with these nations have developed relatively
recently, as oil imports from the Persian Gulf region have grown rapidly. Almost all of
Japan's imports from these countries consist of petroleum and petroleum products,
which total one-third of all Japanese imports. These nations make up Japan's fourth
largest market, but because they import relatively little from Japan, Japan has a
trade deficit with these nations. How to secure its economic interests in the face of
political and military unrest in the region is one of Japan's most pressing problems.
China. Japan's long history of close cultural contact with China has left a special
interest and friendliness toward the Chinese. Japan's writing system and many
religious, literary, and artistic traditions originally came from China. During World
War II, however, Japan colonized parts of Manchuria and invaded many major cities
of China. Under U.S. pressure, Japan did not establish relations with the People's
Republic of China until after President Nixon surprised the world (and Japan) by
establishing relations in 1972. Japan quickly followed suit and is now involved in
assisting the Chinese in their efforts to develop their economy.
Russia. Japan's relations with Russia have been strained throughout the postwar
period. In the last days of World War II, the Soviets occupied South Sakhalin Islands
and the Kurile islands, including a few islands close to Hokkaid that the Japanese

claim as part of their native land. The issue of these islands is under negotiation
between the two countries. Trade has gradually developed between the two
countries and Japanese business has participated modestly in certain development
projects.
http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/japan/japanworkbook/fpdefense/foreign.htm

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