Editing Japan (section)

===Modern era===
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 | caption1 =  {{nihongo|[[Emperor Meiji]]|明治天皇|Meiji-tennō}}; 1852–1912

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 | caption2 = The [[Empire of Japan]] and its influence, 1942
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The [[United States Navy]] sent Commodore [[Matthew C. Perry]] to force the opening of Japan to the outside world. Arriving at [[Uraga, Kanagawa|Uraga]] with four "[[Black Ships]]" in July 1853, the [[Perry Expedition]] resulted in the March 1854 [[Convention of Kanagawa]].<ref name="Closed"/> Subsequent similar treaties with other Western countries brought economic and political crises.<ref name="Closed"/> The resignation of the {{transliteration|ja|shōgun}} led to the [[Boshin War]] and the establishment of a [[Abolition of the han system|centralized state]] nominally unified under the emperor (the [[Meiji Restoration]]).<ref>{{cite book|last=Totman|first=Conrad|title=A History of Japan|edition=2nd|year=2005|publisher=Blackwell|isbn=978-1-4051-2359-4|pages=289–296|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z_a_QgAACAAJ}}</ref> Adopting Western political, judicial, and military institutions, the [[Cabinet of Japan|Cabinet]] organized the [[Privy Council (Japan)|Privy Council]], introduced the [[Meiji Constitution]] (November 29, 1890), and assembled the [[National Diet|Imperial Diet]].<ref name=modernnation>{{cite book|chapter=Building a Modern Nation: the Meiji Period (1868–1912)|pages=75–107|author=Henshall, Kenneth|title=A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower|isbn=978-0-230-36918-4|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2012}}</ref> During the [[Meiji period]] (1868–1912), the [[Empire of Japan]] emerged as the most developed state in [[Asia]] and as an industrialized world power that pursued military conflict to expand its sphere of influence.<ref>{{cite book|last=McCargo|first=Duncan|title=Contemporary Japan|year=2000|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-0-333-71000-5|pages=18–19|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8au8QgAACAAJ}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=The Political Economy of Growth|last=Baran|first=Paul|publisher=Monthly Review Press|year=1962|isbn=|page=160}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Totman|first=Conrad|title=A History of Japan|edition=2nd|year=2005|publisher=Blackwell|isbn=978-1-4051-2359-4|pages=312–314|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z_a_QgAACAAJ}}</ref> After victories in the [[First Sino-Japanese War]] (1894–1895) and the [[Russo-Japanese War]] (1904–1905), Japan gained control of Taiwan, Korea and the southern half of [[Sakhalin]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Matsusaka|first=Y. Tak|title=Companion to Japanese History|year=2009|publisher=Blackwell|isbn=978-1-4051-1690-9|pages=224–241|editor=Tsutsui, William M.|chapter=The Japanese Empire}}</ref><ref name=modernnation/> and annexed Korea in 1910.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=October 15, 2019 |title=Japanese Colonial Ideology In Korea (1905&ndash;1945)|journal=The Yale Review of International Studies |url=https://yris.yira.org/essays/japanese-colonial-ideology-in-korea-1905-1945/S|author=Yi Wei}}</ref> The Japanese population doubled from 35&nbsp;million in 1873 to 70&nbsp;million by 1935, with a significant shift to urbanization.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hiroshi|first=Shimizu|title=Japan and Singapore in the world economy: Japan's economic advance into Singapore, 1870–1965|year=1999|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-19236-1|author2=Hitoshi, Hirakawa|page=17|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7k0F8YoZ6P0C}}</ref><ref name=excesses>{{cite book|chapter=The Excesses of Ambition: the Pacific War and its Lead-Up|pages=108–141|author=Henshall, Kenneth|title=A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower|isbn=978-0-230-36918-4|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2012}}</ref>

The early 20th century saw a period of [[Taishō period|Taishō democracy]] (1912–1926) overshadowed by increasing [[expansionism]] and [[Japanese militarism|militarization]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Pursuit of Power in Modern Japan 1825–1995|chapter=Taisho Democracy and the First World War|doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198205890.001.0001|last=Tsuzuki|first=Chushichi|year=2011|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-820589-0}}</ref><ref name=ramesh>{{cite book|chapter=The Taisho Period (1912–1926): Transition from Democracy to a Military Economy|title=China's Economic Rise|last=Ramesh|first=S|pages=173–209|isbn=978-3-030-49811-5|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2020}}</ref> [[Japan during World War I|World War I]] allowed Japan, which joined the side of the victorious [[Allies of World War I|Allies]], to capture [[German colonial empire|German possessions]] in the [[Pacific]] and China in [[Treaty of Versailles|1920]].<ref name=ramesh/> The 1920s saw a political shift towards [[Statism in Shōwa Japan|statism]], a period of lawlessness following the 1923 [[Great Tokyo Earthquake]], the passing of [[Peace Preservation Law|laws against political dissent]], and a series of [[May 15 Incident|attempted coups]].<ref name=excesses/><ref>{{cite book|title=Nationalism Today: Extreme Political Movements around the World|page=20|editor=Burnett, M. Troy|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|page=268|title=Embracing 'Asia' in China and Japan|year=2018|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|last=Weber|first=Torsten}}</ref> This process accelerated during the 1930s, spawning several radical nationalist groups that shared a hostility to liberal democracy and a dedication to expansion in Asia.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Young |first=Louise |chapter=The Breakdown in Democracy in 1930s Japan |date=2024 |title=When Democracy Breaks |pages=108–141 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-776078-3}}</ref> In 1931, Japan [[Japanese invasion of Manchuria|invaded China and occupied Manchuria]], which led to the establishment of [[puppet state]] of [[Manchukuo]] in 1932; following [[Lytton Report|international condemnation of the occupation]], it resigned from the [[League of Nations]] in 1933.<ref name="Inc1945">{{cite magazine|title=The Japanese Nation: It has a history of feudalism, nationalism, war and now defeat|magazine=LIFE|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t0kEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA109|date=September 17, 1945|volume=19|issue=12|pages=109–111}}</ref> In 1936, Japan signed the [[Anti-Comintern Pact]] with [[Nazi Germany]]; the 1940 [[Tripartite Pact]] made it one of the [[Axis powers]].<ref name=excesses/>
[[File:Mamoru Shigemitsu signs the Instrument of Surrender, officially ending the Second World War.jpg|thumb|Japan's imperial ambitions ended on September 2, 1945, with the country's surrender to the Allies.]]
The Empire of Japan invaded other parts of China in 1937, precipitating the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]] (1937–1945).<ref name="Paine2012">{{cite book|first=S. C. M.|last=Paine|title=The Wars for Asia, 1911–1949|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bAYgAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA123|year=2012|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-139-56087-0|pages=123–125}}</ref> In 1940, the Empire [[Japanese invasion of French Indochina|invaded French Indochina]], after which the United States placed an oil embargo on Japan.<ref name=excesses/><ref>{{cite book| first=Roland H. Jr. |last=Worth|title=No Choice But War: the United States Embargo Against Japan and the Eruption of War in the Pacific|publisher=McFarland|year=1995|pages=56, 86|isbn=978-0-7864-0141-3|url={{Google books|ezBnAAAAMAAJ|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} }}</ref> On December 7–8, 1941, Japanese forces carried out surprise [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|attacks on Pearl Harbor]], as well as on British forces in [[Battle of Malaya|Malaya]], [[Bombing of Singapore (1941)|Singapore]], and [[Battle of Hong Kong|Hong Kong]], among others, beginning [[Pacific War|World War II in the Pacific]].<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Introduction: December 7/8, 1941|last1=Bailey|first1=Beth|last2=Farber|first2=David|pages=1–8|title=Beyond Pearl Harbor: A Pacific History|year=2019|publisher=University Press of Kansas}}</ref> Throughout areas occupied by Japan during the war, numerous abuses were committed against local inhabitants, with many forced into [[Comfort women|sexual slavery]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Yōko|first=Hayashi|title=Issues Surrounding the Wartime "Comfort Women"|journal=Review of Japanese Culture and Society|year=1999–2000|volume=11/12|issue=Special Issue|pages=54–65|jstor=42800182}}</ref> After [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] victories during the next four years, which culminated in the [[Soviet invasion of Manchuria]] and the [[atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki]] in 1945, Japan agreed to [[Surrender of Japan|an unconditional surrender]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Pape|first=Robert A.|title=Why Japan Surrendered|journal=International Security|year=1993|volume=18|issue=2|pages=154–201|doi=10.2307/2539100}}</ref> The war cost Japan millions of lives and [[Territorial conquests of the Empire of Japan|its colonies]], including ''[[de jure]]'' parts of Japan such as [[Korea under Japanese rule|Korea]], [[Taiwan under Japanese rule|Taiwan]], [[Karafuto Prefecture|Karafuto]], and the [[Kuril Islands|Kurils]].<ref name=excesses/> The Allies (led by the United States) repatriated millions of [[Japanese diaspora|Japanese settlers]] from their former colonies and military camps throughout Asia, largely eliminating the [[Empire of Japan]] and its influence over the territories it conquered.<ref>{{cite book|last=Watt|first=Lori|title=When Empire Comes Home: Repatriation and Reintegration in Postwar Japan|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=2010|isbn=978-0-674-05598-8|pages=1–4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_F3AN6x6AQ8C}}</ref><ref name=phoenix/> The Allies convened the [[International Military Tribunal for the Far East]] to prosecute Japanese leaders except the Emperor<ref>{{Cite web |last=Frank|first=Richard|date=August 26, 2020 |title=The Fate of Emperor Hirohito |url=https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/what-happened-to-emperor-hirohito |publisher=The National WWII Museum |archivedate=May 9, 2024 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20240509105645/https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/what-happened-to-emperor-hirohito |url-status=live }}</ref> for [[Japanese war crimes]].<ref name=phoenix>{{cite book|chapter=A Phoenix from the Ashes: Postwar Successes and Beyond|pages=142–180|author=Henshall, Kenneth|title=A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower|isbn=978-0-230-36918-4|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2012}}</ref>

In 1947, Japan adopted [[Constitution of Japan|a new constitution]] emphasizing liberal democratic practices.<ref name=phoenix/> The [[Occupation of Japan|Allied occupation]] ended with the [[Treaty of San Francisco]] in 1952,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2007/03/06/national/52-coup-plot-bid-to-rearm-japan-cia/|title='52 coup plot bid to rearm Japan: CIA|first=Joseph|last=Coleman|date=March 6, 2007|newspaper=The Japan Times|archive-date=April 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160411091335/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2007/03/06/national/52-coup-plot-bid-to-rearm-japan-cia/|url-status=dead}}</ref> and Japan was granted membership in the [[United Nations]] in 1956.<ref name=phoenix/> [[Japanese economic miracle|A period of record growth]] propelled Japan to become the world's [[List of countries by largest historical GDP|second-largest economy at that time]];<ref name=phoenix/> this ended in the mid-1990s after the popping of [[Japanese asset price bubble|an asset price bubble]], beginning the "[[Lost Decade (Japan)|Lost Decade]]".<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1111/1467-9701.00522|title=The bubble and the lost decade|last1=Saxonhouse|first1=Gary|last2=Stern|first2=Robert|journal=The World Economy|year=2003|pages=267–281|volume=26|issue=3|hdl=2027.42/71597|hdl-access=free}}</ref> In 2011, Japan suffered one of the largest earthquakes in its recorded history—the [[2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami|Tōhoku earthquake]]—triggering the [[Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster]].<ref name="nytimes-tsunami">{{cite news|last1=Fackler|first1=Martin|author1-link=Martin Fackler (journalist)|last2=Drew|first2= Kevin|title=Devastation as Tsunami Crashes Into Japan|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/12/world/asia/12japan.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220103/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/12/world/asia/12japan.html |archive-date=January 3, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|newspaper=The New York Times|date=March 11, 2011}}{{cbignore}}</ref> On May 1, 2019, after the historic [[abdication of Emperor Akihito]], his son [[Naruhito]] became Emperor, beginning the {{Lang|ja-latn|[[Reiwa]]}} era.<ref>{{cite web|title=Japan's emperor thanks country, prays for peace before abdication|url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Japan-s-Reiwa-era/Japan-s-emperor-thanks-country-prays-for-peace-before-abdication|website=Nikkei Asian Review|date=April 30, 2019|archivedate=May 11, 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200511172939/https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Japan-s-Reiwa-era/Japan-s-emperor-thanks-country-prays-for-peace-before-abdication|url-status=live}}</ref>