120-412: [REDACTED] Japan [REDACTED] Transbaikal Front [REDACTED] 1st Far Eastern Front [REDACTED] 2nd Far Eastern Front [REDACTED] Kwantung Army [REDACTED] Fifth Area Army Second Sino-Japanese War Taishō period Shōwa period Asia-Pacific Mediterranean and Middle East Other campaigns Coups The Soviet–Japanese War
240-630: A possible invasion by Western Allied forces, however, IJN Naval Infantry units from 12th Air Fleet saw extensive action during South Sakhalin and Kuil Islands campaign. Despite its large size, the Kwantung Army was badly trained, poorly equipped, and had only limited supplies: overall ammunition stockpiles were sufficient to meet the needs of only 13 divisions for 3 months, compared with 24 divisions then in Manchuria. Most of its heavy equipment and all of its best troops had been transferred to
360-599: A tributary state of China's Qing Empire , which exerted large influence over the conservative Korean officials who gathered around the royal family of the Joseon kingdom. On February 27, 1876, after several confrontations between Korean isolationists and the Japanese, Japan imposed the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876 , forcing Korea open to Japanese trade. The act blocked any other power from dominating Korea, resolving to end
480-548: A Soviet annexation or even occupation of Hokkaido would have likely provoked heated opposition from the other Allies. Marshal of the Soviet Union Aleksandr Vasilevsky envisioned taking the northern half of Hokkaido by landing at the small, remote port of Rumoi and occupying everything north of a line from Rumoi to Kushiro . Two rifle divisions of the 87th Rifle Corps were to be used. Air and sea units were also sent to Sakhalin to support
600-649: A Theory of Civilization", which detailed Western society and his own philosophies. In the Meiji Restoration period, military and economic power was emphasized. Military strength became the means for national development and stability. Imperial Japan became the only non-Western world power and a major force in East Asia in about 25 years as a result of industrialization and economic development. As writer Albrecht Fürst von Urach comments in his booklet "The Secret of Japan's Strength", published in 1942, during
720-722: A Western corps). In addition was the 40,000-strong Manchukuo Defense Force , composed of eight weak, poorly-equipped, and poorly-trained Manchukuoan divisions. The combined forces of the Kwantung Army in Manchuria and the Seventeenth Area Army in Korea came close to one million men. The two armies had no fewer than 31 divisions and 13 brigades (including two tank brigades) between them, together with numerous separate regiments and fortress units. In Manchuria alone there were approximately 700 armored vehicles and 5,000 guns and mortars (excluding 50 mm grenade dischargers), while
840-613: A chapel of the Russian Consulate. St. Nicholas of Japan made his own translation of the New Testament and some other religious books ( Lenten Triodion , Pentecostarion , Feast Services , Book of Psalms , Irmologion ) into Japanese . Nicholas has since been canonized as a saint by the Patriarchate of Moscow in 1970, and is now recognized as St. Nicholas, Equal-to-the-Apostles to Japan. His commemoration day
960-639: A continued collaboration with the Tokugawa, Saigō Takamori , leader of the Satsuma clan, threatened the assembly into abolishing the title shōgun and ordered the confiscation of Yoshinobu's lands. On January 17, 1868, Yoshinobu declared "that he would not be bound by the proclamation of the Restoration and called on the court to rescind it". On January 24, Yoshinobu decided to prepare an attack on Kyoto, occupied by Satsuma and Chōshū forces. This decision
1080-612: A dilemma since he wanted to avoid a two-front war at almost any cost but also wanted to extract gains in the Far East as well as Europe. The only way that Stalin could make Far Eastern gains without a two-front war would be for Germany to surrender before Japan. The Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact caused the Soviets to make it policy to intern Allied aircrews who landed in Soviet territory after operations against Japan, but airmen held in
1200-466: A full-scale conquest. However, after the Japanese fiercely defended Shumshu three days after the surrender, the Soviets were forced to reconsider that assumption. Richard B. Frank , however, believes that despite serious Soviet deficiencies in shipping capacity and air cover, the Soviets could have succeeded because Japanese defenses were concentrated in the south to face the Americans, rather than
1320-559: A military government over Korea north of the 38th parallel. American forces landed at Incheon on 8 September and took control of the south. Empire of Japan Unitary parliamentary semi-constitutional monarchy (1889–1947) The Empire of Japan , also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan , was the Japanese nation-state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 until
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#17327873111871440-615: A modern state to resist Western domination. Later the Empire emerged as a great power in the world. Due to its name in kanji characters and its flag, it was also given the exonyms "Empire of the Sun" and "Empire of the Rising Sun". After two centuries, the seclusion policy, or sakoku , under the shōguns of the Edo period came to an end when the country was forced open to trade by
1560-549: A party of samurai from Satsuma . The British demanded reparations but were denied. While attempting to exact payment, the Royal Navy was fired on from coastal batteries near the town of Kagoshima . They responded by bombarding the port of Kagoshima in 1863. The Tokugawa government agreed to pay an indemnity for Richardson's death. Shelling of foreign shipping in Shimonoseki and attacks against foreign property led to
1680-454: A prospect hard-liners from Satsuma and Chōshū found intolerable. On January 3, 1868, Satsuma-Chōshū forces seized the imperial palace in Kyoto , and the following day had the fifteen-year-old Emperor Meiji declare his own restoration to full power. Although the majority of the imperial consultative assembly was happy with the formal declaration of direct rule by the court and tended to support
1800-543: A quick defeat to the Japanese Army seemed far from clear. Given the fanatical and sometimes suicidal resistance put up by the Japanese forces similar in April–June 1945 Battle of Okinawa , there was every reason to believe that a long, difficult campaign for the capture of the last remaining Japanese fortified areas was expected. In some parts of the Soviet offensive these expectations were fully fulfilled. Attacks from
1920-549: A radical, xenophobic movement, the sonnō jōi (literally "Revere the Emperor, expel the barbarians"). In March 1863, the Emperor issued the " order to expel barbarians ." Although the shogunate had no intention of enforcing the order, it nevertheless inspired attacks against the shogunate itself and against foreigners in Japan. The Namamugi Incident during 1862 led to the murder of an Englishman, Charles Lennox Richardson , by
2040-403: A theater command that operated during the war (apart from the short-lived 1941 "Directions" in the west), Far East Command, consisted of three Red Army fronts . Each Front had "front units" attached directly to the front, instead of an army. The forces totaled 89 divisions with 1.5 million men, 3,704 tanks, 1,852 self propelled guns , 85,819 vehicles and 3,721 aircraft. One third of its strength
2160-449: A variety of fields to come to Japan to educate the populace. For instance, the judicial system and constitution were modeled after Prussia , described by Saburō Ienaga as "an attempt to control popular thought with a blend of Confucianism and German conservatism ." The government also outlawed customs linked to Japan's feudal past, such as publicly displaying and wearing katana and the top knot , both of which were characteristic of
2280-547: Is February 16. Andronic Nikolsky , appointed the first Bishop of Kyoto and later martyred as the archbishop of Perm during the Russian Revolution , was also canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church as a Saint and Martyr in the year 2000. Divie Bethune McCartee was the first ordained Presbyterian minister missionary to visit Japan, in 1861–1862. His gospel tract translated into Japanese
2400-526: Is currently better known as the Kaihōrei ( 解放令 Emancipation Edict ). However, the elimination of their economic monopolies over certain occupations actually led to a decline in their general living standards, while social discrimination simply continued. For example, the ban on the consumption of meat from livestock was lifted in 1871, and many former burakumin moved on to work in abattoirs and as butchers . However, slow-changing social attitudes, especially in
2520-477: Is referred to as Dai Nippon Teikoku ( 大日本帝國 ) , which translates to "Empire of Great Japan" ( Dai "Great", Nippon "Japanese", Teikoku "Empire"). Teikoku is itself composed of the nouns Tei "referring to an emperor" and -koku "nation, state", literally "Imperial State" or "Imperial Realm" (compare the German Kaiserreich ). The name "Empire of Japan" appeared for
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#17327873111872640-497: The 38th parallel north . The Americans were surprised that the Soviet government accepted. Soviet troops were able to move freely by rail, and there was nothing to stop them from occupying the whole of Korea. Soviet forces began amphibious landings in northern Korea by 14 August and rapidly took over the northeast of the peninsula, and on 16 August, they landed at Wonsan . On 24 August, the Red Army entered Pyongyang and established
2760-637: The Axis powers period: The rise of Japan to a world power during the past 80 years is the greatest miracle in world history. The mighty empires of antiquity, the major political institutions of the Middle Ages and the early modern era, the Spanish Empire, the British Empire, all needed centuries to achieve their full strength. Japan's rise has been meteoric. After only 80 years, it is one of
2880-683: The Constitution of Japan took effect on 3 May 1947. From 1910 to 1945 , it included the Japanese archipelago , the Kurils , Karafuto , Korea , and Taiwan . Concessions such as the Kwantung Leased Territory were de jure not parts of the empire but dependent territories. In the closing stages of World War II , with Japan defeated alongside the rest of the Axis powers , the formalized Japanese Instrument of Surrender
3000-543: The Convention of Kanagawa which came when Matthew C. Perry arrived in Japan in 1854. Thus, the period known as Bakumatsu began. The following years saw increased foreign trade and interaction; commercial treaties between the Tokugawa shogunate and Western countries were signed. In large part due to the humiliating terms of these unequal treaties , the shogunate soon faced internal hostility, which materialized into
3120-589: The First Area Army (northeastern Manchukuo) and the Third Area Army (southwestern Manchukuo), as well as three independent armies (responsible for northern Manchuria, North Korea, Mengjiang , South Sakhalin, and the Kurils). Each area army ( Homen Gun , the equivalent of a Western "army") had headquarters units and units attached directly to it, in addition to the field armies (the equivalent of
3240-611: The Japanese surrender and the end of World War II. The Soviet entry into the war was a significant factor in the Japanese government's decision to surrender unconditionally , as it was made apparent that the Soviet Union was not willing to act as a third party in negotiating an end to hostilities on conditional terms. At the Tehran Conference in November 1943, Joseph Stalin agreed that the Soviet Union would enter
3360-651: The Kuril Islands starting on August 18, three days after the Japanese surrender. During their planning of the conquests of Sakhalin and the Kurils, the Soviets considered it necessary to control Hokkaido (or at least the parts of Hokkaido bordering the Sea of Okhotsk ) to secure their new territories. However, the previous month's Potsdam Declaration set out that postwar Japan would control its four main home islands of Hokkaido, Honshu , Kyushu , and Shikoku . Therefore,
3480-784: The Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation , but this name refers more to the Soviet invasion of Manchuria than to the whole war. This offensive should not be confused with the Soviet–Japanese border conflicts (particularly the Battle of Khalkhin Gol of May–September 1939), that ended in Japan's defeat in 1939, and led to the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact . The Russo-Japanese War of
3600-682: The Meiji period , affecting religious practices and institutions. Conversion from traditional faith was no longer legally forbidden, officials lifted the 250-year ban on Christianity, and missionaries of established Christian churches reentered Japan. The traditional syncreticism between Shinto and Buddhism ended. Losing the protection of the Japanese government which Buddhism had enjoyed for centuries, Buddhist monks faced radical difficulties in sustaining their institutions, but their activities also became less restrained by governmental policies and restrictions. As social conflicts emerged in this last decade of
3720-722: The Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific War . However, from 1942 onwards, and particularly after decisive Allied advances at Midway Atoll and Guadalcanal , Japan was forced to adopt a defensive stance against the United States . The American-led island-hopping campaign led to the eventual loss of many of Japan's Oceanian island possessions in the following three years. Eventually, the American military captured Iwo Jima and Okinawa Island , leaving
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3840-804: The Shrine Consolidation Policy and the Meiji government built the new modern 15 shrines of the Kenmu restoration as a political move to link the Meiji restoration to the Kenmu restoration for their new State Shinto cult. Japanese had to look at old paintings in order to find out what the Horyuji temple used to look like when they rebuilt it. The rebuilding was originally planned for the Shōwa era. The Japanese used mostly concrete in 1934 to rebuild
3960-529: The Togetsukyo Bridge , unlike the original destroyed wooden version of the bridge from 836. The idea of a written constitution had been a subject of heated debate within and outside of the government since the beginnings of the Meiji government . The conservative Meiji oligarchy viewed anything resembling democracy or republicanism with suspicion and trepidation, and favored a gradualist approach. The Freedom and People's Rights Movement demanded
4080-509: The bombardment of Shimonoseki by a multinational force in 1864. The Chōshū clan also launched the failed coup known as the Kinmon incident . The Satsuma-Chōshū alliance was established in 1866 to combine their efforts to overthrow the Tokugawa bakufu . In early 1867, Emperor Kōmei died of smallpox and was replaced by his son, Crown Prince Mutsuhito (Meiji) . On November 9, 1867, Tokugawa Yoshinobu resigned from his post and authorities to
4200-498: The double envelopment . The 1st Far East Front, under Marshal Kirill Meretskov , was to form the eastern half of the pincer movement. The attack involved striking towards Mudanjiang (or Mutanchiang), and once that city was captured, the force was to advance towards the cities of Jilin , Changchun, and Harbin . Its final objective was to link up with forces of the Trans-Baikal Front at Changchun and Jilin thus closing
4320-602: The occupation of Japan . Furthermore, concerns were raised within the Soviet high command that an invasion of Hokkaido would be impractical, be unlikely to succeed, and violate the Yalta Agreement . The invasion was cancelled on August 22, two days before their scheduled start, and Soviet forces concentrated on taking the Kuril Islands instead. Historians have generally considered it unlikely that an invasion of Hokkaido would have succeeded. Factors include
4440-542: The Allied occupation continued until 1952, consolidating the modern Japanese constitutional monarchy . In total, the Empire of Japan had three emperors: Meiji , Taishō , and Shōwa . The Imperial era came to an end partway through Shōwa's reign , and he remained emperor until 1989. The historical state is frequently referred to as the "Empire of Japan", the "Japanese Empire", or "Imperial Japan" in English. In Japanese it
4560-586: The Axis alliance with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy , and also conquering a large part of the Asia-Pacific . During this period, the Japanese army committed many atrocities, including the Nanjing Massacre . However, there has been a debate over defining the political system of Japan as a dictatorship . The Imperial Japanese Armed Forces initially achieved large-scale military successes during
4680-592: The Battle of Khalkhin Gol (Nomonhan Incident, May–September 1939), which led to the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact of April 1941. The Neutrality Pact freed up forces from the border incidents and enabled the Soviets to concentrate on their war with Germany and the Japanese to concentrate on their southern expansion into Asia and the Pacific Ocean. With success at the Battle of Stalingrad and
4800-568: The British commander. The force landed near Tianjin on July 5. On 17 June 1900, naval Rikusentai from the Kasagi and Atago had joined British, Russian, and German sailors to seize the Dagu forts near Tianjin. In light of the precarious situation, the British were compelled to ask Japan for additional reinforcements, as the Japanese had the only readily available forces in the region. Britain at
4920-742: The Chinese forces on the Liaodong Peninsula , and nearly destroyed the Chinese navy in the Battle of the Yalu River . The Treaty of Shimonoseki was signed between Japan and China, which ceded the Liaodong Peninsula and the island of Taiwan to Japan. After the peace treaty, Russia, Germany, and France forced Japan to withdraw from Liaodong Peninsula in the Triple Intervention . Soon afterward, Russia occupied
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5040-658: The Daimyo and Shoguns. It was only due to the 1964 Summer Olympics in Japan that cheap concrete replicas of those castles were built for tourists. The vast majority of castles in Japan today are new replicas made out of concrete. In 1959 a concrete keep was built for Nagoya castle. During the Meiji restoration's Shinbutsu bunri , tens of thousands of Japanese Buddhist religious idols and temples were smashed and destroyed. Many statues still lie in ruins. Replica temples were rebuilt with concrete. Japan then closed and shut done tens of thousands of traditional old Shinto shrines in
5160-478: The Edo period, some new religious movements appeared, which were directly influenced by shamanism and Shinto . Emperor Ogimachi issued edicts to ban Catholicism in 1565 and 1568, but to little effect. Beginning in 1587 with imperial regent Toyotomi Hideyoshi's ban on Jesuit missionaries, Christianity was repressed as a threat to national unity. Under Hideyoshi and the succeeding Tokugawa shogunate, Catholic Christianity
5280-502: The Emperor and his Imperial House, and also against some major Shinto shrines which were believed to be tied strongly to the Emperor. The government strengthened its control over religious institutions that were considered to undermine State Shinto or nationalism. The majority of Japanese castles were smashed and destroyed in the late 19th century in the Meiji restoration by the Japanese people and government in order to modernize and westernize Japan and break from their past feudal era of
5400-631: The Heavens and with the Earth, We shall maintain and secure from decline the ancient form of government. ... In consideration of the progressive tendency of the course of human affairs and in parallel with the advance of civilization, We deem it expedient, in order to give clearness and distinctness to the instructions bequeathed by the Imperial Founder of Our House and by Our other Imperial Ancestors, to establish fundamental laws. ... Imperial Japan
5520-408: The Japanese Air Forces had 2,004 planes in Manchuria and Korea, of which only 627 were combat types. The Imperial Japanese Navy did not contribute surface forces to the defense of Manchuria, the occupation of which it had always opposed on strategic grounds. Additionally, by the time of the invasion, the few remnants of its fleet were stationed in defense of the Japanese home islands in anticipation of
5640-512: The Japanese forces would have fiercely fought back against an attack after their country had surrendered, and the small hastily-assembled Soviet forces would have been unable to hold out against them. Because the Soviets thought the Japanese would not contest a landing after the Japanese had already surrendered, the Soviets assembled a relatively small force of two divisions, much smaller than the four field armies, totaling about 12 divisions, which Marshal Georgy Zhukov estimated would be necessary for
5760-415: The Japanese government one million British pounds in exchange for Japanese participation. Proposed Soviet invasion of Hokkaido During the Soviet–Japanese War in August 1945, the Soviet Union made plans to invade Hokkaido , the northernmost of Japan 's four main home islands . Opposition from the United States and doubts within the Soviet high command caused the plans to be canceled before
5880-450: The Japanese mainland unprotected and without a significant naval defense force. By August 1945, plans had been made for an Allied invasion of mainland Japan , but were shelved after Japan surrendered in the face of a major breakthrough by the Western Allies and the Soviet Union , with the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet invasion of Manchuria . The Pacific War officially came to an end on 2 September 1945, leading to
6000-522: The Japanese military analysis of Soviet logistics, and the defenders were caught by surprise in unfortified positions. The Kwantung Army commanders, involved in a planning exercise at the time of the invasion, were away from their forces for the first 18 hours of conflict. Communication infrastructure was poor, and communication was lost with forward units very early. The Kwantung Army had a formidable reputation as fierce and relentless fighters, and even though weak and unprepared, they put up strong resistance in
6120-419: The Japanese, now the only Axis power left in the war. They were keen to remain at peace with the Soviets and extend the Neutrality Pact and also wanted to achieve an end to the war. Since Yalta, they had repeatedly approached or tried to approach the Soviets to extend the Neutrality Pact and to enlist the Soviets in negotiating peace with the Allies. The Soviets did nothing to discourage the Japanese hopes and drew
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#17327873111876240-419: The Japanese, who withdrew their elite troops from Manchuria to support actions in the Pacific. Meanwhile, the Soviets continued their Far Eastern buildup. The Soviets had decided that they did not wish to renew the Neutrality Pact. The Neutrality Pact required that twelve months before its expiry, the Soviets must advise the Japanese and so on 5 April 1945, they informed the Japanese that they did not wish to renew
6360-472: The Korean government. When Korea demanded that Japan withdraw its troops from Korea, the Japanese refused. In early June 1894, the 8,000 Japanese troops captured the Korean king Gojong, occupied the Royal Palace in Seoul and, by June 25, installed a puppet government in Seoul. The new pro-Japanese Korean government granted Japan the right to expel Qing forces while Japan dispatched more troops to Korea. China objected and war ensued. Japanese ground troops routed
6480-436: The Liaodong Peninsula, built the Port Arthur fortress, and based the Russian Pacific Fleet in the port. Germany occupied Jiaozhou Bay , built Tsingtao fortress and based the German East Asia Squadron in this port. In 1900, Japan joined an international military coalition set up in response to the Boxer Rebellion in the Qing Empire of China. Japan provided the largest contingent of troops: 20,840, as well as 18 warships. Of
6600-421: The Meiji Restoration, the practices of the samurai classes, deemed feudal and unsuitable for modern times following the end of sakoku in 1853, resulted in a number of edicts intended to 'modernise' the appearance of upper class Japanese men. With the Dampatsurei Edict of 1871 issued by Emperor Meiji during the early Meiji Era, men of the samurai classes were forced to cut their hair short, effectively abandoning
6720-402: The Pacific Front over the previous three years, with second-rate units raised to replace them. As a result, it had essentially been reduced to a light infantry counterinsurgency force with limited mobility or ability to fight a conventional land war against a co-ordinated enemy. Compounding the problem, the Japanese military made many wrong assumptions and major mistakes, the two most significant
6840-405: The Pacific, the Japanese realised that they needed to determine when and where a Soviet invasion would occur. At the Yalta Conference (February 1945), Stalin secured from Roosevelt the promise of Stalin's Far Eastern territorial desires in return for agreeing to enter the Pacific War within two or three months of the defeat of Germany. By mid-March 1945, things were not going well in the Pacific for
6960-456: The Potsdam Declaration whereby Churchill, Harry S. Truman and Chiang Kai-shek (the Soviet Union was not officially at war with Japan) demanded the unconditional surrender of Japan. The Japanese continued to wait for the Soviet response and avoided responding to the declaration. The Japanese had been monitoring Trans-Siberian Railway traffic and Soviet activity to the east of Manchuria and the Soviet delaying tactics, which suggested to them that
7080-411: The Soviet Union had declared war on Japan, and that from 9 August the Soviet Government would consider itself to be at war with Japan. At one minute past midnight Trans-Baikal time on 9 August 1945, the Soviets commenced their invasion simultaneously on three fronts to the east, west and north of Manchuria. The operation was subdivided into smaller operational and tactical parts: and subsequently Though
7200-473: The Soviet Union overpowered Japanese forces. From behind Japanese lines, Soviet paratroopers decimated the Kwantung Army as Japanese anti-tank bullets bounced off the sides of Soviet tanks. After launching a crushing offensive on the Japanese Kwantung Army in Manchuria just days before Japan's surrender, the Russians handled the Japanese with the worst cruelty. Japanese troops in Manchuria retreated out of fear. The exact situation occurred in Inner Mongolia , except
7320-411: The Soviet Union under such circumstances were usually allowed to "escape" after some period of time. Nevertheless, even before the defeat of Germany, the Soviet buildup in the Far East had steadily accelerated. By early 1945, it had become apparent to the Japanese that the Soviets were preparing to invade Manchuria, but they were unlikely to attack prior to Germany's defeat. In addition to their problems in
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#17327873111877440-429: The Soviet forces were largely Mongols from Outer Mongolia . The Japanese forces in Inner Mongolia didn't resist the Soviet forces, abandoned their city stronghold of Kalgan , and fled south. Russian forces captured Japanese soldiers and physically fit Japanese men in Manchuria and transferred them to Siberia to perform slave labor, where many of them would die from the cold weather. From the Russian's perspective, this
7560-423: The Soviets in a stronger bargaining position to occupy Japan. The Red Army successfully conquered the southern half of Sakhalin Island. The island had been contested between Japan and Russia for a century and fought over during the Russo-Japanese War of 1905, and by 1945, it had been divided between the two countries (the Japanese southern half was called Karafuto Prefecture ). The Soviets then captured
7680-408: The Soviets very attractive territorial concessions. Stalin expressed interest, and the Japanese awaited the Soviet response. The Soviets continued to avoid providing a response. The Potsdam Conference was held (in the Soviet-occupied German city of Potsdam) from 16 July to 2 August 1945. On 24 July, the Soviet Union recalled all embassy staff and families from Japan. On 26 July, the conference produced
7800-452: The Soviets would not be ready to invade east Manchuria before the end of August. They did not have any real idea and no confirming evidence as to when or where any invasion would occur. They had estimated that an attack was not likely in August 1945 or before spring 1946, but Stavka had planned for a mid-August 1945 offensive and had concealed the buildup of a force of 90 divisions. Many had crossed Siberia in their vehicles to avoid straining
7920-434: The Tokugawa army. A series of battles were then fought in pursuit of supporters of the Shogunate; Edo surrendered to the Imperial forces and afterward, Yoshinobu personally surrendered. Yoshinobu was stripped of all his power by Emperor Meiji and most of Japan accepted the emperor's rule. Pro-Tokugawa remnants retreated to northern Honshū ( Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei ) and later to Ezo (present-day Hokkaidō ), where they established
8040-428: The battle extended beyond the traditional lands of the Manchu people , the coordinated and integrated invasions of Japan's northern territories has also been called the Battle of Manchuria . Since 1983, the operation has sometimes been called Operation August Storm , after American Army historian Lieutenant-colonel David Glantz used this title for a paper on the subject. It has also been referred to by its Soviet name,
8160-442: The beginning of the Allied occupation of Japan , during which United States military leader Douglas MacArthur administered the country. In 1947, through Allied efforts, a new Japan's constitution was enacted, officially ending the Japanese Empire and forming modern Japan . During this time, the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces were dissolved. It was later replaced by the current Japan Self-Defense Forces in 1954. Reconstruction under
8280-439: The breakaway Republic of Ezo . An expeditionary force was dispatched by the new government and the Ezo Republic forces were overwhelmed. The siege of Hakodate came to an end in May 1869 and the remaining forces surrendered. The Charter Oath was made public at the enthronement of Emperor Meiji of Japan on April 7, 1868. The Oath outlined the main aims and the course of action to be followed during Emperor Meiji's reign, setting
8400-406: The cabinet demanded that there be guarantees from the British in return for the risks and costs of the major deployment of Japanese troops. On July 6, 1900, the 5th Infantry Division was alerted for possible deployment to China, but no timetable was set for this. Two days later, with more ground troops urgently needed to lift the siege of the foreign legations at Peking, the British ambassador offered
8520-494: The centuries-old Chinese suzerainty . On June 4, 1894, Korea requested aid from the Qing Empire in suppressing the Donghak Rebellion . The Qing government sent 2,800 troops to Korea. The Japanese countered by sending an 8,000-troop expeditionary force (the Oshima Composite Brigade) to Korea. The first 400 troops arrived on June 9 en route to Seoul , and 3,000 landed at Incheon on June 12. The Qing government turned down Japan's suggestion for Japan and China to cooperate to reform
8640-438: The chonmage ( chonmage ) hairstyle. During the early 20th century, the government was suspicious towards a number of unauthorized religious movements and periodically made attempts to suppress them. Government suppression was especially severe from the 1930s until the early 1940s, when the growth of Japanese nationalism and State Shinto were closely linked. Under the Meiji regime lèse majesté prohibited insults against
8760-699: The command of Captain Shimamura Hayao . The Japanese were able to contribute 52 men to the Seymour Expedition . On 12 June 1900, the advance of the Seymour Expedition was halted some 50 kilometres (30 mi) from the capital, by mixed Boxer and Chinese regular army forces. The vastly outnumbered allies withdrew to the vicinity of Tianjin , having suffered more than 300 casualties. The army general staff in Tokyo had become aware of
8880-573: The countryside, meant that abattoirs and workers were met with hostility from local residents. Continued ostracism as well as the decline in living standards led to former burakumin communities turning into slum areas. In the Blood tax riots , the Japanese Meiji government brutally put down revolts by Japanese samurai angry over the legal revocation of the traditional untouchable status of burakumin. The social tension continued to grow during
9000-602: The decentralized American system with no central bank. In 1871, the New Currency Act of Meiji 4 (1871) abolished the local currencies and established the yen as the new decimal currency. It had parity with the Mexican silver dollar. The First Sino-Japanese War , fought in 1894 and 1895, revolved around the issue of control and influence over Korea under the rule of the Joseon dynasty . Korea had traditionally been
9120-477: The double envelopment movement. As a secondary objective, the 1st Far East Front was to prevent Japanese forces from escaping to Korea and to then invade the Korean Peninsula up to the 38th parallel , establishing in the process what later became North Korea . The 2nd Far East Front, under General Purkayev , was in a supporting attack role. Its objectives were the cities of Harbin and Qiqihar and
9240-637: The early 20th century resulted in a Japanese victory and the Treaty of Portsmouth by which, in conjunction with other later events including the Mukden Incident and Japanese invasion of Manchuria in September 1931, Japan eventually gained control of Korea, Manchuria and South Sakhalin. In the late 1930s were a number of Soviet-Japanese border incidents , the most significant being the Battle of Lake Khasan (Changkufeng Incident, July–August 1938) and
9360-437: The emperor, agreeing to "be the instrument for carrying out" imperial orders, leading to the end of the Tokugawa shogunate. However, while Yoshinobu's resignation had created a nominal void at the highest level of government, his apparatus of state continued to exist. Moreover, the shogunal government, the Tokugawa family in particular, remained a prominent force in the evolving political order and retained many executive powers,
9480-487: The eventual defeat of Germany becoming increasingly certain, the Soviet attitude to Japan changed, both publicly, with Stalin making speeches denouncing Japan, and privately, with the Soviets building up forces and supplies in the Far East. At the Tehran Conference (November 1943), Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt agreed that the Soviet Union would enter the war against Japan once Germany was defeated. Stalin faced
9600-808: The fact that, on 3 August, Marshal Aleksandr Vasilevsky reported to Stalin that, if necessary, he could attack on the morning of 5 August. The timing was well-planned and enabled the Soviet Union to enter the Pacific Theater on the side of the Allies, as previously agreed, before the war's end. The proposed Soviet invasion of Hokkaido was originally planned to be part of the territory taken. At 11 pm Trans-Baikal time (17:00 in Moscow time) on 8 August 1945, Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov informed Japanese ambassador Naotake Satō in Kremlin that
9720-727: The fastest modernization of any country to date. All of these aspects contributed to Japan's emergence as a great power following the First Sino-Japanese War , the Boxer Rebellion , the Russo-Japanese War , and World War I . Economic and political turmoil in the 1920s, including the Great Depression , led to the rise of militarism , nationalism , statism and authoritarianism, and this ideological shift eventually culminated in Japan joining
9840-463: The few great powers that determine the fate of the world. In the 1860s, Japan began to experience great social turmoil and rapid modernization. The feudal caste system in Japan formally ended in 1869 with the Meiji restoration . In 1871, the newly formed Meiji government issued a decree called Senmin Haishirei ( 賤民廃止令 Edict Abolishing Ignoble Classes ) giving burakumin equal legal status. It
9960-488: The first time in the 1854 Convention of Kanagawa between the United States and the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate . This meaning is significant in terms of geography, encompassing Japan, and its surrounding areas. The nomenclature Empire of Japan had existed since the anti-Tokugawa domains, Satsuma and Chōshū , which founded their new government during the Meiji Restoration , with the intention of forming
10080-474: The following: The withdrawal of the Kwantung Army's elite forces for redeployment into the Pacific Theatre made new operational plans for the defence of Manchuria against a seemingly-inevitable Soviet attack prepared by the Japanese in the summer of 1945. They called for the redeployment of most forces from the border areas, which were to be held lightly with delaying actions. The main force was to hold
10200-488: The immediate establishment of an elected national assembly , and the promulgation of a constitution. The constitution recognized the need for change and modernization after the removal of the shogunate : We, the Successor to the prosperous Throne of Our Predecessors, do humbly and solemnly swear to the Imperial Founder of Our House and to Our other Imperial Ancestors that, in pursuance of a great policy co-extensive with
10320-527: The invasion could begin. In the last days of World War II , the Soviet Union declared war on Japan (August 9), as Joseph Stalin secretly agreed at Tehran and Yalta . The Soviet declaration of war was a major factor for the surrender of Japan on August 15. Although all other Allies , including the United States, ceased all hostilities upon the surrender, Stalin ordered his troops to continue fighting to capture more Japanese territory and to put
10440-618: The invasion fell between the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima on 6 August and Nagasaki on 9 August. Although Stalin had been told virtually nothing of the US and UK's atomic bomb program by Allied governments, the date of the invasion was foreshadowed by the Yalta agreement, the date of the German surrender (on 9 May 1945, implying a deadline for Stalin to enter the war against Japan by August 9 1945), and
10560-619: The invasion. Even with American ships lent to the Soviets during Project Hula , the Soviet Navy did not have enough transport space to carry both divisions from Sakhalin in one lift and so it planned to make two trips. Admiral Ivan Yumashev planned to start the Rumoi landing at 05:00 on August 24. The Soviet high command dictated that although logistical preparations should go forward, the invasion should not begin without explicit authorization from headquarters. US President Harry Truman
10680-607: The land advance: three in northern Korea , one in South Sakhalin , and one in the Chishima Islands . In Korea at least, there were already Soviet soldiers waiting for the troops coming overland. In Karafuto and the Chishimas, that meant a sudden and undeniable establishment of Soviet sovereignty. On 10 August, the US government proposed to the Soviet government to divide the occupation of Korea between them at
10800-526: The legal stage for Japan's modernization. The Meiji leaders also aimed to boost morale and win financial support for the new government . Japan dispatched the Iwakura Mission in 1871. The mission traveled the world in order to renegotiate the unequal treaties with the United States and European countries that Japan had been forced into during the Tokugawa shogunate, and to gather information on western social and economic systems, in order to effect
10920-565: The modernization of Japan. Renegotiation of the unequal treaties was universally unsuccessful, but close observation of the American and European systems inspired members on their return to bring about modernization initiatives in Japan. Japan made a territorial delimitation treaty with Russia in 1875, gaining all the Kuril islands in exchange for Sakhalin island . The Japanese government sent observers to Western countries to observe and learn their practices, and also paid " foreign advisors " in
11040-638: The new main battle tank T-44 and a small number of JS-3 heavy tanks. The Transbaikal Front, under Marshal Rodion Malinovsky , was to form the western half of the Soviet pincer movement and to attack across the Inner Mongolian desert and over the Greater Khingan mountains. These forces had the objective to secure Mukden (now Shenyang ), then meet troops of the 1st Far East Front at the Changchun area in south-central Manchuria and so end
11160-618: The prevention of an orderly withdrawal to the south by Japanese forces. Once troops from the 1st Far East Front and Trans-Baikal Front had captured the city of Changchun, the 2nd Far East Front was to attack the Liaotung Peninsula and seize Port Arthur (present day Lüshun ). The Kwantung Army of the Imperial Japanese Army , under General Otozō Yamada , was the major part of the Japanese occupation forces in Manchuria and Korea and consisted of two Area Armies:
11280-637: The process out as long as possible but continued to prepare their invasion forces. One of the roles of the Cabinet of Admiral Baron Suzuki, which took office in April 1945, was to try to secure any peace terms short of unconditional surrender. In late June, they approached the Soviets (the Neutrality Pact was still in place), inviting them to negotiate peace with the Allies in support of Japan, providing them with specific proposals and in return, they offered
11400-504: The rail link. The Far East Command, under Vasilevsky, had a plan for the conquest of Manchuria that was simple but huge in scale by calling for a massive pincer movement over all of Manchuria. The pincer movement was to be performed by the Transbaikal Front from the west and by the 1st Far East Front from the east. The 2nd Far East Front was to attack the center of the pocket from the north. The only Soviet equivalent of
11520-456: The same time, there were reports saying that Japanese Army aviation were using kamikaze planes in an attempt to stop the Soviet advance. The Soviet pincer from the east crossed the Ussuri and advanced around Khanka Lake and attacked towards Suifenhe . Although Japanese defenders fought hard and provided strong resistance, the Soviets proved to be overwhelming. Nevertheless, the prospect of
11640-479: The samurai class, which was abolished together with the caste system. This would later bring the Meiji government into conflict with the samurai . Several writers, under the constant threat of assassination from their political foes, were influential in winning Japanese support for westernization . One such writer was Fukuzawa Yukichi , whose works included "Conditions in the West", " Leaving Asia ", and "An Outline of
11760-426: The small number of Soviet transport ships, the small number of Soviet ground forces planned for the invasion, and the availability of Japanese air power including kamikaze planes to contest a Soviet landing. Soviet forces suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Shumshu during the invasion of the Kuril Islands, and historians foresaw similar problems plaguing an invasion of Hokkaido. Dennis Giangreco believes that
11880-543: The southeastern corner in strength to defend Korea from attack. Furthermore, the Japanese had observed Soviet activity only on the Trans-Siberian Railway and along the East Manchurian front and so prepared for an invasion from the east. They believed that when an attack occurred from the west, their redeployed forces would be able to deal with it. Although the redeployment had been initiated, it
12000-623: The time was heavily engaged in the Boer War , so a large part of the British army was tied down in South Africa. Further, deploying large numbers of troops from its garrisons in India would take too much time and weaken internal security there. Overriding personal doubts, Foreign Minister Aoki Shūzō calculated that the advantages of participating in an allied coalition were too attractive to ignore. Prime Minister Yamagata agreed, but others in
12120-652: The total, 20,300 were Imperial Japanese Army troops of the 5th Infantry Division under Lt. General Yamaguchi Motoomi; the remainder were 540 naval rikusentai (marines) from the Imperial Japanese Navy . At the beginning of the Boxer Rebellion the Japanese only had 215 troops in northern China stationed at Tientsin; nearly all of them were naval rikusentai from the Kasagi and the Atago , under
12240-468: The town of Hailar , which tied down some of the Soviet forces. At the same time, Soviet airborne units were used to seize airfields and city centers in advance of the land forces and to ferry fuel to the units that had outrun their supply lines. Due to Japanese 37mm and 47mm anti-tank guns only being suitable for fighting light Soviet tanks, the Japanese employed suicide bomber squads strapped with grenades and explosives as their improvised anti-tank weapon. At
12360-510: The treaty. That caused the Japanese considerable concern, but the Soviets went to great efforts to assure the Japanese that the treaty would still be in force for another twelve months and that the Japanese had nothing to worry about. On 9 May 1945 (Moscow Time), Germany surrendered and so if the Soviets were to honour the Yalta Agreement, they would need to enter war with Japan by 9 August 1945. The situation continued to deteriorate for
12480-531: The two-hundred-year-old Tokugawa shogunate. Tokugawa Yoshinobu launched a military campaign to seize the emperor's court in Kyoto. However, the tide rapidly turned in favor of the smaller but relatively modernized imperial faction and resulted in defections of many daimyōs to the Imperial side. The Battle of Toba–Fushimi was a decisive victory in which a combined army from Chōshū, Tosa, and Satsuma domains defeated
12600-714: The war against Japan once Germany was defeated. An Anglo-American delegation visited Moscow in October 1944 to discuss the Soviet Union joining the war against Japan. The meeting with Stalin on 15 October discussed the Soviet Union's participation, and Stalin said that the Soviet offensive could need American material assistance because of the limited freight capacity of the Trans-Siberian Railway ; see Pacific Route . British participants included Winston Churchill , Anthony Eden , Field Marshal Sir Alan Brooke , and General Hastings Ismay . The American representative
12720-601: The worsening conditions in China and had drafted ambitious contingency plans, but in the wake of the Triple Intervention five years before, the government refused to deploy large numbers of troops unless requested by the western powers. However three days later, a provisional force of 1,300 troops commanded by Major General Fukushima Yasumasa was to be deployed to northern China. Fukushima was chosen because he spoke fluent English which enabled him to communicate with
12840-773: Was W. Averell Harriman . At the Yalta Conference in February 1945, Stalin agreed to Allied pleas to enter World War II in the Pacific Theater within three months of the end of the war in Europe . On 26 July, the US, the UK, and China made the Potsdam Declaration , an ultimatum calling for the Japanese surrender that if ignored would lead to their "prompt and utter destruction". The commencement of
12960-596: Was a campaign of the Second World War that began with the Soviet invasion of Manchuria following the Soviet declaration of war against Japan on 8 August 1945. The Soviet Union and Mongolian People's Republic toppled the Japanese puppet states of Manchukuo in Manchuria and Mengjiang in Inner Mongolia , as well as northern Korea , Karafuto on the island of Sakhalin , and the Kuril Islands . The defeat of Japan's Kwantung Army helped bring about
13080-456: Was among the first Protestant literature in Japan. In 1865, McCartee moved back to Ningbo , China, but others have followed in his footsteps. There was a burst of growth of Christianity in the late 19th century when Japan re-opened its doors to the West. Protestant church growth slowed dramatically in the early 20th century under the influence of the military government during the Shōwa period . Under
13200-424: Was characterized by rapid industrialization , the development of a capitalist economy , and the transformation of many feudal workers to wage labour . The use of strike action also increased, and 1897, with the establishment of a union for metalworkers, the foundations of the modern Japanese trade-union movement were formed. Samurai were allowed to work in any occupation they wanted. Admission to universities
13320-422: Was determined based on examination results. The government also recruited more than 3,000 Westerners to teach modern science, mathematics, technology, and foreign languages in Japan ( O-yatoi gaikokujin ). Despite this, social mobility was still low due to samurai and their descendants being overrepresented in the new elite class. After sending observers to the United States, the Empire of Japan initially copied
13440-701: Was founded, de jure , after the 1889 signing of Constitution of the Empire of Japan. The constitution formalized much of the Empire's political structure and gave many responsibilities and powers to the Emperor. In 1890, the Imperial Diet was established in response to the Meiji Constitution. The Diet consisted of the House of Representatives of Japan and the House of Peers . Both houses opened seats for colonial people as well as Japanese. The Imperial Diet continued until 1947. Economic development
13560-569: Was in combat support and services. Its naval forces contained 12 major surface combatants, 78 submarines, numerous amphibious craft, and the Amur River flotilla , consisting of gunboats and numerous small craft. The Soviet plan incorporated all the experience in maneuver warfare that the Soviets had acquired fighting the Germans, and also used new improved weapons, such as the RPD light machine gun ,
13680-681: Was issued on 2 September 1945 in compliance with the Potsdam Declaration of the Allies , and the empire's territory subsequently shrunk to cover only the Japanese archipelago resembling modern Japan. Under the slogans of fukoku kyōhei and shokusan kōgyō , which followed the Boshin War and the restoration of power to the Emperor from the Shogun , Japan underwent a period of large-scale industrialization and militarization , often regarded as
13800-488: Was not supposed to be completed until September and so the Kwantung Army was in the process of redeployment when the Soviets launched their attack simultaneously on all three fronts. The operation was carried out as a classic double pincer movement over an area the size of Western Europe. In the western pincer, the Red Army advanced over the deserts and mountains from Mongolia, far from their resupply railways. That confused
13920-517: Was prompted by his learning of a series of arson attacks in Edo, starting with the burning of the outworks of Edo Castle , the main Tokugawa residence. The Boshin War ( 戊辰戦争 , Boshin Sensō ) was fought between January 1868 and May 1869. The alliance of samurai from southern and western domains and court officials had now secured the cooperation of the young Emperor Meiji, who ordered the dissolution of
14040-415: Was repressed and adherents were persecuted. After the Tokugawa shogunate banned Christianity in 1620, it ceased to exist publicly. Many Catholics went underground, becoming hidden Christians ( 隠れキリシタン , kakure kirishitan ) , while others lost their lives. After Japan was opened to foreign powers in 1853, many Christian clergymen were sent from Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox churches, though proselytism
14160-544: Was seen as revenge for Russia's defeat in the Russo-Japanese War of 1905. Japanese evacuees fled to Beijing , and told stories of the Soviet forces' mistreatment of the Japanese, which sparked panic among the Japanese populace. Nevertheless, the Russians stayed out of China proper in accordance with their agreement with Chiang Kai-shek. On 18 August, several Soviet amphibious landings had been conducted ahead of
14280-501: Was still banned. Only after the Meiji Restoration, was Christianity re-established in Japan. Freedom of religion was introduced in 1871, giving all Christian communities the right to legal existence and preaching. Eastern Orthodoxy was brought to Japan in the 19th century by St. Nicholas (baptized as Ivan Dmitrievich Kasatkin), who was sent in 1861 by the Russian Orthodox Church to Hakodate , Hokkaidō as priest to
14400-406: Was willing to accept the Soviet annexation of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, which remained part of the Soviet Union after the war, but he staunchly opposed any Soviet escapade on Hokkaido. The Potsdam Declaration intended for all of the Japanese home islands to be surrendered to US General Douglas MacArthur , rather than to the Soviets and so Truman refused to allow the Soviets to participate in
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