History of Japan

This article aims to provide an overview of the history of Japan.

Japan is an archipelago. It lies almost entirely in the temperate climate zone. There is a lot of precipitation and the bottom is fairly fruitful. Although Japan on not too large distance from mainland Asia is, it was always in the periphery. It has thereby a rather modest role played in the world history . The Japanese civilization was at an early stage, profound and long-lasting influenced by China. The history of Japan in the strict sense begins when the influence of the Chinese civilization in the broad did apply. The introduction led among other things to the introduction of the Scripture.



Content
[hide] *1 Prehistory  ==Prehistoric Times[ Edit] == On the basis of archaeological research assumed that Japan approximately 130,000 years ago was inhabited by people for the first time. From about 32,000 years ago, the presence of a Paleolithic culturedemonstrated. Around 11,000 BC began the Holocene, the current interglacial. There were more complex cultures with greater technical skills. These are usually indicated with the name Jōmon .
 * 2 early history
 * Taika reform 3
 * Nara period 4
 * 5 Heian period
 * 6 Japanese middle ages
 * 6.1 Kamakura period
 * 6.2 Muromachi period
 * reunification and Edo period 7
 * 7.1 Christianity in Japan
 * modern age 8
 * 8.1 Meiji Restoration and Meiji period
 * 8.2 Second World War
 * 8.3 Postwar Japan
 * 9 see also
 * 10 Bibliography
 * 11 Notes

In the course of time different peoples settled on the Japanese archipelago. Some were from the Asian continent, other of the Islands in the South. These peoples mingled with each other. From the moment there are historical sources have been handed down is already talk of a Japanese language, of a typical Japanese religion and of typical Japanese social structures. ==Early history[ Edit] == Traditional Japanese legends state that Japan in the [http://www.microsofttranslator.com/bv.aspx?from=nl&to=en&a=http%3A%2F%2Fnl.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2F7e_eeuw_v.Chr. 7th century BC] by the ancestral Emperor Jimmufounded. The emperors of the 5th century, however, are usually regarded as legendary. According to Chinese sources Japan was originally a hotchpotch of many small States, which in the 3rd century by a Queen/Priestess Himiko were United.

During the 4th, 5th and 6th centuries, the Chinese writing system and the Buddhism introduced, probably via \Baekje the Kingdom of Baekje(called also called Kudara in Japanese) in the southwest of Korea. The King of Baekje sent a Buddha image to Japan in 538 or 552 with the words, that Buddhism could be beneficial for the country. With the introduction of the Chinese writing and Buddhism began a long period of Chinese cultural influence on Japanese society. The Japanese, or rather the inhabitants of the Yamato Empire, held early contacts with the Kingdom of Baekje.

The emperors were the rulers in name but from the 6th century, the actual power is usually in the possession of the mighty hofnobelen, in which several families each one or several centuries could hold the power. ==Taika reform<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In 646, the political and administrative landscape of Japan recorded in the so-called Taika reform. In this Reformation, which incidentally took place in reality more gradually than on paper, Japan was transformed into a centralist State to Chinese model. The entire State was owned by the Emperor, and the nobility, which until then had governed Japan, got high posts in a new, expanded now civil service. During this time changed the imperial residence constantly: each Emperor had a new residence, some even several. ==Nara Period<span class="mw-editsection" len="340" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Nara In 710 was chosen as its capital. Nara remained capital until 784. The span of 710 to 794 is therefore called the Nara period . During the Nara period the influence of China reached its peak. The Emperor and the mighty hoffamilies in Nara came under increasing pressure of Buddhist priests. By 784 to 794 was Nagaoka-kyō the capital. ==Heian Period<span class="mw-editsection" len="341" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Emperor Kammu decided to shift the residence again, to the city of Heian-kyō, present-day Kyoto. There developed during the so-called Heian period (794-1185) a very sophisticated Court culture with a distinct upper class character. This culture remained largely limited to the single large cities that now arose. The arts, in particular literature, reached a peak. At the same time, the Emperor and his court the actual politics usually to the minor nobility in the provinces, whereby gradually more and more power at the provincial governors came to lie. The Court gradually lost its grip on the economy.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">During the Heian period Japanese culture more and more went her own way. After ~ 850 reduced the cultural influence of China is strong, although the prestige of everything Chinese was great remained. Many issues that were derived from the Chinese culture were adapted to the Japanese preferences and circumstances.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The most powerful family during the tenth and eleventh century was the sex of the Fujiwara. They dominated the Court; most emperors were little more than puppets. Throughout the Heian period were a handful of families that the Beguinage. Descent and land were a necessary condition in order to belong to the elite. The farmers were largely at the mercy of their local landlord. Most farmers (kōmin) lived in poor conditions.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In 1072 Emperor Go-Sanjo is pulled back in a Buddhist monastery. From behind the scenes, however, he continued to influence the new emperor. In this way he succeeded in breaking the power of the Fujiwara family, and after him this became a fixed mode of governing, which a formally resigned Emperor had the actual power. This indeed meant the end of the power of the Fujiwara, but the power of the families from the provinces grew, and the Court of the former Emperor was sometimes torn apart by internal political games.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Two of these families, the Taira and the Minamoto, now competed for power, and in 1160 the Taira came as victors from the fight. Although formally retained their high post, the Fujiwara were the Taira who, through influencing the Emperor, now had the actual power. However, the Minamoto were defeated but not yet destroyed, and in a League with the former Emperor Go-Shirakawa they started in 1180 a new war against the Taira. Now the Minamoto won though, and their leader, Minamoto no Yoritomo received the title shogun, originally a senior military title. During the following centuries would be in the first place the shogun, which effectively ruled Japan. ==Japanese middle ages<span class="mw-editsection" len="349" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Many historians distinguish a period they call the Japanese middle ages . In this period dominated the Warriors, the Samurai, the politics. A military administration was established, the bakufu. The Japanese middle ages started at the end of the twelfth century and lasted until the middle of the sixteenth century. ===Kamakura Period<span class="mw-editsection" len="344" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Minamoto no Yoritomo established in 1192 it to Kamakura bakufu . After the death of his sons were also shogunYoritomo, but the power of the Minamoto was not permanent. The Minamoto also had to continue to take into account the Imperial Court in Kyoto. The Hōjōfamily came on, reigning from the official position of regent for the shogun.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In 1274 and 1281 Japan was attacked by the Mongols, but both times came to the aid of the Japanese a heavy Typhoon . The Japanese speak of a kamikaze, a divine wind. Research of the in 1981 found remnants of the fleet from 1281, it is revealed that the ships were hastily built, and that there is sloppy and bad wood was used, sometimes even used wood. The ships were also made in the "Welcome" China. By the unattainable number of ships that had to be made in a very short time, they have many river ships used without a deep zeeboeg. Which makes them very vulnerable were in the storm. ===Muromachi Period<span class="mw-editsection" len="345" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In 1333, in the battle of Kamakura, the Hōjō were eventually defeated by the banished Emperor Go-Daigo and an Alliance of Eastern Knight families. The Ashikaga family took over the role of shogun over. The Ashikagabakufuestablished a new; their headquarters was the Muromachi district in Kyoto. Emperor Go-Daigo wished not to accept. He pulled away from George, and an end to the South moved into a new residence. The Ashikaga appointed another emperor George, and some time in Japan had two rival emperors, until in 1392 the then "Southern Emperor" gave off his claim to the throne.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">From the fifteenth century it was with the power of the emperors as well as it did. "The Court eats out of control of the bakufu."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-1" len="174" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"> [1]  however, the Ashikaga Also lost their dominant position in the next century, and a bloody power struggle began. Highlight was the so-called Ōnin War, a fight between two families for control over the shogunate, which between 1467 and 1477 Kyoto devastated. Of the central authority was when virtually nothing left, and various provincial rulers (daimyo) States vied with each other for power. The coming period is known as the sengoku jidai, "century of the warring provinces". ==Reunification and Edo period<span class="mw-editsection" len="353" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582), daimyo of the Owari Province began the reunification of Japan. He beat several rivals, founded a Covenant with a number of other daimyo, particularly Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) of the adjacent Mikawa. Kyoto In 1568 he conquered and forced the shogun to flee. He slaughtered the monks-Warriors of Hiei-zan af. He defeated several other daimyo, but was in 1582 by one of his own generals, Akechi Mitsuhide, was murdered.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Akechi was defeated by another General of Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi, Nobunaga's reunification put on but where Nobunaga, Hideyoshi was a true diplomat used brute force, and won the war that his army, sometimes with simple threat without actually having to come into action. After Japan entirely true to the Emperor and his regent, Hideyoshi, Hideyoshi sent his armies had sworn, to Korea. The campaign initially went well, but when his generals were approaching the border of China, they got the Chinese faced; six years of war gave no clear victory on. after the death of Hideyoshi in 1598, the Japanese retreated. Because the clan of Toyotomi vassals are not enough reward for the military service could in Korea, crumbled off the support for the clan.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">After the death of Hideyoshi was Tokugawa Ieyasu the strong man of Japan. To the military adventure in Korea he had not taken part. Instead, he had his power base in the Kantō region strengthened. Its headquarters was his castle in Edo. In 1600 defeated Ieyasu in the battle of Sekigahara the supporters of Hideyoshi's son Hideyori. After the death of the last Ashikaga shogun Ieyasu was appointed shogun in 1603 to. That he descended from Minamoto no Yoritomo facilitated this change of power. Already back in 1605 Ieyasu joined, left his son, shogun, but had to appoint in good Japanese tradition, in the background the power in their hands. His only remaining opponent was Toyotomi Hideyori, the son and successor of Hideyoshi. Ieyasu forced Hideyori back to OsakaCastle in 1615, and took that in.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Ieyasu limited the power of the Buddhist monasteries and the daimyo, and the Emperor and his court arrived in Kyoto in a kind of ' Golden ' captivity, while the Court of the shogun to Edo (present-day Tokyo) was shifted. This was the power of the Tokugawa family for more than two centuries sealed (see for more the Edo period). ===Christianity in Japan<span class="mw-editsection" len="350" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === Japan (1652). Map of Johannes Janssonius.<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In 1542 members three Portuguese shipwreck and came up with a Chinese ship on the coast of Kyushu rightly so. Portuguese soon followed (and later also Spanish, Dutch and English) traders, and also Jesuit-missionaries. Christianity quickly shot the root in Japan, and according to the missionaries in 1587, there were 300,000 Christians in Japan,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-2" len="174" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[2]  especially among the lower classes, but also a number of daimyo, especially those of Kyushu. The encouragement the Jesuit fathers of thesedaimyo were given initially, came also from calculation because they noticed that the missionaries by Portuguese merchants and sea captains were treated with great respect. However, these good relations took several years and by the many favors that proved the foreign missionaries, Nobunga started this in their optimism to cherish all the hope that they could convert to Christianity very Japan.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Nobunaga was also very willing opposite the Jesuits, because he who regarded as potential allies against militant Buddhist sects, but this relationship ended under Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu, who saw the missionaries as preparers of a Portuguese or Spanish invasion in Japan, forbade the mission and even Christianity.Japan was eventually entirely In 1642 by the outside world shut down. Japanese were allowed to leave the country, and only some Asian and Dutch merchants were allowed to trade with Japan, in specially designated small areas. ==Modern Time<span class="mw-editsection" len="342" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == ===Meiji Restoration and Meiji period<span class="mw-editsection" len="362" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Japanese politics of isolation lasted about 200 years, until 1853. The American commodore Matthew Perry appeared in that year with a fleet for the Japanese Coast and forced it off that Japan opened up its borders. In Japan there was a fear that the country would fall into the hands of the colonial powers. Also in the Interior there were problems; the opposition to the bakufu, the shogun's regime, grew.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In 1868 the power was seized by a revolutionary group, which the Emperor wanted to have power again in the Center and advocated a quick adoption of Western technology, so the Western countries to be able to offer resistance. An end to the shogunate was created. This action is known as the Meiji Restoration. The were primarily samurai of Satsuma and Chōshū seized the power. The Imperial Court was moved to Edo, which was renamed Tokyo (Eastern capital). The feudal structures had to give way to a central national administration. During this period the policy was aimed at Japan as soon as possible to develop and modernise both military and economic. There followed a number of economic and social reform: free choice of profession, the abolition of the privileges of the Samuraiclass, taxes in money instead of natura, abolishment of the serfdom of farmers, free land ownership and the establishment of the conscription. There were State-owned enterprises rapidly created, which then (with the exception of the military industry), when they were economically viable, were privatized . Also the developed infrastructure, there were national postal and telegraph systems introduced and foreign technology was imported. Japan went about In 1893 on the Gregorian calendar. The pace of change were made was unprecedented. Also everyday life was affected. All of this brought about a sense of disorientation. There was also opposition to the modernization imposed from above, but that was forcibly suppressed.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In 1889 a Constitution was introduced, based on the German Constitution. A new army was built up, using English, French and German consultants.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Japan grew rapidly into a world power and its new ambitions led to wars with China (1894-1895) and Russia (1904-1905), where the Korea (a Japanese colony from 1910 ), conquered Taiwan and other areas. In particular, the victory over Russia impressed: for the first time a "Western" country by country reports a "colored" (completely true this was not Italy by Ethiopia in 1896, was defeated, and in the 17th century the Chinese expelled from his Netherlands colony Formosa ).

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In the first world war Japan Germany declared war and immediately took the German possessions in China and the Pacific Ocean in possession. For requests to send troops to the Western front were ingenious excuses made up. China, which had sent thousands of workers to Europe, on the other hand, was pressured, on which the allies Japan terugfloten. Assign the areas left Japan In Versailles legitimate. Contrast Japan came in theLeague of Nations. ===Second World War<span class="mw-editsection" len="349" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === Greatest extent of the Empire of Japan during World War II<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In the 1920s and early 1930s led economic setbacks meant that Japan was under a growing influence of ultra-nationalist, expansionist military. The Japanese population lived on a relatively small surface area, much of which existed from mountains. These mountains were, however, no raw materials.Japan wanted the touches on areas that had these raw materials, such as China. This led to the invasion of Manchuria (and the Foundation of Manchukuo), and a second Sino-Japanese war (1937), which coincided with the Second World War. Japan WINS in China, but the Chinese military could not finally beat.In 1938 hit Mongolia clashed with Japan and the Soviet Union, but these countries under general Zhukov won a resounding victory over the Japanese. In 1940 Japan signed with Germany and Italy, the three-power pactthat promised mutual assistance in case of attack, and the new order recorded. By Vichy France Japan and Germany was forced to cede Indochina to Japan.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">With this policy, Japan aroused the distrust of the United States, and the superpowers came on foot always stressed with each other. An oil embargo by the Americans in cooperation with Dutch East Indies proclaimed. The Japanese soldiers were furious, and Admiral Yamamoto summed it up with a powerful offensive plan the United States from the Pacific to sweep away. Netherlands and France were in May and June 1940 by nazi Germany caught off guard. This allowed Dutch East Indies and French Indochina (Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia) be occupied without much fight. The United Kingdom was weak in Asia, because it had to carry a heavy battle in Europe.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">7 december 1941 the Japanese attacked the American fleet in Pearl Harbor, which led to the participation of the United States in the war. The Philippines and Dutch East Indies were conquered, as well as Hong Kong, Singapore, Burma, Malaysia, and various Pacific Islands. An important psychological effect had the conquest of the islands of Attu, Agattu and Kiska: these were Alaska and Aleutian Islands belonged to so American.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In Dutch East Indies were many Dutch citizens after the capture of that country interned in Japanese POW camps, a kind of concentration camps. For Dutch women camps and camps, men there were boys camps.Some women were forced into prostitution by Japanese soldiers, the so-called comfort women. In addition to these camps for Dutch (and other Westerners) there were also labor camps for Indonesians ("Romusha's") and camps for half-breeds. These camps cost very many people's lives, but the biggest atrocities Japan committed in China, such as the massacre of Nanking. In addition, the Japanese forced their Western and other prisoners to labor under extremely harsh conditions, often to rail lines (see Burma railway and pakan baroe railroad).

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">From 1944 the Americans little by little the recaptured by Japan conquered areas. The Japanese acquired a reputation by their ' resistance ' fanatic. The Soviet Union would be on August 9, 1945, three months after the capitulation of Germany, neutrality and invade Manchuria and China. The war ended in 1945 by the attack of the Soviet Union and after American atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were thrown. The bomb that exploded over the city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, killed 78,000 people and injuries to more than 30,000 people brought terrible. On 9 August, killed 70,000 people in Nagasaki. US aircraft dropped three million leaflets over Japan in which the people were asked to persuade their emperor to surrender and to end the war. On 10 August Japan did a request for conditional surrender (preservation of the Emperor). The Americans accepted this, despite their original demand for unconditional surrender. The next day the surrender was disclosed by broadcasting of a pre-recorded radio message of Emperor Hirohito. Japan finally signed on 2 september to the deck of the battleship Missouri surrender. ===Postwar Japan<span class="mw-editsection" len="345" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ Edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" len="1" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Postwar Japan, now limited to its present size, remained under the control of America until the entry into force of the peace treaty of San Francisco in 1952. Prosperity flourished during that period on the Islands back on thanks to an exceptional economic recovery. There came also a new Constitution during the occupation, with only a ceremonial task was left for the emperor.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">The United States, which were on disarmament of Japan in 1945, saw itself confronted with a Communist China, Russia and North Korea. Japan would be under the containment policy can act as "capitalist bastion", with Taiwan, the Philippines, South Korea and South Viet Nam. At the urging of the US was established a police force of 100,000 men, in fact just an army of the Constitution not as if are called. Later the Constitution is changed, and one spoke of a "self-defense force". Japan remained one of the most peaceful countries in the world, and woke up later in the 20th century, paradoxically even irritation on because it refused to participate in military operations or repurchased, such as in the Gulf war of 1991 (chequeboek diplomacy).

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">Also after the departure of the Americans continued economic growth, and Japan grew in the 1960s into an economic powerhouse, with growth rates of 10% per annum and more. However, the Japanese economy began around 1990 in decline to get rid: large companies were in payment difficulties, whereby banks were forced to merge or even went bankrupt. The Nikkei Index lost 70% of its value.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In January 1995, the city was rocked by a serious earthquake Kobe , which is 5000 dead demanded. Later that year, spread the sect Aum Shinrikyo Sarin gas in the Tokyo subway . There were 12 dead and 5,000 wounded. This was both for the world as a shock for Japan. It turned out the sect spread sarin in residential areas also to have existed, and even plans to kill the emperor. For Japan it was a double shock: Japan was traditionally one of the most law-abiding countries.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In 1998, Japan rocked by a North Korean test with a ballistic missile. The rocket flew over Japan into the Pacific Ocean to land back in order. in 2005, North Korea also admitted that it possesses nuclear weapons, estimated by the Americans even 5 or 6. Japanese great fear is a nuclear missile attack from this angle. For this reason, Japan reversed its defence policy, and seeks a more active role for the army. Also one works together with the us to a missile shield. Japan also aims to a six-party talks (China, Japan, Russia, the u.s. and the two Koreas), but North Korea wants to talk only with the United States.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">In 2005, Japan faces the growing power of China, Japanese traditional rival. Conflicts over territorial waters and about history books that play down Japanese war crimes or concealment, threatening to ruin the relationship between the neighbours.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.3999996185303px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;">On March 11, 2011, the Sendai city hit by a tsunami, which itself was the result of a heavy earthquake.