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{{Infobox national military
|country= Japan
|name=Military history of Japan
|image=
|caption=794 AD
|founded= [[Jōmon period|Jōmon]] – 1000 BC
|current_form= {{Flagicon|Japan}} [[Japan Self-Defense Forces]]
|branches={{Army|Japan}}<br />{{Navy|Japan}}<br /> {{Air force|Japan}}
|headquarters={{nowrap|[[Ministry of Defense (Japan)|Ministry of Defense]], [[Tokyo]], [[Japan]]}}
<!-- Related articles -->
|history= {{collapsible list
  |titlestyle = background:transparent;text-align:left;font-weight:normal;
  |title =
|[[Emperor Jimmu|East Expedition of Emperor Jimmu]]<br />[[Civil war of Wa]]<br />[[Empress Jingū|Expeditions of Empress Jingū]]<br />[[Goguryeo–Wa conflicts]]<br />[[Mishihase|Mishihase War]]<br />[[Baekje-Tang War]]<br />[[Jinshin War]]<br />[[Emishi#Thirty-Eight Years' War|Thirty-Eight Years' War]] <br />[[Former Nine Years' War]]<br />[[Gosannen War]]<br />[[Genpei War]]<br />[[Jōkyū War]]<br />[[Mongol invasions of Japan]]<br />[[Genkō War]]<br />[[Ōei Invasion]]<br />[[Ōnin War]]<br />[[Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598)|Seven Year War]]<br />[[Invasion of Ryukyu]]<br />[[Shimabara Rebellion]]<br />[[Bombardment of Kagoshima]]<br />[[Shimonoseki Campaign]]<br />[[Second Chōshū expedition|Summer War]]<br />[[Boshin War]]<br />[[Satsuma Rebellion]]<br />[[First Sino-Japanese War]]<br />[[Japanese invasion of Taiwan (1895)|Japanese invasion of Taiwan]]<br />[[Boxer Rebellion]]<br />[[Russo-Japanese War]]<br />[[World War I]]<br />[[Siberian Intervention]]<br />[[Japanese invasion of Manchuria]]<br />[[Second Sino-Japanese War]]<br />[[Japanese invasion of French Indochina|Invasion of French Indochina]]<br />[[Pacific War]]<br />[[World War II]]<br />[[War in Vietnam (1945–46)|Operation Masterdom]]<br />[[Battle of Amami-Ōshima]]<br />[[Iraq War]]<br />[[Operation Ocean Shield]]<br />[[List of wars involving Japan]]
}}
}}
{{History of Japan |topics |image=Akiyama Buemon - Tsuki hyakushi - Walters 95348.jpg}}

The '''military history of Japan''' covers a vast time-period of over three [[millennia]] - from the [[Jōmon period|Jōmon]] ({{circa}} 1000 BC) to the present day. After a long period of [[clan]] [[warfare]] until the 12th century, there followed [[feudal]] [[war]]s that culminated in military governments known as the [[Shōgun|Shogunate]]. [[History of Japan]] records that a military class and the [[Shōgun]] ruled [[Japan]] for 676 years - from 1192 until 1868. The Shōgun and the [[samurai]] warriors stood near the apex of the Japanese [[social structure]] - only the aristocratic nobility nominally outranked them.<ref name="Japans-Arduous-Rejuvenation"/>  The [[sakoku]] policy effectively closed Japan from foreign influences for 212 years - from 1641 to 1853. Feudal militarism transitioned to imperialism in the 19th century after the [[Perry Expedition|arrival of U.S. Admiral Matthew C. Perry]] in 1853 and the elevation of [[Emperor Meiji]] in 1868. [[Colonial empire|Western colonial powers]] and their [[Western imperialism in Asia|imperialist]] policies impacted on Japan's outlook and led to [[Japanese colonial empire|Japanese colonialism]] and rampant imperialism ({{circa}} 1895 - 1945) until [[Surrender of Japan|Japan's defeat]] in [[World War II]]. The [[Constitution of Japan|1947 Japanese Constitution]] prohibits Japan from offensively using war against other nations. This led to the establishment of the [[Japan Self-Defense Forces]] in 1954. The [[U.S.–Japan Alliance]] (1951 onwards) requires the [[United States]] to protect Japan and to conduct offensive{{citation needed|date=December 2020}} duties. In 2015, the Japanese government voted to [[2015 Japanese military legislation|reinterpret the constitution]] to allow [[Collective security|collective self-defense]] of Japan's allies.<ref name="bbc">{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34101222 | title=Japan military legislation changes draw protests | publisher=BBC | date=30 August 2015 | accessdate=20 September 2015}}</ref>

As of 1954 the [[Japan Self-Defense Forces]] (JSDF) consist of the [[Japan Ground Self-Defense Force]] (JGSDF), [[Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force]] (JMSDF) and [[Japan Air Self-Defense Force]] (JASDF).<ref name="Takei"/> The [[Prime Minister of Japan|Prime Minister]] is the [[commander-in-chief]] of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Military authority runs from the Prime Minister to the cabinet-level [[Minister of Defense (Japan)|Minister of Defense]] of the [[Ministry of Defense (Japan)|Japanese Ministry of Defense]].<ref name="reorg" /> The Prime Minister and Minister of Defense are advised by the [[Chief of Staff, Joint Staff]], who heads the {{Nihongo|[[Joint Staff (Japan)|Joint Staff]]|統合幕僚監部|Tōgō Bakuryō Kanbu}}.<ref>{{cite web |title= Organization of JS |url= https://www.mod.go.jp/js/e_organization.htm |website= Ministry of Defense |access-date= 7 September 2019}}</ref> The Chief of Staff, Joint Staff, is the highest-ranking military officer in the Japan Self-Defense Forces, and is the head of the [[Operational Authority]] over the JSDF, executing orders of the Minister of Defense with directions from the Prime Minister.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia
|encyclopedia= Nihon Daihyakka Zensho (Nipponika) |script-title= ja:自衛隊: 組織 |url= http://rekishi.jkn21.com/ |access-date= 2012-07-15 |year= 2012 |publisher= Shogakukan |location= Tokyo |language= ja |trans-title= JSDF: Organization |oclc= 153301537 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070825113418/http://rekishi.jkn21.com/ |archive-date= 2007-08-25
}}</ref>

==Prehistoric and Ancient Japan==
[[File:Yayoi-armor.png|thumb|right|[[Yayoi]] wooden armor replica. [[National Museum of Japanese History]].]]

===Jōmon period (14,000–1000 BC)===
{{Main|Jōmon Period}}

The [[Jōmon period]] is the time in [[Japanese prehistory]] between {{circa}}&nbsp;[[Upper Paleolithic|14,000]] and 1000 BC{{sfn|Habu|2004|pp=3, 258}}<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Timothy Jinam |author2=Hideaki Kanzawa-Kiriyama |author3=Naruya Saitou |date=2015 |title=Human genetic diversity in the Japanese Archipelago: dual structure and beyond |journal=Genes & Genetic Systems |volume=90 |issue=3 |pages=147–152 |doi=10.1266/ggs.90.147 |pmid=26510569 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{citation|last=Robbeets|first=Martine|title=Diachrony of Verb Morphology: Japanese and the Transeurasian Languages|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1u8xCgAAQBAJ|year=2015|publisher=De Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-039994-3|page=26}}</ref> during which the [[Japanese archipelago]] was inhabited by the [[Jōmon]], a [[hunter-gatherer]] culture that reached a considerable degree of [[sedentism]] and cultural complexity. The name "cord-marked" was first applied by the American scholar [[Edward S. Morse]], who discovered [[sherd]]s of [[Jōmon pottery|pottery]] in 1877 and subsequently translated it into [[Japanese language|Japanese]] as ''jōmon''.<ref name="Mason, 14">Mason, 14</ref> The pottery style characteristic of the first phases of Jōmon culture was decorated by impressing cords into the surface of wet clay and is generally accepted to be among the oldest in East Asia and the world.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Kuzmin | first1 = Y.V. | year = 2006 | title = Chronology of the Earliest Pottery in East Asia: Progress and Pitfalls | journal = Antiquity | volume = 80 | issue = 308| pages = 362–371 | doi=10.1017/s0003598x00093686| s2cid = 17316841 }}</ref>

Near the end of the Jōmon period ({{circa|1000 BC}}), villages and towns became surrounded by [[moat]]s and wooden fences due to increasing violence within or between communities. Battles were fought with weapons like the [[sword]], [[sling (weapon)|sling]], [[spear]], [[bow (weapon)|bow]] and [[arrow]]. Some human remains were found with arrow wounds.

===Yayoi period (1000 BC – 300 AD)===
{{Main|Yayoi Period}}

The [[Yayoi]] period is the [[Iron Age]] era of Japan from 1000 BC to 300 AD.<ref name="SchirokauerBrown2012">Schirokauer et al., 133–143.</ref><ref name="Silberman2012">Silberman et al., 154–155.</ref><ref name="Shinya">{{cite journal |url=http://www.seaa-web.org/bul-essay-01.htm |title=A Comment on the Yayoi Period Dating Controversy |journal=Bulletin of the Society for East Asian Archaeology |surname=Shōda |given=Shinya |year=2007 |volume=1 |access-date=2019-07-07 |archive-date=2019-08-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190801234503/http://www.seaa-web.org/bul-essay-01.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> Japan transitioned to a settled agricultural society.<ref>{{cite book | given = Stuart D. B. | surname = Picken | pages = [https://archive.org/details/historicaldictio00pick_147/page/n53 13] | title = Historical Dictionary of Japanese Business| year = 2007 | url = https://archive.org/details/historicaldictio00pick_147 | url-access = limited | publisher = Scarecrow Press| isbn = 9780810854697 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | given = Keiji | surname = Imamura | pages = 13 | title = Prehistoric Japan: New Perspectives on Insular East Asia | publisher = University of Hawaii Press}}</ref> There was a big influx of farmers from the Asian continent to Japan. The Yayoi culture flourished from southern [[Kyūshū]] to northern [[Honshū]]. The rapid increase of roughly four million people in Japan between the Jōmon and Yayoi periods are partially due to migration and due to a shift from a hunter-gatherer to an agricultural diet with the introduction of rice cultivation.<ref name="mizoguchi">{{cite book |title=The Archaeology of Japan: From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State |given=Koji |surname=Mizoguchi |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-521-88490-7 |pages=119 }}</ref>

[[Bronze]] goods and bronze-making techniques from the Asian mainland reached the Japanese archipelago as early as the 3rd century BC. It is believed that bronze and, later, [[iron]] implements and weapons were introduced to Japan near the end of this time (and well into the early Yamato period). Archaeological findings suggest that bronze and iron weapons were not used for war until later, starting at the beginning of the Yamato period, as the metal weapons found with human remains do not show wear consistent with use as weapons. The transition from the Jōmon to Yayoi, and later to the Yamato period, is likely to have been characterized by violent struggle as the natives were displaced and assimilated by the invaders with their vastly superior military technology.<ref>江上波夫 騎馬民族国家 {{ISBN|4-12-201126-4}}</ref> The most well-regarded theory is that present-day [[Yamato people|Yamato Japanese]] are descendants of both the Indigenous [[Jōmon people]] and the immigrant [[Yayoi people]].<ref name="Kiriyama17">{{cite journal |author1=Hideaki Kanzawa-Kiriyama |author2=Kirill Kryukov |author3=Timothy A Jinam |author4=Kazuyoshi Hosomichi |author5=Aiko Saso |author6=Gen Suwa |author7=Shintaroh Ueda |author8=Minoru Yoneda |author9=Atsushi Tajima |author10=Ken-ichi Shinoda |author11=Ituro Inoue |author12=Naruya Saitou1 |date=February 2017 |title=A partial nuclear genome of the Jomons who lived 3000 years ago in Fukushima, Japan |journal=[[Journal of Human Genetics]] |volume=62 |issue=2 |pages=213–221 |doi=10.1038/jhg.2016.110 |pmid=27581845 |pmc=5285490 }}</ref>

Around this time, [[San Guo Zhi]] first referred to the nation of "[[Wa (name of Japan)|Wa]]". According to this work, Wa was "divided into more than 100 tribes", and for some 70 or 80 years there were many disturbances and wars. About 30 communities had been united by a sorceress-queen named [[Himiko]]. She sent an emissary named [[Nashime]] ({{ill|難升米|ja|vertical-align=sup}}, Nashonmi in Chinese) with a tribute of slaves and cloth to [[Daifang]] in China, establishing diplomatic relations with [[Cao Wei]] (the Chinese kingdom of Wei).

==Classical Japan==
[[Image:KofunCuirass.jpg|thumb|Iron helmet and armour with gilt bronze decoration, [[Kofun era]], 5th century. [[Tokyo National Museum]].]]
By the end of the 4th century, the [[Yamato people|Yamato clan]] was well established on the [[Nara, Nara|Nara]] plain with considerable control over the surrounding areas. The [[Five kings of Wa]] sent envoys to China to recognize their dominion of the Japanese Islands. The [[Nihon Shoki]] states that the Yamato were strong enough to have [[Goguryeo–Wa conflicts|sent an army]] against the powerful northern Korean state of [[Goguryeo]] (of the [[Three Kingdoms of Korea]]). Yamato Japan had close relations with the southwestern Korean kingdom of [[Baekje]]. In 663, Japan, supporting Baekje, was defeated by the allied forces of [[Tang dynasty|Tang China]] and the southeastern Korean kingdom of [[Silla]], at the [[Battle of Baekgang|Battle of Hakusonko]] in the Korean peninsula. As a result, the Japanese were banished from the peninsula. To defend the Japanese archipelago, a military base was constructed in [[Dazaifu, Fukuoka]], on Kyushu.

===Yamato period (250–710 AD)===
{{Main|Yamato Period}}

This period is divided into the [[Kofun period|Kofun]] and [[Asuka period]]. Ancient Japan had close ties with the [[Gaya confederacy]] and [[Baekje]] on the [[Korean Peninsula]]. Gaya, where there was an abundance of naturally occurring iron, exported abundant quantities of iron armor and weapons to Wa, and there may have even been a Japanese military post there with Gaya and Baekje cooperation.{{Citation needed|date=November 2008}}.

In 552, the ruler of Baekje appealed to Yamato for help against its enemies, the neighboring [[Silla]]. Along with his emissaries to the Yamato court, the Baekje king sent bronze images of [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]], some Buddhist scriptures, and a letter praising [[Buddhism]]. These gifts triggered a powerful burst of interest in Buddhism.

In 663, near the end of the Korean Three Kingdoms period, the [[Battle of Baekgang]] (白村江) took place. The ''[[Nihon Shoki]]'' records that Yamato sent 32,000 troops and 1,000 ships to support Baekje against the Silla-Tang force. However, these ships were intercepted and defeated by a Silla-Tang fleet. Baekje, without aid and surrounded by Silla and Tang forces on land, collapsed. Silla, now viewing Wa Japan as a hostile rival, prevented Japan from having any further meaningful contact with the Korean Peninsula until a far later time. The Japanese then turned directly to China.

===Nara period (710–794 AD)===
{{Main|Nara Period}}

In many ways, the [[Nara period]] was the beginning of Japanese culture as we know it today. It was in this period that [[Buddhism]], [[kanji|the Chinese writing system]], and a [[Ritsuryō|codified system of laws]] made their appearance. The country was unified and centralized, with basic features of the later feudal system. Succession disputes were widespread during this period, just as in most of the later periods.

Much of the discipline, weapons, and armor of the [[samurai]] came to be during this period, as techniques of mounted archery, swordsmanship, and spear fighting were adopted and developed.

The Nara period saw the appointment of the first ''Sei-i Tai-[[shōgun]]'', [[Ōtomo no Otomaro]] by the [[Emperor of Japan|Emperor]] in 794 CE. The shōgun was the [[military dictatorship|military dictator]] of Japan with near absolute power over territories via the military. Ōtomo was declared "Sei-i Taishōgun" which means "Barbarian-subduing Great General".<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/541431/shogunate|title=Shogun|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=November 19, 2014}}</ref> [[Emperor Kanmu]] granted the second title of Sei-i Tai-shōgun to [[Sakanoue no Tamuramaro]] for subduing the [[Emishi]] in northern [[Honshu]].<ref>Varley, H. Paul. (1980). ''Jinnō Shōtōki,'' p. 272.</ref>

===Heian period (794–1185 AD)===
{{Main|Heian Period}}

{{multiple image
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| image1            = Genpei_kassen_2.jpg
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| caption1          = The [[Genpei War]] in the 12th century
| image2            = Battle-of-Akama-Strait-at-Dan-no-Ura-in-Choshu-1185.png
| width2            = 250
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| caption2          = Naval [[Battle of Dan-no-ura|battle of Dan-no-Ura]] in 1185
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}}

The Heian Period marks a crucial shift, away from a state that was united in relative peace against outside threats to one that did not fear invasion and, instead, focused on internal division and clashes between ruling factions of [[Japanese clans|samurai clans]], over political power and control of the line of succession to the [[Chrysanthemum Throne]].

With the exception of the [[Mongol invasions of Japan|Mongol invasions]] of the 13th century, Japan did not face a considerable outside threat until the arrival of [[Ethnic groups in Europe|European]]s in the 16th century. Thus, pre-modern Japanese military history is largely defined not by wars with other states, but by internal conflicts. The tactics of the [[samurai]] of this period involved archery and swordsmanship. Nearly all duels and battles began with an exchange of arrow fire and then hand-to-hand combat with swords and daggers.

The [[Imperial House of Japan|Imperial family]] struggled against the control of the [[Fujiwara clan]], which almost exclusively monopolized the post of regent ([[Sesshō and Kampaku]]). Feudal conflicts over land, political power, and influence eventually reached its apex in the [[Genpei War]] (1180–1185). This was a national civil war between the two most powerful clans: the [[Taira clan|Taira]] and [[Minamoto clan|Minamoto]] clans.<ref>"...the Gempei conflict was a national civil war" Warrior Rule in Japan, page 2. Cambridge University Press.</ref> They fought for control over the declining [[Imperial Court in Kyoto]]. Each side had a large number of smaller allied clans. The [[Battle of Dan-no-Ura]] was a major naval battle between these clans on April 25, 1185. Minamoto had a fleet of 300 ships and Taira had 400 to 500 ships. It resulted in a decisive victory for the Minamoto clan and the destruction of the Taira clan.<ref name=Sansom>{{Cite book |last=Sansom |first=George |title=A History of Japan to 1334 |publisher=Stanford University Press |year=1958 |isbn=0804705232 |pages=302–303}}</ref> The end of the [[Genpei War]] brought the end of the [[Heian period]] and the beginning of the [[Kamakura period]].

[[File:Gosannen kassen.jpg|center|thumb|upright=3.5|The Gosannen War in the 11th century]]
[[File:Kyujutsu10.jpg|thumb|Heiji rebellion in 1159]]

==Feudal Japan==
[[File:Armour red threads Kasuga shrine.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Japanese armour|Samurai armor]] (''[[Ō-yoroi]]'') ]]

This period is marked by the departure from relatively small or medium-sized clan-like battles, to massive clashes of clans over the control of Japan. The establishment of the [[Kamakura shogunate]] coincided with the ascendancy of the [[samurai|samurai class]] over the aristocratic nobility {{nihongo||公家|[[kuge]]}} of the Imperial Court. The [[Shogunate]]s were [[military government]]s and [[de facto]] rulers of Japan. They dominated Japanese politics for nearly seven hundred years (1185–1868), subverting the power of the [[Emperor of Japan|Emperor]] as a [[figurehead]] and the [[Imperial Court in Kyoto]].

In the [[Kamakura period]], Japan successfully repulsed the [[Mongol invasions of Japan|Mongol invasions]], and this saw a large growth in the size of military forces, with samurai as an elite force and as commanders. Following roughly fifty years of bitter fighting over control of the Imperial succession, the [[Muromachi period]], under the [[Ashikaga shogunate]], saw a brief period of peace as the power of the traditional systems of administration by the Imperial Court gradually declined. Later, the position of the provincial governors and other officials under the shogunate slowly gave way into a new class of ''[[daimyō]]s'' (feudal lords) in the early 11th century. The Daimyō were protected by samurai and they dominated Japan's internal politics.<ref name="worldbook-shogun">{{cite encyclopedia |year=1992 |title=Shogun |encyclopedia=The World Book Encyclopedia |publisher=World Book |isbn=0-7166-0092-7 |volume=17 |pages=432–433}}</ref> This brought the [[Japanese archipelago]] into a period of 150 years of fractious disunity and war.

===Kamakura period (1185–1333)===
{{Main|Kamakura Period}}
[[File:Kyujutsu07.jpg|thumb|left|[[Kasagake]] ]]

Before the establishment of the [[Kamakura shogunate]], civil power in Japan was primarily held by the ruling emperors and their regents. The regents were typically appointed from the ranks of the imperial court and the aristocratic clans that vied there. Military affairs were handled under the auspices of the civil government. After defeating their main rival the [[Taira clan]],<ref name="nussbaum459" /> and the [[Northern Fujiwara]], the [[Minamoto clan]] established the Kamakura shogunate.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |title=Nihon dai hyakka zensho |others=Shōgakkan, 小学館 |year=2001 |isbn=4-09-526001-7 |at=奥州征伐 |oclc=14970117}}</ref> [[Minamoto no Yoritomo]] seized power from the central government and the aristocracy and established a [[feudal system]] based in [[Kamakura, Kanagawa|Kamakura]]. The [[samurai]] gained political power over the aristocratic nobility (''[[kuge]]'') of the [[Imperial Court in Kyoto]].<ref>[[Louis Frédéric]]. (2005). [https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&pg=PA570 "Kuge"] in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 570.</ref> [[Emperor Go-Toba]] and the [[aristocracy]] remained the ''[[de jure]]'' rulers. In 1192, [[Minamoto no Yoritomo|Yoritomo]] was awarded the title of ''Sei-i Taishōgun'' by [[Emperor Go-Toba]]. The political system that Yoritomo developed with a succession of ''shōguns'' as the heads  of the shogunate became known. This brought a period of peace. The battles fought during this period mainly consisted of agents of the Minamoto suppressing rebellions. Yoritomo's wife's family, the [[Hōjō clan|Hōjō]], seized power from the Kamakura ''shōguns''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/shogun|title=shogun {{!}} Japanese title|work=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=2017-08-21|language=en}}</ref> When Yoritomo's sons and heirs were assassinated, the ''shōgun'' himself became a hereditary figurehead. Real power rested with the Hōjō regents. The Kamakura shogunate lasted for almost 150 years, from 1192 to 1333. The [[Mongol invasions of Japan]] (1274 and 1281) were the most important wars of the [[Kamakura period]] and defining events in [[Japanese history]].

Japan's remote location makes it secure against invaders from the Asian continent. The [[Japanese archipelago]] is surrounded by vast seas and has rugged, mountainous terrain with steep rivers. [[Kyushu]] is closest to the southernmost point of the Korean peninsula with a distance of {{convert|190|km|mi|abbr=on}}. That's almost 6 times farther away than from [[England]] to [[France]] {{convert|33.3|km|mi|abbr=on}}. Throughout history, Japan was never fully invaded nor colonized by foreigners. Japan only surrendered once after [[World War II]].<ref name="Ronald P. Toby 1984">Ronald P. Toby, ''State and Diplomacy in Early Modern Japan: Asia in the Development of the Tokugawa Bakufu'', Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, (1984) 1991.</ref>

{{nihongo|[[Masamune|Gorō Nyūdō Masamune]]|五郎入道正宗||Priest Gorō Masamune, c.1264–1343}},<ref>{{cite book | last = Fujishiro | first = Yoshio|author2=Fujishiro Matsuo | title = Nihon Toko Jiten| year = 1935| pages = 386}}</ref> is recognized as Japan's greatest [[swordsmith]]. He created the finest swords and daggers (called [[tachi]] and [[tantō]]), in the ''[[Sagami Province|Soshu]]'' tradition.<ref>{{cite book | last = Fujishiro| first = Yoshio |author2=Fujishiro Matsuo | title = Nihon Toko Jiten | year = 1935 | pages = 387}}</ref>

====First Mongol Invasion (1274)====
[[File:Mōko_Shūrai_Ekotoba.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The First [[Mongol invasions of Japan|Mongol invasion of Japan]]. The [[samurai]] [[Takezaki Suenaga]] fights back Mongol warriors in 1274.]]

In the 13th century, [[Mongol conquest of China|the Mongols conquered and controlled China]] under the [[Yuan dynasty]]. Subsequently, they attempted to invade Japan twice. In early October 1274, the [[Battle of Bun'ei]] began with a combined force of [[Mongol Empire|Mongols]] and Koreans. They arrived on ships and seized the Japanese islands [[Tsushima Island|Tsushima]], Iki island, Hirato island, Taka and Nokono. The Mongols slaughtered the inhabitants of Tsushima and about 1000 Japanese soldiers were killed on Iki island.<ref>『高麗史』 巻一百四 列伝十七 金方慶「入對馬島、撃殺甚衆」</ref> When the Mongols arrived on Japan's mainland of [[Kyushu]] they encountered the first real Japanese army.<ref name="ReferenceA">Goryeosa volume 104 episode 17 "invasion of Tsushima and annihilation"</ref> During the Battle of Akasaka the Japanese won with a surprise attack by the forces of [[Kikuchi Takefusa]]. The second victory was at the Battle of Torikai-Gata where the samurai of [[Takezaki Suenaga]] and Shiraishi Michiyasu killed 3,500 Mongols.<ref>『高麗史』 巻八十七　表巻第二「十月、金方慶與元元帥忽敦洪茶丘等征日本、至壹岐戰敗、軍不還者萬三千五百餘人」</ref> The Mongol army and [[Hong Dagu]] withdrew to their ships towards the [[Yuan Dynasty]]. The Japanese army conducted night attacks and killed as many soldiers as they could. On the night of October 19, a typhoon caused one-third of their returning ships to sink and many Mongol soldiers drowned. This typhoon was called the [[Kamikaze (typhoon)|Kamikaze]] which means "divinely conjured wind".<ref>Davis, Paul K. (2001). {{Google books|nv73QlQs9ocC|''100 decisive battles: from ancient times to the present,'' pp. 145–147.|page=145}}</ref><ref>『高麗史』巻一百四 列伝十七 金方慶「諸軍與戰、及暮乃解、方慶謂忽敦茶丘曰、『兵法千里縣軍、其鋒不可當、我師雖少、已入敵境、人自爲戰、即孟明焚船淮陰背水也、請復戰』、忽敦曰、『兵法小敵之堅、大敵之擒、策疲乏之兵、敵日滋之衆、非完計也、不若回軍』復亨中流矢、先登舟、遂引兵還、會夜大風雨、戰艦觸岩多敗、?堕水死、到合浦、」</ref>

====Second Mongol Invasion (1281)====

The [[Kamakura shogunate]] anticipated a second invasion so they constructed walls and fortresses along the shore and gathered forces to defend it. In the spring of 1281, [[Kublai Khan]] sent two separate forces. An impressive 900 ships containing 40,000 Yuan troops set out from Masan, Korea, while an even larger force of 100,000 sailed from southern China in 3,500 ships. The Mongols planned an overwhelming coordinated attack by the combined imperial Yuan fleets. The Chinese fleet of the Yuan was delayed by difficulties in provisioning and manning their large number of ships.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

This culminated in the [[Battle of Kōan]]. The Eastern Route Army arrived at [[Hakata Bay]] in [[Kyushu]] on June 21, 1281. They proceeded without the larger southern force. Waves of samurai responded and prevented the Mongols from forming a beachhead. The samurai used a harassment tactic by boarding the Yuan ships with small boats at night. They killed many of the Yuan forces in the bay and the samurai left before dawn. This caused the Yuan to retreat to [[Tsushima Island|Tsushima]]. During the next few weeks up to 3000 Yuan were killed in close quarters. On July 16, the first of the Southern force ships arrived. By August 12, the two fleets were ready to attack Japan. However, on August 15 a major typhoon (kamikaze) struck the [[Tsushima Strait]]. It lasted two full days and destroyed most of the Yuan fleet. Over 4,000 ships were destroyed in the storm; 80 percent of the Yuan soldiers drowned or were killed by samurai on the beaches. The loss of ships was so great that "a person could walk across from one point of land to another on a mass of wreckage".<ref name="Winters14">Winters, pp. 14–15</ref>

The equipment, tactics, and military attitudes of the [[samurai]] and their Mongol opponents differed greatly, and while both invasions failed miserably, their impact on developments and changes in samurai battle were quite significant. The samurai remained attached to ideas of single combat, that of honorable battle between individual warriors, and to certain ritual elements of battle, such as a series of archery exchanges conducted before entering into hand-to-hand fighting. The Mongols, of course, knew nothing of Japanese conventions, and were arguably much more organized in their strike tactics. They did not select individual opponents with whom to conduct honorable duels, but rode forth on horseback, with various forms of gunpowder weapons and the famous [[Mongol bow]], charging into enemy lines and killing as many as they could without regard to Japanese conceptions of protocol. Though archery and mounted combat were central to Japanese warfare at this time as well, the Mongols remain famous even today for their prowess in these matters. The ways that samurai tactics and attitudes were affected by these experiences are difficult to ascertain, but they were certainly significant.

====Kusunoki Masashige====
[[File:護良親王出陣図.jpg|thumb|[[Prince Moriyoshi]]]]
[[File:Kusunoki_Masashige_statue.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Kusunoki Masashige]]]]
One of the greatest samurai was [[Kusunoki Masashige]]. He lived during the [[Kamakura period]] and represents the ideal of samurai loyalty. Kusunoki fought against the [[Kamakura shogunate]] in the [[Genkō War]] (1331–1333) to restore power to [[Emperor Go-Daigo]]. Kusunoki was also a brilliant tactician and strategist. The defense of two key Loyalist fortresses at [[Chihayaakasaka, Osaka|Akasaka]], the [[Siege of Akasaka]], and [[Chihayaakasaka, Osaka|Chihaya]], the [[Siege of Chihaya]], helped enable Emperor Go-Daigo to briefly regain power.<ref name=Sato>{{Cite book |last=Sato |first=Hiroaki |author-link=Hiroaki Sato (translator) |title=Legends of the Samurai |publisher=Overlook Duckworth |year=1995 |isbn=9781590207307 |pages=160, 164, 173, 175, 180}}</ref> In 1333, Go-Daigo rewarded Kusunoki with governorship of [[Settsu Province]] and [[Kawachi Province]].<ref name=Morris>{{Cite book |last=Morris |first=Ivan |title=The Nobility of Failure |publisher=Holt, Rinehart and Winston |year=1975 |isbn=9780030108112 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/nobilityoffailur00morr/page/127 127] |url=https://archive.org/details/nobilityoffailur00morr/page/127 }}</ref> The [[Emperor Meiji|Meiji]] government posthumously gave Kusunoki the highest decoration of [[List of Japanese court ranks, positions and hereditary titles|Senior First Rank]] in 1880. Kusunoki "stands in the history of his country as the ideal figure of a warrior, compact of civil and military virtues in a high degree".<ref name=Sansom2>{{Cite book |last=Sansom |first=George |title=A History of Japan, 1334–1615 |publisher=Stanford University Press |year=1961 |isbn=0804705259 |pages=53}}</ref>

===Muromachi period (1336–1467)===
{{Main|Muromachi Period}}

The shogunate fell in the wake of the 1331 [[Genkō War]], an uprising against the shogunate organized by the [[Emperor Go-Daigo]]. After a [[Kenmu Restoration|brief period]] under true Imperial rule, the [[Ashikaga shogunate]] was established in 1336, and a series of conflicts known as the [[Nanboku-chō]] wars began. For over fifty years, the archipelago became embroiled in disputes over control of Imperial succession, and thus over the country.

Battles grew larger in this period, and were less ritualized. Though single combats and other elements of ritual and honorable battle remained, organized strategies and tactics under military commanders began to emerge, along with a greater degree of organization of formations and divisions within armies. It was in this period, as well, that weaponsmithing techniques emerged, creating so-called "Japanese steel" blades, prone to breaking yet extremely precise and sharp. The [[katana]], and myriad similar or related blade weapons, appeared at this time and would dominate Japanese arms, relatively unchanged, through the mid-20th century. As a result, it was also during this period that the shift of samurai from being archers to swordsmen began in a significant way {{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}.

===Sengoku period (1467–1603)===
[[File:Mounted samurai showing uma yoroi or bagai (horse armor) 10.jpg|thumb|A re-creation of an armored samurai riding a horse, showing horse armour (uma yoroi or bagai)]]
[[File:Sengoku period battle.jpg|thumb|Depiction of the legendary personal conflict between [[Uesugi Kenshin|Kenshin]] and [[Takeda Shingen|Shingen]] at the fourth [[Battles of Kawanakajima|Battle of Kawanakajima]] (1561)]]
{{Main|Sengoku Period}}

The [[Sengoku Period]] is marked by social upheaval, political intrigue and near-constant military conflict. Less than a century after the end of the [[Nanboku-chō|Nanboku-chō Wars]], peace under the relatively weak [[Ashikaga shogunate]] was disrupted by the outbreak of the [[Ōnin War]] (1467–1477). This was a civil war between the [[Ashikaga shogunate]] and numerous [[daimyō]]. The ancient capital of [[Kyoto]] was converted into a battlefield and a heavily fortified city that suffered severe destruction.

The authority of both the shogunate and the Imperial Court had weakened, and provincial Governors (''[[shugo]]'') and other local samurai leaders emerged as the ''[[daimyō]]s'', who battled each other, religious factions (e.g. the [[Ikkō-ikki]]), and others for land and power for the next 150 years or so. The period has come to be called the [[Sengoku period]], after the [[Warring States period]] in ancient Chinese history. Over one hundred domains clashed and warred throughout the archipelago, as clans rose and fell, boundaries shifted, and some of the largest battles in all of global pre-modern history were fought.

A great many developments and significant events took place during this period, ranging from advances in castle design to the advent of the cavalry charge, the further development of campaign strategies on a grand scale, and the significant changes brought on by the introduction of firearms. The composition of the army changed, with masses of ''[[ashigaru]]'', footsoldiers armed with long lances (''[[yari]]''), archers, and, later, gunners serving alongside mounted [[samurai]]. Naval battles likewise consisted of little more than using boats to move troops within range of bow or [[arquebus]], and then into hand-to-hand fighting.

The long-standing rivalry between the [[daimyo]] [[Takeda Shingen]] of [[Kai Province]] and [[Uesugi Kenshin]] of [[Echigo Province]] are legendary. The [[Battles of Kawanakajima]] between the armies of [[Takeda Shingen|Shingen]] and [[Uesugi Kenshin|Kenshin]] (1553–1564) are one of the most cherished tales in Japanese military history and the epitome of Japanese chivalry and romance. They're mentioned in epic literature, [[woodblock printing]] and [[Samurai cinema|movies]].<ref name=Turnbull>{{Cite book |last=Turnbull |first=Stephen |title=Battles of the Samurai |publisher=Arms and Armour Press |year=1987 |isbn=0853688265 |pages=7–8}}</ref>

In the first conflict between [[Takeda Shingen|Shingen]] and [[Uesugi Kenshin|Kenshin]] they were very cautious, only committing themselves to indecisive skirmishes. There were a total of five engagements at [[Battles of Kawanakajima|Kawanakajima]].{{sfn|Turnbull|1998|pp=212–217}} Only the fourth battle was a serious, all-out battle between the two.{{sfn|Turnbull|2013|p=120}} During the fourth battle, Kenshin's forces cleared a path through the Takeda troops and Kenshin engaged Shingen in single combat. Kenshin attacked Shingen with his sword while Shingen defended with his [[Japanese war fan]] (tessen). Both lords lost many men in this fight, and Shingen in particular lost two of his main generals, [[Yamamoto Kansuke (general)|Yamamoto Kansuke]] and his younger brother [[Takeda Nobushige]].{{sfn|Turnbull|1998|pp=209–213}} After the death of Shingen, [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]] borrowed heavily from Shingen's governmental and military innovations after he had taken leadership of [[Kai Province]] during [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]]'s rise to power. Many of these designs were used by the [[Tokugawa shogunate]].

The [[later Hōjō clan|Hōjō clan]], in and around the [[Kantō region]], were among the first to establish networks of satellite castles, and the complex use of these castles both for mutual defense and coordinated attacks. The [[Takeda clan|Takeda]], under [[Takeda Shingen]], developed the Japanese equivalent of the [[Charge (warfare)|cavalry charge]]. Though debate continues today as to the force of his charges, and the appropriateness of comparing them to Western cavalry charges, it is evident from contemporary sources that it was a revolutionary development, and powerful against defenders unused to it. The [[:Category:Battles of the Sengoku period|Battles of the Sengoku period]] of particular interest or significance are too numerous to list here. Suffice to say this period saw a myriad of strategic and tactical developments, and some of the longest sieges and largest battles in the history of the [[Early modern period|early modern world]].
[[File:Battle-of-Nagashino-Map-Folding-Screen-1575.png|thumb|[[Battle of Nagashino]] (1575)]]
[[File:Himeji_castle_in_may_2015.jpg|thumb|[[Himeji Castle]]]]

====Azuchi–Momoyama period (1568–1600)====

This was the final phase of the [[Sengoku period]]. It's named for the increasingly important castle-cities, is marked by the introduction of firearms, after contact with the [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]], and a further push towards all-out battle, away from individual combats and concepts of personal honor and bravery.

The [[arquebus]] was introduced to Japan in 1543, by Portuguese on board a Chinese ship that crashed upon the tiny island of [[Tanegashima]] in the southernmost parts of the Japanese archipelago. Though the weapon's introduction was not seen to have particularly dramatic effects for several decades, by the 1560s thousands of gunpowder weapons were in use in Japan, and began to have revolutionary effects upon Japanese tactics, strategy, army compositions, and castle architecture.

The 1575 [[Battle of Nagashino]], in which about 3,000 [[arquebus]]iers led by [[Oda Nobunaga]] cut down charging ranks of thousands of [[samurai]], remains one of the chief examples of the effect of these weapons. Highly inaccurate, and taking a long time to reload, arquebusses, or ''hinawa-jū'' ({{ill|火縄銃|ja|vertical-align=sup}}) as they are called in Japanese, did not win battles on their own. Oda Nobunaga, [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]], and other commanders developed tactics that honed arquebus use to the greatest advantage. At Nagashino, Nobunaga's gunners hid behind wooden barricades, embedded with large wooden spikes to ward off cavalry, and took turns firing volleys and reloading.
[[File:Edo period rifles.jpg|thumb|Arquebusses of the Edo period]]
[[File:Antique Japanese (samurai) tanegashima (matchlock) rifles 11.jpg|thumb]]
[[File:Oozutu.jpg|thumb]]

As in Europe, the debilitating effects of wet (and therefore largely useless) gunpowder were decisive in a number of battles. But, one of the key advantages of the weapon was that unlike bows, which required years of training largely available only to the samurai class, guns could be used by relatively untrained footmen. Samurai stuck to their swords and their bows, engaging in cavalry or infantry tactics, while the ''[[ashigaru]]'' wielded the guns. Some militant Buddhist factions began to produce firearms in foundries normally employed to make bronze temple bells. In this manner, the [[Ikkō-ikki]], a group of monks and lay religious zealots, turned their [[Ishiyama Honganji]] cathedral-fortress into some of the most well-defended fortresses in the country. The ''ikki'' and a handful of other militant religious factions thus became powers unto themselves, and fought fierce battles against some of the chief generals and samurai clans of the archipelago.

Though civil strife continued to rage as it had for the previous century, the battles growing larger and more tactically complex, it was at this time that the many "warring states" began to be united. There were 3 powerful [[daimyō]] who unified the [[Japanese archipelago]]. In the second half of the 16th century, Japan was first fully unified by [[daimyō]] [[Oda Nobunaga]] and then by [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]].<ref>''Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan Volume One'' (New York: Kodansha, 1983), 126.</ref> The third daimyō who unified Japan was [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]] after the [[Battle of Sekigahara]] in 1600. This resulted in 268 years of uninterrupted rule by the [[Tokugawa clan]].<ref>{{cite book | author = Hane, Mikiso | title = Premodern Japan: A Historical Survey | year = 1991 | publisher = Boulder, CO: Westview Press. | location = Tokyo | pages = 133 | isbn = 978-0-8133-4970-1 }}</ref>

With an ambition to conquer China's [[Ming Dynasty]], [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]] requested passage through the Korean peninsula from the King of [[Joseon]]. Upon being refused, Hideyoshi launched [[Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–98)|invasions of Korea]] with an army of 158,800 soldiers between 1592 and 1598.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hawley |first=Samuel Jay |title=The Imjin War: Japan's Sixteenth-century Invasion of Korea and Attempt to Conquer China |url=http://www.samuelhawley.com/imjinarticle1a.html |year=2005 |publisher=[[Royal Asiatic Society, Korea Branch]] |isbn=978-899544242-5 |access-date=15 June 2019 |archive-date=30 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220330041909/http://www.samuelhawley.com/imjinarticle1a.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Japanese army quickly captured several major cities from the unprepared Joseon kingdom including the capital, causing the king to retreat and request military aid from China. With the arrival of the Chinese army, the joint Chinese-Korean troops pushed the Japanese army down to the southeast of the Korean peninsula where a military stalemate was established by 1594. Concurrently, the "Righteous Army" of Korean civilians waged guerilla warfare and Admiral Yi Sun-sin repeatedly disrupted the Japanese supply lines at sea. After Hideyoshi's death, the [[Council of Five Elders]] ordered the remaining Japanese forces in Korea to retreat.

The [[Battle of Sekigahara]] was the last major battle of the [[Sengoku period]] on October 21, 1600. This was a huge battle between the forces loyal to [[Toyotomi Hideyori]] versus [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]]. Hideyori's Western Army consisted of many clans from Western Japan with a total of 120,000 men. The Eastern Army was 75,000 men strong with clans from Eastern Japan.{{sfn|Davis|1999|p=204}} The decisive victory of the Eastern Army solidified the rule of [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]]. In 1603, Ieyasu was appointed with the title of ''[[shōgun]]'' by [[Emperor of Japan|Emperor]] [[Go-Yōzei]].{{sfn|Davis|1999|p=208}}{{sfn|Bryant|1995|p=80}} This made Ieyasu the nominal ruler of the whole country of Japan. The [[Tokugawa shogunate]] was the last shogunate until the [[Meiji Restoration]] in 1867.

==Early modern period==

===Edo period (1603–1867)===
{{Main|Edo Period}}
[[File:Norishige.jpg|thumb|left|upright|''Tachi'' by ''Norishige'' ca. 1300, made ''ō-suriage'' (greatly shortened) during the [[Edo period]] for use as a "katana" by cutting off the original tang and reforming it higher up the cutting edge]]

This period was one of relative peace under the authority of the [[Tokugawa shogunate]], a forced peace that was maintained through a variety of measures that weakened the ''daimyōs'' and ensured their loyalty to the shogunate. Since 1660, Japan had 200 years of peace with no major domestic or foreign conflicts. The Tokugawa peace was ruptured only rarely and briefly prior to the violence that surrounded the [[Meiji Restoration]] of the 1860s.

The lack of warfare caused the [[samurai]] to increasingly become courtiers, bureaucrats, and administrators rather than warriors. The conduct of samurai served as role model behavior for the other social classes.

[[Miyamoto Musashi]] was one of the most famous Japanese swordsman, philosopher, strategist, writer and [[rōnin]] who lived from 1584 to 1645. He became the [[Kensei (honorary title)|Kensei]] (sword saint) of Japan.<ref>Miyamoto Musashi, trans.S. F. Kaufman (1994), ''Book Of Five Rings'', Tuttle Publishing.</ref> He had a unique double-bladed swordsmanship (Nito-Ichi-ryū) and an undefeated record in 61 duels. He wrote the classic Japanese martial arts literature [[The Book of Five Rings]] and [[Dokkōdō]] (The Path of Aloneness).<ref>''A Book of Five Rings'' by Miyamoto Musashi (translation from Japanese by Victor Harris), London: Allison and Busby, 1974.</ref>

The [[Tokugawa Shogunate]] enforced the policy of ''[[Sakoku]]'' ("closed country"), which prohibited most foreign contact and trade between 1641 and 1853.<ref name="Ronald P. Toby 1984"/> Under the policy, most foreign nationals were barred from entering Japan and common Japanese people couldn't leave. By restricting the [[daimyō]]s' ability to trade with foreign ships coming to Japan or pursue trade opportunities overseas, the Tokugawa shogunate could ensure none would become powerful enough to challenge its supremacy.

The [[Siege of Osaka]], which took place in 1614–1615, was essentially the last gasp for [[Toyotomi Hideyori]], heir to Hideyoshi, and an alliance of clans and other elements who opposed the shogunate. A samurai battle on a grand scale, in terms of strategy, scale, methods employed, and the political causes behind it, this is widely considered the final conflict of the Sengoku period.

Outside of the siege of Osaka, and the later conflicts of the 1850s to 1860s, violence in the Edo period was restricted to small skirmishes in the streets, peasant rebellions, and the enforcement of [[Sakoku|maritime restrictions]]. Social tension in the Edo period brought a number of rebellions and uprisings, the largest of which was the 1638 [[Shimabara Rebellion]]. In the far north of the country, the island of [[Hokkaido]] was inhabited by [[Ainu people|Ainu]] villagers and Japanese settlers. In 1669, an Ainu leader [[Shakushain's Revolt|led a revolt]] against the [[Matsumae clan]] who controlled the region, and it was the last major uprising against Japanese control of the region. It was put down in 1672. In 1789, another Ainu revolt, the [[Menashi–Kunashir Rebellion]], was crushed.

The [[Bakumatsu]] were the final years of the [[Tokugawa Shogunate]] and the isolationist [[Sakoku]] policy between 1853 and 1867. The appearance of [[gunboat diplomacy]] in Japan in the 1850s, and the forced so-called "[[opening of Japan]]" by Western forces, underscored the weakness of the shogunate and led to its collapse. Though the actual end of the shogunate and establishment of an Imperial Western-style government was handled peacefully, through political petitions and other methods, the years surrounding the event were not entirely bloodless. Following the formal termination of the shogunate, the {{nihongo|''[[Boshin War]]''|{{linktext|戊辰|戦争}}|Boshin Sensō|extra="War of the [[Sexagenary cycle|Year of the Yang Earth Dragon]]"}} was fought in 1868–1869 between the Tokugawa army and a number of factions of nominally pro-Imperial forces.

==Modern period==

Since the first visit of [[Matthew C. Perry|Commodore Perry]] to [[Edo Bay]] in July 1853, Japan lacked industrial and military power to prevent western coercion with unequal treaties that took advantage of Japan.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dower |first=John |author-link=John W. Dower |title=Black Ships and the Samurai: Commodore Perry and the Opening of Japan (1853–1854) |url=https://visualizingcultures.mit.edu/black_ships_and_samurai/bss_essay01.html |year=2010 |publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology |access-date=15 June 2019}}</ref><ref>Takekoshi, [https://books.google.com/books?id=mvfMKV1b1fwC&pg=PA285 pp. 285–86]</ref> Japan had antiquated and decentralized military forces. The feudal lords were pressured into signing multiple treaties with the [[History of the United States (1849–1865)|Americans]] known as "[[Unequal treaty|The Unequal Treaties]]".<ref name="New York : Oxford University Press">{{cite book|last1=Andrew|first1=Gordon|title=A modern history of Japan: From Tokugawa times to the present|date=2003|publisher=New York : Oxford University Press}}</ref>

Thereafter in 1853 six island fortifications with cannon batteries were built at [[Odaiba]] in [[Tokyo Bay|Edo Bay]] by [[Egawa Hidetatsu]] for the [[Tokugawa shogunate]]. The purpose was to protect [[Edo]] from another American incursion. Thereafter Industrial developments started in order to build modern cannons. A [[reverbatory furnace]] was established by [[Egawa Hidetatsu]] in [[Nirayama, Shizuoka|Nirayama]] to cast cannons. It was completed in 1857.<ref name="Iida">Iida, [https://d-arch.ide.go.jp/je_archive/society/wp_je_unu8.html 1980]</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=zkkjpWYS8icC&pg=PA143 ''The architecture of Tokyo'' Hiroshi Watanabe p.143]</ref>

Japan was determined to avoid the fate of other Asian countries which were [[Western imperialism in Asia|colonized by western imperial powers]]. The Japanese people and the government with [[Emperor Meiji]] realized that in order to preserve the independence of Japan it had to modernize to become an equal of the western [[colonial powers]]. In 1868 [[Tokugawa Yoshinobu]] resigned which ended the Tokugawa dynasty and the last [[shogunate]]. The [[Meiji Restoration]] restored practical abilities and the political system under [[Emperor Meiji]].<ref name="China p. 79">Henry Kissinger On China. 2011 p. 79</ref> This caused enormous change in Japan's political and social structure from the late [[Edo Period]] to the early [[Meiji Period]]. Japan set out to "gather wisdom from all over the world" and embarked on an ambitious program of military, social, political, and economic reforms. Japan quickly transformed in one generation from an isolated [[feudalism|feudal society]] to a modern industrialized [[nation state]] and an emerging [[great power]].<ref name="New York : Oxford University Press"/>

After a long period of peace, Japan quickly rearmed and modernized by importing western weapons, then manufacturing them domestically, and finally by manufacturing weapons of Japanese design. In 1902, it became the first Asian nation to sign a mutual defense pact with a European nation, [[British Empire|Britain]]. During the [[Russo-Japanese War|Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905)]], Japan became the first modern Asian nation to win a war against a European nation.

[[File:Second_world_war_asia_1937-1942_map_en6.png|thumb|A map of the Japanese advance from 1937 to 1942]]
Japan was influenced by [[Western imperialism in Asia]] which caused Japan to participate as a [[Colonial empire|colonial power]]. Japan was the last major power to enter the race for global colonization. It expanded rapidly, with colonial acquisitions, from 1895 till 1942. The [[Empire of Japan]] was one of the largest in history. It included colonies in Manchuria, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Indochina, Burma and many Pacific islands. In 1937, Japan had one-sixth the industrial capacity than the USA. The Japanese industry was dependent on the shipment of raw materials from Japan's overseas territories and foreign imports. A series of increasingly stringent economic embargoes on raw materials by the [[United States]] such as the [[Events leading to the attack on Pearl Harbor|Japanese Oil Embargo (1940–1941)]] pushed the Empire of Japan into conflict with the United States.<ref name="US-Economic-Warfare">{{cite news |title=How U.S. Economic Warfare Provoked Japan's Attack on Pearl Harbor |date=7 December 2012|publisher=Mises Institute |access-date=8 June 2019 |url=https://mises.org/library/how-us-economic-warfare-provoked-japans-attack-pearl-harbor|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428130715/https://mises.org/library/how-us-economic-warfare-provoked-japans-attack-pearl-harbor |archive-date=April 28, 2019}}</ref>

===Meiji era (1868–1912)===
{{Main|Meiji Period}}

====Modern army established====
[[File:IchigayaMilitaryAcademy1874.jpg|thumb|[[Imperial Japanese Army Academy]] in [[Ichigaya]], Tokyo (1874)]]
[[File:Naval_Battle_of_Hakodate.jpg|thumb|The [[Naval Battle of Hakodate]] Bay, May 1869. In the foreground, [[Japanese warship Kasuga|Kasuga]] and [[Japanese ironclad Kōtetsu|Kōtetsu]] of the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]]]]

In the mid-19th century Japan did not have a unified national army. The country consisted of feudal [[Han system|domains]] (''han'') with the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] ([[bakufu]]) in overall control since 1603. The bakufu army was a large force, but only one among others. The Shogunate's efforts to control the nation depended upon the cooperation of its vassal [[Daimyo]]s' armies.<ref>{{cite book|last=Jansen|first=Marius B.|author-link=Marius Jansen|title=The Making of Modern Japan|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=2002|isbn=0-6740-0334-9|page=[https://archive.org/details/makingofmodernja00jans/page/60 60]|url=https://archive.org/details/makingofmodernja00jans/page/60}}</ref>

From 1867, Japan requested various Western military missions in order to help Japan to modernize its armed forces. The first foreign military mission in Japan was held by [[French Second Empire|France]] in 1867.

On June 29, 1869 [[Emperor Meiji]] founded a [[Shinto shrine]] called Tōkyō Shōkonsha in Kudan, Tokyo (present-day [[Chiyoda, Tokyo]]). It was established in the wake of the [[Boshin War]] (1868–1869) to honor those who died for the Emperor. It was renamed to [[Yasukuni Shrine]] by the Emperor in 1879 which literally means "Pacifying the Nation".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/feature/fe6700/fe_ya_05060901.htm |title=''Yomiuri Shimbun'': 基礎からわかる靖国神社問題】Q 戦前、戦後 どんな役割？ |access-date=2007-01-30 |archive-url = https://archive.today/20060831144856/http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/feature/fe6700/fe_ya_05060901.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2006-08-31|language=ja}}</ref>  The Emperor wrote a poem "I assure those of you who fought and died for your country that your names will live forever at this shrine in Musashino." The [[Yasukuni Shrine]] commemorates the honor and achievements of the millions of men, women, children and pets who died in service of [[Japan]] from the [[Boshin War]] to the [[First Indochina War#Japanese volunteers|First Indochina War]] (1946–1954). Later the shrine would include the worship of all who died serving in [[List of wars involving Japan|wars involving Japan]] since 1853 such as the [[Taishō period|Taishō]] and [[Shōwa period]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.yasukuni.or.jp/english/about/history.html |title=History|publisher=Yasukuni.or.jp |access-date=2019-06-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190524040455/https://www.yasukuni.or.jp/english/about/history.html |archive-date=2019-05-24}}</ref>

In 1871, the [[politicians]] [[Iwakura Tomomi]] and [[Ōkubo Toshimichi]] led the organization of a national army. It consisted exclusively of 10,000 strong [[samurai]]. [[Ōkubo Toshimichi|Ōkubo]] was also a [[samurai]] of [[Satsuma Province|Satsuma]] and he was one of the [[Three Great Nobles of the Restoration]] and one of the main founders of modern Japan.<ref>『維新元勲十傑論』、16頁</ref>

In 1873, the Imperial government asked the newly appointed [[Ministry of War of Japan|War Minister]] {{Nihongo|[[Yamagata Aritomo]] |山縣 有朋||extra=June 14, 1838 – February 1, 1922}} to organize a national army for Japan. So Yamagata convinced the government and enacted a conscription law in 1873 which established the new [[Imperial Japanese Army]]. The law established military service for males of all classes, for a duration of 3 years, with an additional 4 years in the reserve. Yamagata modernized and modeled it after the [[Prussian Army]]. [[Duke]] [[Yamagata Aritomo]] was born in a lower ranked [[samurai]] family from [[Hagi, Yamaguchi|Hagi]]. He was a [[Field Marshal (Japan)|field marshal]] in the [[Imperial Japanese Army]] and twice [[Prime Minister of Japan]]. He was one of the main architects of the military and political foundations of early modern Japan. [[Yamagata Aritomo]] is regarded as the father of [[Japanese militarism]].<ref>Roger F. Hackett, ''Yamagata Aritomo in the Rise of Modern Japan 1838–1922'' (1971).</ref><ref>Norman, E. Herbert and Lawrence Timothy Woods. "The Restoration." ''Japan's emergence as a modern state: political and economic problems of the Meiji period''. UBC Press. 2000. [https://books.google.com/books?id=4N0oXNN7dcoC&dq=%22Yamagata+Kyosuke%22+Aritomo&pg=PA65 65]. Retrieved on August 6, 2009.</ref>

The principal officer training school for the [[Imperial Japanese Army]] was established as the Heigakkō in [[Kyoto]] in 1868. It was renamed in 1874 to the {{nihongo|''[[Imperial Japanese Army Academy]] ''|陸軍士官学校|Rikugun Shikan Gakkō}} and relocated to [[Ichigaya]], [[Tokyo]]. The second Army Academy was built by the second [[French military mission to Japan (1872–80)|French Military Mission to Japan]]. The inauguration was in 1875. This was an important Military Academy for Japanese Army officers. It is on the same ground as the modern [[Ministry of Defense (Japan)|Japan Ministry of Defense]]. The second French Military Mission also helped reorganize the [[Imperial Japanese Army]], and establish the first draft law (January 1873). Some members of the mission became some of the first western students of Japanese [[martial arts]] in history. Such as [[Étienne de Villaret]]  and Joseph Kiehl were members of the [[dojo]] of [[Sakakibara Kenkichi]] and learned [[Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage-ryū|Jikishinkage-ryu]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Watanabe |first=Ichiro |title=明治武道史 [Meiji Budo-shi] |trans-title=A History of Budo in the Meiji Period |url=https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E6%98%8E%E6%B2%BB%E6%AD%A6%E9%81%93%E5%8F%B2%E2%80%95%E5%8F%B2%E6%96%99-1971%E5%B9%B4-%E6%B8%A1%E8%BE%BA-%E4%B8%80%E9%83%8E/dp/B000J9M48I |access-date=11 October 2014 |language=ja |year=1971 |publisher=Shin Jinbutsu Oraisha, Showa 46 |location=Tokyo |oclc=15374653}}</ref> Captain [[Jules Brunet]], initially a French [[artillery]] advisor of the Japanese central government, eventually took up arms alongside the Shōgun [[Tokugawa Yoshinobu]]'s army against the [[Imperial Japanese Army|Imperial troops]] during the [[Boshin War]].

Class distinctions were mostly eliminated during modernization to create a [[representative democracy]]. The [[samurai]] lost their status as the only class with military privileges. However, during the [[Meiji period]], most leaders in Japanese society (politics, business and military) were ex-samurai or descendants of [[samurai]]. They shared a set of values and outlooks that supported [[Japanese militarism]]. Thus the military class that began with the [[samurai]] in 1192 AD continued to rule Japan.

The [[Meiji Constitution|Constitution of the Empire of Japan]] was enacted on November 29, 1890.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Meiji-Constitution|title=Meiji Constitution {{!}} 1889, Japan|work=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=2017-08-21|language=en}}</ref> It was a form of mixed [[Constitutional monarchy|constitutional]] and [[absolute monarchy]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hein|first1=Patrick|title=How the Japanese became foreign to themselves : the impact of globalization on the private and public spheres in Japan|date=2009|publisher=Lit|location=Berlin|isbn=978-3643100856|page=72|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5QJsvhHwjVMC&pg=PA72}}</ref> The [[Emperor of Japan]] was legally the supreme leader, and the Cabinet were his followers. The Prime Minister would be elected by a [[Privy Council of Japan|Privy Council]]. In reality, the Emperor was [[head of state]] but the [[Prime Minister of Japan|Prime Minister]] was the actual head of government.

====Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895)====
[[File:Sino_Japanese_war_1894.jpg|thumb|[[Imperial Japanese Army]] infantry firing their [[Murata rifle]]s (1894)]]
{{Main|First Sino-Japanese War}}

The [[First Sino-Japanese War|Sino-Japanese War]] was fought against the forces of the [[Qing dynasty]] of China in the [[Korean Peninsula]], [[Manchuria]], and the coast of China. It was the first major conflict between Japan and an overseas military power in modern times.

The conflict was primarily over influence in [[Joseon|Korea]].<ref>"...&nbsp;Japan was at the forefront of hegemonic wars in a quest to extend the Japanese hegemony over Korea to the entire Asia-Pacific region – the Sino–Japanese War of 1894–95 to gain dominance in Korea" The Two Koreas and the Great Powers, Cambridge University Press, 2006, page 2.</ref> After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the port of [[Weihai]]wei, the [[Qing]] government [[Suing for peace|sued for peace]] in February 1895.

The war demonstrated the failure of the [[Qing dynasty]]'s [[Self-Strengthening Movement|attempts to modernize its military]] and fend off threats to its sovereignty, especially when compared with Japan's successful [[Meiji Restoration]]. For the first time, regional dominance in [[East Asia]] shifted from China to Japan;{{sfn|Paine|2003|pp=3}} The prestige of the Qing Dynasty, along with the classical tradition in China, suffered a major blow. The Qing's loss of [[Korea]] as a [[tributary state]] sparked an unprecedented public outcry. Throughout most of history Korea was a tributary state and [[vassal state]] of multiple [[Dynasties in Chinese history|Chinese dynasties]]. Japan's victory of the [[First Sino-Japanese War]] put Korea completely under Japanese control. Korea became a Japanese vassal state.

The {{nihongo|[[Treaty of Shimonoseki]]|下関条約|Shimonoseki Jyoyaku}} signed between Japan and China ended the war. Through this treaty, Japan forced China to open ports for international trade and cede the southern portion of China's [[Liaoning]] province as well as the island of [[Taiwan]] to Japan. China also had to pay a war indemnity of 200 million Kuping [[tael]]s. As a result of this war, Korea ceased to be a tributary state of China, but fell into Japan's sphere of influence. However, many of the material gains from this war were lost by Japan due to the [[Triple Intervention]]. Korea was fully annexed by Japan with the [[Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty|Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910]] signed by [[Ye Wanyong]], Prime Minister of Korea, and [[Terauchi Masatake]], who became the first Japanese Governor-General of Korea.<ref name=assim>{{cite book|last=Caprio|first=Mark|title=Japanese Assimilation Policies in Colonial Korea, 1910–1945|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oj_IhRConN8C&pg=PA82|year=2009|publisher=University of Washington Press|pages=82–83|isbn=9780295990408}}</ref>

====Japanese invasion of Taiwan (1895)====
{{Main|Japanese invasion of Taiwan (1895)}}

The [[Taiwan under Japanese rule|Japanese occupation of Taiwan]] was strongly resisted by various interests on the island, and was only completed after a full-scale military campaign requiring the commitment of the Imperial Guards Division and most of the 2nd and 4th Provincial Divisions. The campaign began in late May 1895 with a Japanese landing at Keelung, on the northern coast of Taiwan, and ended in October 1895 with the Japanese capture of Tainan, the capital of the self-styled Republic of Formosa. The Japanese defeated regular Chinese and Formosan formations relatively easily but their marching columns were often harassed by guerillas.  The Japanese responded with brutal reprisals, and sporadic resistance to their occupation of Taiwan continued until 1902.

====The Boxer Rebellion====
{{Main|Boxer Rebellion}}

The Eight-Nation Alliance was an international military coalition set up in response to the Boxer Rebellion in the Qing Empire of China. The eight nations were the Empire of Japan, the [[Russian Empire]], the [[British Empire]], the [[French Third Republic]], the [[United States]], the [[German Empire]], the [[Kingdom of Italy]] and the [[Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian Empire]]. In the summer of 1900, when the extra-jurisdictional international legations in Beijing came under attack by Boxer rebels supported by the Qing government, the coalition dispatched their armed forces, in the name of "humanitarian intervention", to defend their respective nations' citizens, as well as a number of [[Christianity in China|Chinese Christians]] who had taken shelter in the legations. The incident ended with a coalition victory and the signing of the [[Boxer Protocol]].

====Russo-Japanese War====
[[File:Waganghou.jpg|thumb|right|Cavalry combat between the Japanese and Russian army]]
{{Main|Russo-Japanese War}}

Following the [[First Sino-Japanese War]] (1894–1895), and the humiliation of the forced return of the [[Liaodong Peninsula|Liaotung peninsula]] to China under Russian pressure (the "[[Triple Intervention]]"), Japan began to build up its military strength in preparation for further confrontations. Japan promulgated a ten-year naval build-up program, under the slogan "Perseverance and determination" (Jp:臥薪嘗胆, Gashinshoutan),  in which it commissioned 109 warships, for a total of 200,000 tons, and increased its Navy personnel from 15,100 to 40,800.

These dispositions culminated with the [[Russo-Japanese War]] (1904–1905). The [[Japanese battleship Mikasa|battleship ''Mikasa'']] was the flagship of admiral [[Tōgō Heihachirō]]. At the [[Battle of Tsushima]], the Mikasa with Admiral [[Tōgō Heihachirō|Tōgō]] led the [[Combined Fleet]] of the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] into what has been called "the most decisive naval battle in history".<ref>Corbett |''Maritime Operations in the Russo-Japanese War'', 2:333</ref> The Russian fleet was almost completely annihilated: out of 38 Russian ships, 21 were sunk, 7 captured, 6 disarmed, 4,545 Russian servicemen died and 6,106 were taken prisoner. On the other hand, the Japanese only lost 117 men and 3 torpedo boats. This overwhelming victory made admiral [[Tōgō Heihachirō|Tōgō]] one of Japan's greatest naval heroes.

The Japanese victory in the [[Russo-Japanese War]] of 1904–1905 marks the emergence of Japan as a major military power. Japan demonstrated that it could apply Western technology, discipline, strategy, and tactics effectively. The war concluded with the [[Treaty of Portsmouth]]. The complete victory of the Japanese military surprised world observers. The consequences transformed the balance of power in [[East Asia]].

The [[Battle of the Yalu River (1904)|Battle of Yalu River]] was the first major land battle during the Russo-Japanese War from 30 April to 1 May 1904. It was also the first victory in decades of an Asian power over a European power. It marked Russia's inability to match Japan's military prowess.{{sfn|Connaughton|1988|p=86}}

Western powers viewed Japan's victory over Russia as the emergence of a new Asian regional power. With the Russian defeat, some scholars have argued that the war had set in motion a change in the global world order with the emergence of Japan as not only a regional power, but rather, the main Asian power.{{sfn|Schimmelpenninck van der Oye|2005|p=83}}

===Taishō era and World War I (1912–1926)===
{{Main|Japan during World War I}}

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| caption1          = The Japanese [[Japanese seaplane carrier Wakamiya|seaplane carrier ''Wakamiya'']] conducted the world's first sea-launched air raids in September 1914.
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The [[Empire of Japan]] was a member of the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]] during [[World War I]]. [[Anglo-Japanese Alliance|As an ally]] of [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Great Britain]], Japan declared war on [[German Empire|Germany]] in 1914. Japan quickly seized the German island colonies of the [[Mariana Islands]], [[Caroline Islands]] and [[Marshall Islands]] in the Pacific.

The Japanese [[seaplane carrier]] [[Japanese seaplane carrier Wakamiya|''Wakamiya'']] conducted the world's first successful naval-launched air raids on 5 September 1914 and during the first months of [[World War I]] from [[Jiaozhou Bay Leased Territory|Jiaozhou Bay]] off [[Qingdao]]. On 6 September 1914 was the very first air-sea battle in history.<ref>Wakamiya is "credited with conducting the first successful carrier air raid in history"[https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/japan/wakamiya-av.htm Source:GlobalSecurity.org] Austrian {{SMS|Radetzky|1909|6}} launched sea plane raids a year earlier</ref> A Farman aircraft launched by Wakamiya attacked the Austro-Hungarian cruiser [[SMS Kaiserin Elisabeth|Kaiserin Elisabeth]] and the German gunboat Jaguar off Qingdao. Four seaplanes bombarded German land targets. The Germans surrendered on 6 November 1914.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/japan/wakamiya-av.htm|title=IJN Wakamiya Aircraft Carrier|author=John Pike|work=globalsecurity.org|access-date=1 April 2015}}</ref>{{sfn|Peattie|2007|p=9}}

During the [[Russian Civil War]] the [[Allies of World War I|Allied Powers]] [[Allied Intervention in the Russian Civil War|intervened in Russia]]. The [[Empire of Japan]] sent the largest military force of 70,000 soldiers to the eastern region.<ref name= Humphreys25>Humphreys, ''The Way of the Heavenly Sword: The Japanese Army in the 1920s'', p. 25</ref> They supported [[anti-communist]] [[White forces]] in Russia. The Allied Powers withdrew in 1920. The Japanese military stayed until 1925 following the signing of the [[Soviet–Japanese Basic Convention]].<ref>''League of Nations Treaty Series'', vol. 34, pp. 32–53.</ref> A small group of Japanese cruisers and destroyers also participated in various missions in the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.

In 1921, during the [[Interwar period]], Japan developed and launched the {{Ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Hōshō||2}}, which was the first purpose-designed [[aircraft carrier]] in the world.<ref>[https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/japan/ijn.htm "The Imperial Japanese Navy was a pioneer in naval aviation, having commissioned the world's first built-from-the-keel-up carrier, the ''Hōshō''."].</ref><ref group=Note>{{HMS|Argus|I49|6}} pre-dated ''Hōshō'' and had a long landing deck, but was designed and initially built as an ocean liner. The first purpose-designed aircraft carrier to be laid down was {{HMS|Hermes|95|6}} in 1918 but she was completed after ''Hōshō''.</ref> Japan subsequently developed a fleet of aircraft carriers that was second to none.

===Shōwa era and World War II (1926–1945)===
{{Main|Japan during World War II|Pacific War|Second Sino-Japanese War|Soviet–Japanese border conflicts}}
{{See also|Development of Japanese tanks in World War II}}

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| caption2          = [[Mitsubishi A6M Zero|A6M3 Zero Model 22]], flown by Japanese ace [[Hiroyoshi Nishizawa]] over the Solomon Islands, 1943
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Already controlling the area along the [[South Manchuria Railroad]], Japan's [[Kwantung Army]] further invaded [[Manchuria]] ([[Northeast China]]) in 1931, following the [[Mukden Incident]], in which Japan claimed to have had territory attacked by the Chinese. By 1937, Japan had annexed territory north of Beijing and, following the [[Marco Polo Bridge Incident]], a full-scale invasion of China began. Japanese military superiority over a weak and demoralized Chinese Republican army allowed for swift advances down the eastern coast, leading to the fall of Shanghai and [[Nanjing]] (the then capital of the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]]) the same year. The Chinese suffered greatly in both military and civilian casualties. An estimated 300,000 civilians were killed during the first weeks of Japanese occupation of Nanjing, during the [[Nanjing Massacre]].

In September 1940, [[Nazi Germany]], [[Fascist Italy]], and [[Imperial Japan]] became allies under the [[Tripartite Pact]]. Germany, which had previously trained and supplied the Chinese army, halted all [[Sino-German cooperation]], and recalled its military advisor ([[Alexander von Falkenhausen]]). In July 1940, the U.S. banned the shipment of aviation gasoline to Japan, while [[Imperial Japanese Army]] [[Invasion of French Indochina|invaded French Indochina]] and occupied its naval and air bases in September 1940.

In April 1941, the [[Empire of Japan]] and the [[Soviet Union]] signed a neutrality pact and Japan increased pressure on the [[Vichy France|Vichy French]] and [[Netherlands|Dutch]] [[colony|colonies]] in [[Southeast Asia]] to cooperate in economic matters. Following Japan's refusal to withdraw from the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]] (with the exclusion of [[Manchukuo]]) and [[Indochina]]; the United States, Great Britain, and the [[Netherlands]] imposed an embargo (22 July 1941) on [[gasoline]], while shipments of [[scrap metal]], [[steel]], and other materials had virtually ceased. Meanwhile, American economic support to China began to increase.

[[Hideki Tojo]] was a politician and general of the [[Imperial Japanese Army]]. Politically, he was a fascist, nationalist, and militarist.<ref name=Tojo-Bix>{{cite book | last = Bix | first = Herbert P. | author-link = Herbert P. Bix | date = 2001-09-04 | title = Hirohito and the making of modern Japan | publisher = HarperCollins | isbn = 978-0-06-093130-8 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=zjmVltzm1kYC | pages=244 | access-date = November 11, 2011 | ref = {{sfnRef|Bix}} }}</ref> Tojo served as [[Prime Minister of Japan|Prime Minister of the Empire of Japan]] during most of the Pacific War (his tenure being 17 October 1941 to 22 July 1944). Tojo supported a [[preventive war]] against the United States.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://study.com/academy/lesson/hideki-tojo-in-ww2-biography-quotes-facts-death.html|title=Hideki Tojo in WW2|last=Moeller|first=James|website=Study.com}}</ref>

[[Isoroku Yamamoto]] was the most famous military commander. He was a [[Gensui (Imperial Japanese Navy)|Fleet Admiral]] of the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] and the [[commander-in-chief]] of the [[Combined Fleet]] during [[World War II]]. Isoroku's extensive naval career started when he served on the armored cruiser [[Japanese cruiser Nisshin|Nisshin]] during the [[Russo-Japanese War]] (1904–1905). He oversaw many naval operations such as the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]], [[Battle of the Java Sea]], [[Battle of the Coral Sea]] and the [[Battle of Midway]]. He became an exalted naval hero.<ref name="Stille2012">{{cite book|author=Mark Stille|title=Yamamoto Isoroku|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=weO6CwAAQBAJ|date=20 June 2012|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-1-84908-732-2}}</ref>

[[Hiroyoshi Nishizawa]] was arguably the most successful Japanese [[flying ace]] of the [[Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service]] with an estimated 120 to 150 victories.<ref>Mizrahi, Joseph V., ''Wings'' magazine, August, 1986, p. 42: "... in October 1944. At that time he had well over 100 victories..." His article has no citations.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://acesofww2.com/japan/aces/nishizawa/ |title=Hiroyoshi Nishizawa |website=acesofww2.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121129212405/http://www.acesofww2.com/japan/aces/nishizawa/ |archive-date=2012-11-29}}</ref>

Following the Japanese [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] and against several other countries on 7–8 December 1941, the [[United States declaration of war on Japan|United States]], [[United Kingdom declaration of war on Japan|United Kingdom]], and other [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] declared war. The [[Second Sino-Japanese War]] became part of the global conflict of [[World War II]]. Japanese forces initially experienced great success against Allied forces in the [[Pacific War|Pacific and Southeast Asia]], capturing [[Japanese Invasion of Thailand|Thailand]], [[battle of Hong Kong|Hong Kong]], [[Battle of Malaya|Malaya]], [[Battle of Singapore|Singapore]], the [[Dutch East Indies campaign|Dutch East Indies]], the [[Battle of the Philippines (1941–42)|Philippines]], and many [[Pacific Islands]]. They also undertook [[Burma campaign|major offensives in Burma]] and launched [[Battle for Australia|air and naval attacks against Australia]]. The Allies turned the tide of war at sea in mid-1942, at the [[Battle of Midway]]. Japanese land forces continued to advance in the [[New Guinea campaign|New Guinea]] and [[Solomon Islands campaign]]s but suffered significant defeats or were forced to retreat at the battles of [[Battle of Milne Bay|Milne Bay]], the [[Kokoda Track campaign|Kokoda Track]], and [[Battle of Guadalcanal|Guadalcanal]]. The [[Burma campaign]] turned, as the Japanese forces suffered catastrophic losses at [[Battle of Imphal|Imphal]] and [[Battle of Kohima|Kohima]], leading to the greatest defeat in Japanese history up to that point.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.nam.ac.uk/exhibitions/online-exhibitions/britains-greatest-battles/imphal-kohima | title=Imphal and Kohima | publisher=[[National Army Museum]] | access-date=2015-02-06 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150207003427/http://www.nam.ac.uk/exhibitions/online-exhibitions/britains-greatest-battles/imphal-kohima | archive-date=2015-02-07 }}</ref>

From 1943 onwards, hard-fought campaigns at the battles of [[Battle of Buna-Gona|Buna-Gona]], the [[Battle of Tarawa|Tarawa]], [[Battle of the Philippine Sea|the Philippine Sea]], [[Battle of Leyte Gulf|Leyte Gulf]], [[Battle of Iwo Jima|Iwo Jima]], [[Battle of Okinawa|Okinawa]], and others resulted in horrific casualties, mostly on the Japanese side, and produced further Japanese retreats. Very few Japanese ended up in POW camps. This may have been due to Japanese soldiers' reluctance to surrender. The [[Battle of Okinawa]] was the bloodiest battle of the [[Pacific War]]. The total number of casualties shocked American military strategists. This made them apprehensive to invade Japan's main islands, because it would result in a very high death toll.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.historynet.com/battle-of-okinawa-the-bloodiest-battle-of-the-pacific-war.htm|title= Battle of Okinawa: The Bloodiest Battle of the Pacific War|publisher=HistoryNet|access-date=April 5, 2010|date= 2006-06-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/14/magazine/the-bloodiest-battle-of-all.html|work=The New York Times|title=The Bloodiest Battle Of All|first=William|last=Manchester |date=June 14, 1987|access-date=March 31, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=John Pike|url= https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/okinawa-battle.htm|title=Battle of Okinawa |publisher=Globalsecurity.org|access-date=April 5, 2010}}</ref> The brutality of the conflict is exemplified by US troops taking body parts from dead Japanese soldiers as [[American Mutilation of Japanese War Dead|"war trophies" or "war souvenirs"]] and [[Japanese war crimes#Cannibalism|Japanese cannibalism]].<ref>[[Lord Russell of Liverpool]] (Edward Russell), ''The Knights of Bushido, a short history of Japanese War Crimes'', Greenhill books, 2002, p.121.</ref>

During the Pacific War, some units of the Imperial Japanese Army [[Japanese war crimes#The events of the 1930s and 1940s|engaged in war crimes]]. This was in particular the mistreatment of [[prisoners of war]] and [[civilians]]. Between 1937 and 1945, approximately 7,357,000 [[World War II casualties|civilians died]] due to military activity in the [[Republic of China]].<ref name="auto18">[[R. J. Rummel]]. ''China's Bloody Century''. Transaction 1991 {{ISBN|0-88738-417-X}}. Table 5A</ref> Mistreatment of Allied prisoners of war through forced labour and brutality received extensive coverage in the west. During that period there were significant underlying cultural differences, because according to [[Bushido]] it was cowardly and shameful to surrender to the enemy. Thus soldiers who surrendered had relinquished their honor and did not deserve respect or basic treatment. Fred Borch explained:

{{blockquote|As Japan continued its modernization in the early 20th century, her armed forces became convinced that success in battle would be assured if Japanese soldiers, sailors, and airmen had the "spirit" of ''[[Bushido]]''. ... The result was that the ''Bushido'' code of behavior "was inculcated into the Japanese soldier as part of his basic training." Each soldier was indoctrinated to accept that it was the greatest honor to die for the Emperor and it was cowardly to surrender to the enemy. ... ''Bushido'' therefore explains why the Japanese in the [[Netherlands East Indies|NEI]] so mistreated POWs in their custody. Those who had surrendered to the Japanese—regardless of how courageously or honorably they had fought—merited nothing but contempt; they had forfeited all honor and literally deserved nothing. Consequently, when the Japanese murdered POWs by shooting, beheading, and drowning, these acts were excused since they involved the killing of men who had forfeited all rights to be treated with dignity or respect. While civilian internees were certainly in a different category from POWs, it is reasonable to think that there was a "spill-over" effect from the tenets of ''Bushido''.| [[Fred Borch]], ''Military Trials of War Criminals in the Netherlands East Indies 1946–1949''<ref>{{cite book |last1=Borch |first1=Fred |title=Military Trials of War Criminals in the Netherlands East Indies 1946–1949 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sn8yDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA31 | date=2017 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0191082955 |pages=31–32}}</ref>}}

The Japanese government has been criticized for inadequate acknowledgement of the suffering caused during World War II in history teaching in its schools which [[Japanese history textbook controversies|caused international protest]].<ref>{{cite web | author=Mariko Oi | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21226068 | title=What Japanese history lessons leave out | work=[[BBC]] | date=14 March 2013 | access-date=2015-02-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1257835.stm | title=Japan textbook angers neighbours | work=[[BBC]] | date=3 April 2001 | access-date=2015-02-06}}</ref>

On 6 August and 9 August 1945, the U.S. [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|dropped two atomic bombs]] on [[Hiroshima]] and [[Nagasaki]]. An estimated 150,000–246,000 people died as a direct result of these two bombings.<ref>{{cite web | title=Frequently Asked Questions | url=http://www.rerf.or.jp/general/qa_e/qa1.html | publisher=Radiation Effects Research Foundation | access-date=March 6, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070919143939/http://www.rerf.or.jp/general/qa_e/qa1.html | archive-date=September 19, 2007 | url-status=dead }}</ref> Japan did not have [[nuclear weapon]] technology so this new type of atomic bomb was a surprise. Hiroshima was totally unprepared. 69% of Hiroshima's buildings were destroyed and 6% damaged.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.asahi.com/hibakusha/english/shimen/happened/happened-01.html |title=Memories of Hiroshima and Nagasaki |newspaper=The Asahi Shimbun |access-date=March 18, 2014}}</ref><ref name=autogenerated2>{{cite web |publisher=Harry S. Truman Library & Museum. |title=U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey: The Effects of the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, June 19, 1946. President's Secretary's File, Truman Papers. |url=http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/bomb/large/documents/index.php?pagenumber=14&documentid=65&documentdate=1946-06-19 |page=9 |access-date=January 23, 2016 |archive-date=February 1, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201065836/http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/bomb/large/documents/index.php?pagenumber=14&documentid=65&documentdate=1946-06-19 |url-status=dead }}</ref> At this time, on 8 August, the [[Soviet Union]] entered the [[Soviet–Japanese War|war against Japan]].

[[Surrender of Japan|Japan surrendered]] on 15 August 1945, and a formal [[Japanese Instrument of Surrender|Instrument of Surrender]] was signed on 2 September 1945, on the battleship [[USS Missouri (BB-63)|USS ''Missouri'']] in [[Tokyo Bay]].<ref>[http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=49677 USS ''Missouri'' Instrument of Surrender, WWII] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130918234413/http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=49677 |date=2013-09-18 }}, Pearl Harbor, Historical Marker Database, www.hmdb.org, Retrieved 2012-03-27.</ref> The surrender was accepted, from a Japanese delegation led by [[Minister for Foreign Affairs (Japan)|Foreign Minister]] [[Mamoru Shigemitsu]], by General [[Douglas MacArthur]], as [[Supreme Allied Commander]], along with representatives of each Allied nation. A separate surrender ceremony between Japan and China was held in [[Nanjing]] on 9 September 1945.

Throughout history Japan has never been fully invaded nor conquered by a foreign power. Japan also never capitulated to a foreign power, thus Japan was unwilling to surrender. However, Japan couldn't counter the destructive [[nuclear bombs]] of America. So the Japanese thought it was better to accept the humiliating [[Potsdam Declaration]] and rebuild Japan rather than continue fighting with millions of casualties and decades of [[guerrilla warfare]]. On 15 August 1945, the [[Hirohito surrender broadcast|radio broadcast of recorded speech]] of [[Hirohito|Emperor Shōwa]] was released to the public. The last sentence is indicative: {{blockquote|it is according to the dictates of time and fate that We have resolved to pave the way for a grand peace for all the generations to come by enduring the unendurable and suffering what is unsufferable.<ref>{{cite news|title = Text of Hirohito's Radio Rescript |newspaper = [[The New York Times]] |pages = 3  |date = 15 August 1945 |url = http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1945/08/15/88279592.html?pageNumber=3 |access-date = 8 August 2015}}</ref>}}

Following the surrender, [[Douglas MacArthur]] established bases in Japan to oversee the postwar development of the country. This period in Japanese history is known as the [[Occupation of Japan|Allied Occupation]] (1945–1952), when for the first time in history of Japan was occupied by a foreign power. U.S. President [[Harry S. Truman]] officially proclaimed an end to hostilities on 31 December 1946. As the de facto military ruler of Japan, Douglas MacArthur's influence was so great that he was dubbed the {{Nihongo||外人将軍|Gaijin Shōgun}}.<ref name="Gaijin-Shogun">{{cite book|last1=Valley|first1=David J.|title=Gaijin Shogun : Gen. Douglas MacArthur Stepfather of Postwar Japan|date=April 15, 2000|publisher=Sektor Company|location=Title|isbn=978-0967817521|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/gaijinshogungene0000vall}}</ref> The Allies (led by the United States) repatriated millions of [[Japanese diaspora|ethnic Japanese]] from colonies and military camps throughout Asia. This largely eliminated the Japanese Empire and restored the independence of its conquered territories.<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={{Google books|_F3AN6x6AQ8C|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}}}</ref>

[[Imperial Japanese Army]] and [[Imperial Japanese Navy|Navy]] were disbanded by the [[Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers]]. Upon adoption of the [[Constitution of Japan|1947 constitution]], Japan became the [[Japan|State of Japan]] (Nihon Koku, {{lang|ja|日本国}}). The [[Empire of Japan]] was dismantled and all [[Japanese colonial empire|overseas territories]] were lost. Japan was reduced to the territories that were traditionally within the Japanese cultural sphere pre-1895: the four main islands ([[Honshu]], [[Hokkaido]], [[Kyushu]], and [[Shikoku]]), the [[Ryukyu Islands]], and the [[Nanpō Islands]]. The [[Kuril Islands]] also historically belong to Japan.<ref>{{cite book|last=Peattie|first=Mark R.|title=The Cambridge History of Japan Vol. 6|chapter=Chapter 5 – The Japanese Colonial Empire 1895–1945|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1988|location=Cambridge|isbn=0-521-22352-0}}</ref> The [[Kuril Islands]] were first inhabited by the [[Ainu people]] and then controlled by the Japanese [[Matsumae clan]] in the [[Edo Period]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Kuril Islands |first=John J |last=Stephan |publisher=Clarendon Press |location=Oxford |year=1974 |pages=50–56}}</ref> However, the Kuril Islands weren't included due to a [[Kuril islands dispute|dispute with the Soviet Union]].

Over the course of the war, Japan displayed many significant advances in military technology, strategy, and tactics. Among them were the [[Yamato-class battleship|''Yamato''-class battleship]], aircraft carrier innovation (e.g. [[Japanese aircraft carrier Hōshō|Hōshō]]), the [[I-400-class submarine|Sen-Toku]] submarine bomber carriers, [[Mitsubishi A6M Zero|Mitsubishi Zero]] fighters, [[Kamikaze]] bombers, [[type 91 torpedo]], [[Nakajima Kikka]], [[Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka]], [[Kaiten]] human torpedoes and the [[Kairyū-class submarine]].

==Contemporary period==

===Shōwa era, Occupation (1945–1952) and Post-war (1952–1989)===
[[File:NPR_personnel2.JPG|thumb|left|[[National Police Reserve]], May 3rd 1952]]
{{Main|Shōwa era|Japan Self-Defense Forces}}

{{Quote box
 |title  = [[Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution]]
 |quote  = (1) Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.''<br />''(2) In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized.
 |source = 
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}}

Post [[World War II]], Japan was deprived of any military capability after signing the [[Surrender of Japan|surrender agreement]] in 1945. The [[Occupation of Japan|Allied occupation forces]] were fully responsible for protecting Japan from external threats. Japan only had a minor police force for domestic security. Japan was under the sole control of the U.S. military. This was the only time in [[History of Japan|Japanese history]] that it was occupied by a foreign power.<ref>{{cite web |last=The Metropolitan Museum of Art |title=Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History: Japan, 1900 a.d.–present |url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/11/eaj/ht11eaj.htm |access-date=2009-02-01}}</ref>

Unlike the [[Allied-occupied Germany|occupation of Germany]], other countries such as the [[Soviet Union]] had almost zero influence in Japan. [[West Germany]] was allowed to write its own [[Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany|constitution]] under supervision of the Allies. [[West Germany]] was at the forefront of the [[Cold War]] and was not required to include a pacifist clause in their constitution. Meanwhile, General [[Douglas MacArthur]] had near complete control over Japanese politics. [[Constitution of Japan|1947 Japanese constitution]] was mostly written by the United States and under the guidelines of General [[Douglas MacArthur]]. This changed Japan's previous authoritarian system of quasi-[[absolute monarchy]] to a form of [[liberal democracy]] with [[constitutional monarchy]] and [[Parliamentary system|parliamentary]]-based political system. The constitution guarantees [[Civil and political rights|civil]] and [[human rights]]. The [[Emperor of Japan|Emperor]] changed to a symbolic status as "the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people." Douglas MacArthur included [[Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution|Article 9]] which says Japan forever renounces war as an instrument for settling international disputes and declares that Japan will never again maintain "land, sea, or air forces or other war potential".<ref>{{cite web|title=Resurgent Japan military 'can stand toe to toe with anybody|date=7 December 2016|publisher=CNN|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2016/12/06/asia/japan-military-pearl-harbor-anniversary/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204084031/https://edition.cnn.com/2016/12/06/asia/japan-military-pearl-harbor-anniversary/ |archive-date=2018-12-04}}</ref> Japan became a [[pacifism|pacifist]] country since September 1945. The trauma of [[World War II]] produced strong pacifist sentiments among the nation.

There were growing external threats of the [[Cold War]] and Japan did not have adequate forces to counter it. During the [[Korean War]] (1950–1953) Japan was the forward logistics base and provided many supplies for US and UN forces. The unilateral renunciation of all military capabilities was questioned by conservative politicians. These sentiments were intensified in 1950 as occupation troops were moved from Japan to the [[Korean War]] (1950–53). This left Japan virtually defenseless and vulnerable. They thought a mutual defense relationship with the United States was needed to protect Japan from foreign threats. In July 1950 the Japanese government, with the encouragement of the US occupation forces, established a [[National Police Reserve]] (警察予備隊 ''Keisatsu-yobitai''). This consisted of 75,000 men equipped with light infantry weapons. This was the first step of its postwar rearmament.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=The Korean War and The National Police Reserve of Japan: Impact of the US Army's Far East Command on Japan's Defense Capability |last=Kuzuhara |first=Kazumi |volume=7 |date=2006 |url=http://www.nids.go.jp/english/publication/kiyo/pdf/bulletin_e2006_5_Kuzuhara.pdf |journal=NIDS Journal of Defense and Security |publisher=National Institute for Defense Studies |issn=1345-4250 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160606194258/http://www.nids.go.jp/english/publication/kiyo/pdf/bulletin_e2006_5_Kuzuhara.pdf |archive-date=6 June 2016 |page=96 |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |script-title=ja:戦後政治と自衛隊 |last=佐道明広 |publisher=吉川弘文館 |isbn=4-642-05612-2 |date=2006 |page=23 |language=ja}}</ref> In 1952, {{Nihongo|Coastal Safety Force|海上警備隊|Kaijō Keibitai}}, the waterborne counterpart of NPR, was also founded.<ref name="Takei">{{Cite journal |title=Japan Maritime Self Defense Force in the New Maritime Era |last=Takei |first=Tomohisa |author-link=Tomohisa Takei |volume=34 |date=2008 |url=https://www.mod.go.jp/msdf/navcol/SSG/topics-column/images/c-030/c-030_eng.pdf |journal=Hatou |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215184046/http://www.mod.go.jp/msdf/navcol/SSG/topics-column/images/c-030/c-030_eng.pdf |archive-date=15 December 2018 |page=3 |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref name="Takei ja">{{cite journal  |script-title= ja:海洋新時代における海上自衛隊 |trans-title=Japan Maritime Self Defense Force in the New Maritime Era |author=武居智久 |author-link=Tomohisa Takei |volume=34 |date=2008 |url=https://www.mod.go.jp/msdf/navcol/SSG/topics-column/images/c-030/c-030.pdf |journal=波涛 |publisher=波涛編集委員会 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215184134/http://www.mod.go.jp/msdf/navcol/SSG/topics-column/images/c-030/c-030.pdf |archive-date=15 December 2018 |page=5  |df=dmy-all |language=ja}}</ref>

The Allied [[occupation of Japan]] ended after the signing of the [[Treaty of San Francisco]] on 8 September 1951, which became effective on 28 April 1952, thus restoring the sovereignty of Japan.

On 8 September 1951, the [[Security Treaty Between the United States and Japan]] was signed. The treaty allowed [[United States Forces Japan|United States forces stationed in Japan]] to deal with external aggression against Japan while Japanese ground and maritime forces dealt with internal threats and natural disasters. The United States was permitted to act for the sake of maintaining peace in East Asia and could exert its power on Japanese domestic quarrels. The treaty has lasted longer than any other alliance between two great powers since the [[Peace of Westphalia]] treaties in 1648.<ref name="Packard">{{cite magazine|last=Packard |first=George R. |url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/66150/george-r-packard/the-united-states-japan-security-treaty-at-50 |title=The United States-Japan Security Treaty at 50 |magazine=Foreign Affairs |access-date=2013-04-23}}</ref>
Accordingly, in mid-1952, the [[National Police Reserve]] was expanded to 110,000 men and renamed the National Safety Forces.<ref>{{Cite book |title=An Inoffensive Rearmament: The Making of the Postwar Japanese Army |last=Kowalski |first=Frank |date=2014 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn= 9781591142263 |page=72 }}</ref> The Coastal Safety Force was an embryonic navy that was transferred with the National Police Reserve to the National Safety Agency.

Strict civilian control over the military was established with the 1947-constitution to prevent the military from regaining overwhelming political power. Thus soldiers, sailors and airforce members cannot be involved in political activities. The Defense Agency of Japan stated that: {{blockquote|"Painfully aware of the regrettable state of affairs that had prevailed in this country until the end of World War II, Japan has adopted systems of uncompromising civilian control that are entirely different from those that existed under the former Constitution, so that the JSDF should be established and operated in accordance with the will of the people."|Defense Agency (of Japan)<ref name="defense-agency">Defense Agency, Defense of Japan 1998, P-70; originally published by the Defense Agency in June 1998 in Japanese and translated into English by the Japan Times.</ref>}}

The war-renunciation clause of [[Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution|Article 9]] was the basis for strong political objections to any sort of armed force other than a conventional police force. In 1954, however, separate land, sea, and air forces were created for defensive purposes, under the command of the [[Prime Minister of Japan|Prime Minister]]. The 1954 Self-Defense Forces Act (Act No. 165 of 1954) reorganized the National Security Board as the Defense Agency on July 1, 1954. Afterward, the National Security Force was reorganized as the [[Japan Ground Self-Defense Force]] (GSDF) (陸上自衛隊 ''Rikujō Jieitai''), which is the de facto post-war Japanese [[army]]. The Coastal Safety Force was reorganized as the [[Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force]] (JMSDF) (海上自衛隊 ''Kaijō Jieitai''), which is the de facto Japanese [[Navy]].<ref name="Takei"/><ref name="Takei ja"/> The [[Japan Air Self-Defense Force]] (JASDF) (航空自衛隊 ''Kōkū Jieitai'') was established as a new branch of the JSDF. General [[Keizō Hayashi]] was appointed as the first Chairman of Joint Staff Council—professional head of the three branches.<ref name="Defendingjapan.wordpress.com">{{cite web|url=https://defendingjapan.wordpress.com/tag/japan-self-defense-force/ |title=Japan Self-Defense Force {{pipe}} Defending Japan |publisher=Defendingjapan.wordpress.com |access-date=2014-08-03}}</ref> Conscription was abolished on 3 May 1947. Enlistment in the JSDF is voluntary at 18 years of age and older.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chartsbin.com/view/1887|title=Military Conscription Policy by Country|last=ChartsBin|work=chartsbin.com|access-date=15 October 2016|archive-date=16 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161016123751/http://chartsbin.com/view/1887|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The [[Far East Air Force (United States)|Far East Air Force]], U.S. Air Force, announced on 6 January 1955, that 85 aircraft would be turned over to the fledgling Japanese air force on about 15 January, the first equipment of the new force.<ref>Associated Press, "Jap Air Force Will Get 85 U. S. Planes", ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'' (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 7 January 1955, Volume 28, Number 137, page 2.</ref>

On 19 January 1960, the unequal status of Japan with the United States was corrected with the amended [[Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan]] by adding mutual defense obligations. This treaty requires the US to pre-inform Japan of US army mobilization and to not impose itself concerning Japanese domestic issues.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gordon|first=Andrew|title=A Modern History of Japan: From Tokugawa times to the Present|year=2003|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York}}</ref> Japan and the United States are obligated to assist each other if there's an armed attack in territories administered by Japan. Japan and the United States are required to maintain capacities to resist common armed attacks. This established a [[U.S.–Japan Alliance|military alliance]] between Japan and the United States.<ref name="Packard"/>

Japan is the only country to have suffered [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|nuclear attacks]] in history. Thus in 1967, [[Prime Minister of Japan|Prime Minister]] [[Eisaku Satō]] outlined the [[Three Non-Nuclear Principles]] by which Japan stands against the production or possession of nuclear weaponry. However, due to its high technology level and large number of operating [[nuclear power plant]]s, Japan is considered to be "nuclear capable", i.e., it could [[Japanese nuclear weapon program|develop usable nuclear weapons]] within one year if the political situation changed significantly.<ref name=Worden>{{cite book | first=Ronald | last=Dolan | author2=Robert Worden | title=Japan : A Country Study | publisher=Federal Research Division, Library of Congress | chapter-url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/jptoc.html | year=1992 | isbn=0-8444-0731-3 | chapter=8 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/japancountrystud00dola }} See section 2: "The Self Defense Forces"</ref> Thus many analysts consider Japan a ''de facto'' [[List of states with nuclear weapons|nuclear state]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.largeassociates.com/R3126-A1-%20final.pdf |date=May 2, 2005 |author=John H. Large |title=The actual and potential development of Nuclear Weapons Technology in the area of North East Asia (Korean Peninsular and Japan) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070710105632/http://www.largeassociates.com/R3126-A1-%20final.pdf |archive-date=2007-07-10 |id=R3126-A1}}</ref><ref name=tipping-point>{{cite book |pages=243–246 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NvkDBNV-ks8C |title=The Nuclear Tipping Point: Why States Reconsider Their Nuclear Choices |author1=Kurt M. Campbell |author2=Robert J. Einhorn |author3=Mitchell Reiss |publisher=Brookings Institution Press |year=2004 |isbn=9780815796596 |access-date=24 December 2013}}</ref> Numerous politicians such as [[Shinzo Abe]] and [[Yasuo Fukuda]] explained that Japan's constitution doesn't ban possession of [[nuclear weapons]]. They should be kept at a minimum and used as tactical weapons.<ref name="schell"/> The 1951 [[Security Treaty Between the United States and Japan|US-Japan Security Treaty]] puts Japan under the US [[nuclear umbrella]].

The last Japanese soldiers of [[World War II]] to surrender were [[Hiroo Onoda]] and [[Teruo Nakamura]] in 1974. Onoda was an intelligence officer and [[second lieutenant]] in the [[Imperial Japanese Army]]. He continued his campaign after WWII for 29 years in a [[Japanese holdout]] on [[Lubang Island]], the Philippines. He returned to Japan when he was relieved from duty by his commanding officer, Major Yoshimi Taniguchi as per the order of [[Emperor Shōwa]] in 1974.<ref name="Willacy2010">Willacy, M. (2010): [https://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2010/s3065416.htm Japanese holdouts fought for decades after WWII] ''ABC Lateline'' (12 November 2010). Retrieved on 16 September 2011.</ref><ref name="Powers2011">Powers, D. (2011): [https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/japan_no_surrender_01.shtml Japan: No Surrender in World War Two] ''BBC History'' (17 February 2011). Retrieved on 16 September 2011.</ref> Teruo Nakamura was an [[Amis people|Amis]] [[Taiwanese aborigines|aborigine]] from [[Taiwan under Japanese rule|Japanese Taiwan]] in the [[Takasago Volunteer Unit]] of the Imperial Japanese army. He was stationed on [[Morotai Island]], Indonesia and discovered by a pilot in mid-1974. Nakamura was repatriated to Taiwan in 1975.<ref name="holdout">{{cite news |author1=Han Cheung |title=The last holdout of Morotai |url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2016/01/03/2003636296/1 |access-date=15 September 2018 |work=Taipei Times |date=2 January 2016}}</ref><ref name=trefalt>{{cite book|last1=Trefalt|first1=Beatrice|title=Japanese Army Stragglers and Memories of the War in Japan, 1950–75|year=2003|publisher=RoutledgeCurzon|isbn=0-415-31218-3|pages=160–178}}</ref>

Throughout the post-war [[Shōwa period]], the [[Japanese people|Japanese]] had a low opinion of the [[Japan Self-Defense Forces|JSDF]]. They were seen as remnants of the imperial military who caused a severe loss and [[Surrender of Japan|humiliating surrender]] of [[World War II]]. They were considered "tax thieves" (zeikin dorobo) for being expensive and unnecessary while Japan had decades of booming economy. So the JSDF was still trying to find its place in Japanese society and earn respect and trust from the public. The SDF was managed by the [[Ministry of Defense (Japan)|Japan Defense Agency]] which had little political influence compared to ministries. The JSDF had good personnel and equipment, but mainly served a supplementary role for the [[United States Armed Forces|US military]] against the [[Soviet Union]].<ref name="New-Era-SDF">{{cite news|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2019/06/27/commentary/japan-commentary/new-era-new-self-defense-forces/|title=New era, new Self-Defense Forces| date=June 27, 2019| work=The Japan Times| access-date=28 June 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190627231146/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2019/06/27/commentary/japan-commentary/new-era-new-self-defense-forces/|archive-date=June 27, 2019}}</ref>

Japan had record high economic growth during the [[Japanese economic miracle]]. By the 1970s Japan ascended to [[great power]] status again. It had the world's [[Economic history of Japan|second largest economy]]. However, its military power was very limited due to pacifist policies and article 9 of the [[Constitution of Japan|1947 constitution]]. Japan exerted disproportionately small political and military influence in the world. This made Japan an abnormal great power.<ref name="Milena Sterio">{{cite book|last1=Sterio|first1=Milena|title=The right to self-determination under international law : "selfistans", secession and the rule of the great powers|date=2013|publisher=Routledge|location=Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon|isbn=978-0415668187|page=xii (preface)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-QuI6n_OVMYC&q=The+Right+to+Self-determination+Under+International+Law%3A+%22selfistans%22%2C+Secession+and+the+Rule+of+the+Great+Powers|access-date=13 June 2016}} ("''The great powers are super-sovereign states: an exclusive club of the most powerful states economically, militarily, politically and strategically. These states include veto-wielding members of the United Nations Security Council (United States, United Kingdom, France, China, and Russia), as well as economic powerhouses such as Germany, Italy and Japan.''")</ref>

===Heisei era (1989–2019)===
{{Main|Heisei era}}

====Departure from pacifism====

During the [[Gulf War]] (1990–1991) the [[Japan Self-Defense Forces]] couldn't participate due to restrictions of the [[Constitution of Japan|1947 constitution]]. However, Japan did make a financial contribution of $10 billion and sent military hardware.<ref>Freedman, Lawrence, and Efraim Karsh. ''The Gulf Conflict 1990–1991: Diplomacy and War in the New World Order''. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1993. Print.</ref> Japan's inability to send troops was regarded as a big humiliation. They learned that only making financial contributions ([[checkbook diplomacy]]) did not earn Japan international respect. Furthermore, Japan couldn't provide much support to US forces which caused frustration. This humiliation was decisive in making policymakers and military planners determined to depart from Japan's pacifist foreign policy.<ref name="Gulf-War-Trauma-Pacifism">{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-military-history-insight/gulf-war-trauma-began-japans-retreat-from-pacifism-idUSKBN0U300D20151220|title=Gulf war trauma began Japan's retreat from pacifism| date=December 20, 2015| work=Reuters| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190531151026/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-military-history-insight/gulf-war-trauma-began-japans-retreat-from-pacifism-idUSKBN0U300D20151220|archive-date=May 31, 2019}}</ref>

Since 1991, the JSDF has conducted international activities to provide support for peacekeeping missions and disaster relief efforts as well as to help prevent conflict and terrorism. Particularly humanitarian aid such as helping the victims of the 1995 [[Great Hanshin earthquake|Kobe earthquake]] and humanitarian, reconstruction assistance in [[Iraq]] (2003 till 2009).<ref name="20-years-JSDF">{{cite web|url=https://www.mod.go.jp/e/jdf/no24/specialfeature01.html|title=Two Decades of International Cooperation: A Look Back on 20 Years of JSDF Activities Abroad| date=December 24, 2011| publisher=Japan Ministry of Defense| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180327211942/http://www.mod.go.jp/e/jdf/no24/specialfeature01.html |archive-date=March 27, 2018}}</ref>
In 1992 a law was passed to permit the JSDF to participate in [[United Nations peacekeeping|UN Peacekeeping]] missions.

The Guidelines for Japan-U.S. Defense Cooperation were revised in 1997 which increased the scope for the JSDF as rear-support for US forces by providing logistics support near Japan.<ref name="overseas-dispatch">{{cite news|title=The Overseas Dispatch of Japan's Self-Defense Forces and U.S. War Preparations 自衛隊海外派遣と米国の戦争準備 |last=Narusawa |first=Muneo |date=28 July 2014 |publisher=The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus |url=https://apjjf.org/2014/12/31/Narusawa-Muneo/4158/article.html|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180930193008/https://apjjf.org/2014/12/31/Narusawa-Muneo/4158/article.html |archive-date=September 30, 2018 }}</ref>

On 28 May 1999, the Regional Affairs Law was enacted. It allows Japan to automatically participate as "rear support" if the United States begins a war under "regional affairs".<ref name="overseas-dispatch"/>

====21st Century====
[[File:JGSDF International disaster relief activities in Pakistan.jpg|thumb|A [[Japan Ground Self-Defense Force|JGSDF]] Bell-Fuji UH-1H conducting [[2005 Kashmir earthquake|Kashmir earthquake]] relief activities (2005)]]

The modern [[Japan Self-Defense Forces]] is one of the most technologically advanced armed forces in the world. The JSDF ranked as the world's fourth most-powerful military in conventional capabilities in a [[Credit Suisse]] report in 2015.<ref name="CreditSuisse2015">{{cite report|url=http://publications.credit-suisse.com/tasks/render/file/index.cfm?fileid=EE7A6A5D-D9D5-6204-E9E6BB426B47D054|title=The End of Globalization or a more Multipolar World?|publisher=[[Credit Suisse]] AG|first1=Michael|last1=O'Sullivan|first2=Krithika|last2=Subramanian|date=2015-10-17|access-date=2017-07-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215235711/http://publications.credit-suisse.com/tasks/render/file/index.cfm?fileid=EE7A6A5D-D9D5-6204-E9E6BB426B47D054|archive-date=2018-02-15|url-status=dead}}</ref> It has the [[List of countries by military expenditures|eighth-largest military budget]] in the world with just 1% of GDP (2011).<ref name="sipri 2011">{{cite web|url=http://www.sipri.org/research/armaments/milex/resultoutput/15majorspenders|title=SIPRI Yearbook 2012–15 countries with the highest military expenditure in 2011|publisher=Sipri.org|access-date=April 27, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100328104327/http://www.sipri.org/research/armaments/milex/resultoutput/15majorspenders|archive-date=March 28, 2010|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

Since 1991 the JSDF has participated in dozens of international [[peacekeeping]] operations including [[United Nations peacekeeping|UN peacekeeping]] and disaster relief.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/japan/intro.htm|title=Japan – Introduction| publisher=Globalsecurity.org| access-date=2006-03-05}}</ref> From 1991 to 2016 the JSDF had approximately 32 overseas dispatches. These were mainly in [[Southeast Asia]], [[South Asia]] and the [[Middle East]].

Japan has been a member of the [[United Nations]] since 18 December 1956 and served as a non-permanent [[United Nations Security Council|Security Council]] member for a total of [[List of members of the United Nations Security Council#List by number of years as Security Council member|20 years]]. Japan is one of the [[G4 nations]] seeking to gain permanent membership of the Security Council.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.centralchronicle.com/20070111/1101194.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070221044357/http://www.centralchronicle.com/20070111/1101194.htm |archive-date=February 21, 2007 |title=UK backs Japan for UNSC bid |website=Central Chronicle |access-date=March 28, 2007}}</ref> In 2004, the former United Nations Secretary General [[Kofi Annan]] announced a plan to expand the number of permanent seats on the [[United Nations Security Council]]. Despite being the third largest national economy in the world in terms of [[nominal GDP]],<ref>{{Cite news|title=China confirmed as World's Second Largest Economy|newspaper=The Guardian |date=January 21, 2011|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2011/jan/21/china-confirmed-worlds-second-largest-economy|access-date=January 21, 2011 |first=James |last=Inman |location=London}}</ref> with global political influence, some debate whether or not a country with no official standing military can be considered a world power that should have a permanent seat on the council.

The Anti-Terrorism Special Measures Law was passed on October 29, 2001. It allows the JSDF to contribute by itself to international efforts to the prevention and eradication of terrorism. While on duty the JSDF can use weapons to protect themselves and others who come under their control. Previously Japan's policy was non-involvement.<ref>{{cite news|title=Joining Forces Against Terrorism: Japan's New Law Commits More Than Words to U.S. Effort |last=Wortzel |first=Larry |date=5 November 2011 |publisher=The Heritage Foundation |url=https://www.heritage.org/defense/report/joining-forces-against-terrorism-japans-new-law-commits-more-thanwords-us-effort |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006020326/https://www.heritage.org/defense/report/joining-forces-against-terrorism-japans-new-law-commits-more-thanwords-us-effort |archive-date=October 6, 2018 }}</ref>

On 22 December 2001, the [[Battle of Amami-Ōshima]] was a six hour long confrontation with an undercover [[North Korea]]n spy and infiltration ship. The spy ship was heavily armed and 400&nbsp;km north west of the Japanese island [[Amami Ōshima]]. The spy ship did not heed warnings of the [[Japanese Coast Guard]] and tried to escape. 12 patrol boats and 13 planes of the [[Japanese Coast Guard|JCG]] and 2 [[Maritime Self-Defense Force|MSDF]] destroyers chased the ship. Eventually the spy vessel opened fire and, after receiving fire from JCG cutters, sunk with self-destructive explosion. All 15 crew members died. This was the first time since World War 2 that Japan attacked and sank a foreign ship in [[Exclusive economic zone of Japan|Japan's sea territory]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/asia-pacific/1727867.stm|title=Japan says "spy ship" fired rockets|date=25 December 2001|website=BBC News|access-date=29 January 2009}}</ref>

On March 27, 2004, the [[Ministry of Defense (Japan)|Japan Defense Agency]] activated the [[Special Forces Group (Japan)|Special Operations Group]] with the mandate under the JGSDF as its [[Counter-terrorism|Counter-terrorist unit]].<ref name="SF">{{cite web |title=日本国の精鋭部隊＆特殊部隊 |trans-title=Japan's Elite Forces & Special Forces |url=http://www5f.biglobe.ne.jp/~sbu/DATABASE-JAPAN.htm |date=2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041029224605/http://www5f.biglobe.ne.jp/~sbu/DATABASE-JAPAN.htm |archive-date=29 October 2004 |website=[[BIGLOBE]] |language=ja |access-date=25 June 2019}}</ref>

On 8 June 2006, the [[Cabinet of Japan]] (premiership of [[Junichiro Koizumi]]) endorsed a bill elevating the {{Nihongo|Defense Agency|防衛庁|''Bōeichō''}} under the [[Cabinet Office (Japan)|Cabinet Office]] to full-fledged cabinet-level {{Nihongo|[[Ministry of Defense (Japan)|Ministry of Defense]]|防衛省|''Bōeishō''}}. This was passed by the [[National Diet]] in December 2006, and has been enforced since January 9, 2007.<ref>{{cite news |title=Japan creates defense ministry |date=2006-12-15 |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6182087.stm}}</ref>

In 2007, Prime Minister [[Shinzō Abe]] said that Japan's constitution did not necessarily ban possession of [[nuclear weapons]], so long as they were kept at a minimum and were tactical weapons, and Chief Cabinet Secretary [[Yasuo Fukuda]] expressed a similar view.<ref name=schell>{{cite book | last = Schell | first = Jonathan | author-link = Jonathan Schell | title = The Seventh Decade: The New Shape of Nuclear Danger | publisher = Macmillan | year = 2007 | page = [https://archive.org/details/seventhdecade00sche/page/145 145] | url = https://archive.org/details/seventhdecade00sche/page/145 | isbn = 978-0-8050-8129-9 }}</ref>

On January 9, 2007, Section 2 of Article 3 of the Self Defense Forces Act was revised. JSDF activities abroad were elevated from "miscellaneous regulations" to "basic duties". This fundamentally changed the nature of the JSDF because its activities are no longer solely defensive. JMSDF ships can be dispatched worldwide such as in activities against pirates. The JSDF's first postwar overseas base was established in Djibouti, Somalia (July 2010).<ref name="overseas-dispatch"/>

====Resurgence====
[[File:JS_Hyūga_(DDH-181)_in_formation_with_USS_George_Washington_in_the_East_China_Sea_after_Keen_Sword_2013,_-16_Nov._2012_a.jpg|thumb|right|{{USS|George Washington|CVN-73|6}} and {{JS|Hyūga|DDH-181|6}} after the exercise Keen Sword 2013]]

Since 2010, Japan reemerged as a major military power. Various policies increased the role of Japan's military in its foreign policy. Japan's 2010 National Defense Program Guidelines changed its defense policy from a focus on the former [[Soviet Union]] to [[China]].<ref name="MARTIN FACKLER">{{cite news | last= Fackler | first= Martin | url= https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/17/world/asia/17japan.html | title= Japan Announces Defense Policy to Counter China | newspaper= The New York Times | date= December 16, 2010 | access-date= December 17, 2010}}</ref>

After a decade of defense spending cuts, Japan increased its defense budget in 2013. The [[Cabinet of Japan]] approved the National Security Strategy (NSS) in December 2013.<ref>{{Cite web| title=National Security Strategy | date=December 17, 2013 | url=https://www.cas.go.jp/jp/siryou/131217anzenhoshou/nss-e.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140212214108/http://www.cas.go.jp/jp/siryou/131217anzenhoshou/nss-e.pdf | archive-date=2014-02-12}}</ref> This explains what instigated Japan's military resurgence: 
China is using military force in the skies and seas to unilaterally change the status quo in the [[South China Sea]] and [[East China Sea]]. This is based on China's assertions that are incompatible with the established order. China also lacks transparency of its military and national security policies.<ref name="China-Unilateralism">{{cite news |title=Japan boosts military forces to counter China |date=1 December 2013|work=BBC News |access-date=19 June 2019 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-25411653|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170509200732/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-25411653 |archive-date=May 9, 2017}}</ref>

The Japanese are concerned about a gradual decline in commitment by the [[United States]] to support Japan in a multi-polarizing world. Thus since 2010 Japan has moved to a more autonomous security policy while maintaining the U.S.-Japan alliance. Japan has increased its power projection capabilities such as with the development of homemade long-range cruise missiles, the [[Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade]] and the modification of two [[Izumo-class multi-purpose destroyer|''Izumo''-class destroyers]] into de facto [[aircraft carriers]] with [[Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II|F-35B]]s. There's gradual integration among the three JSDF branches so they can operate more autonomously from the US.<ref name="Multipolar-world">{{cite news |title=Japan's awakening to a multipolar world |date=6 June 2019|publisher=East Asia Forum |access-date=8 June 2019 |url=https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2019/06/06/japans-awakening-to-a-multipolar-world/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608133920/https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2019/06/06/japans-awakening-to-a-multipolar-world/ |archive-date=June 8, 2019}}</ref>

The United States maintains [[United States Forces Japan|American military bases in Japan]] as part of the [[Japan-America Security Alliance|U.S.-Japan alliance]] of 1951. Most US military are in [[Okinawa Prefecture]]. In 2013 there were approximately 50,000 U.S. military personnel stationed in Japan with 40,000 dependents and 5,500 American civilians employed by the [[United States Department of Defense]].<ref name="japantimes2008_basics_of_us_presence">Yoshida, Reiji, "[https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2008/03/25/reference/basics-of-the-u-s-military-presence/ Basics of the U.S. military presence]", ''[[Japan Times]]'', 25 March 2008, p. 3.</ref> The [[United States Seventh Fleet]] is based in [[Yokosuka, Kanagawa|Yokosuka]], [[Kanagawa Prefecture]].  The [[3rd Marine Expeditionary Force]] (III MEF) is based in [[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawa]]. 130 USAF fighters are stationed in the [[Misawa Air Base]] and [[Kadena Air Base]].<ref name="japantimes2008_basics_of_us_presence"/> [[U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka]] is the largest and strategically most important U.S. naval base in the western Pacific.<ref name="CFAY">{{cite news |title=Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka |date=18 December 2018|publisher=US Navy Website |access-date=15 June 2019 |url=https://www.cnic.navy.mil/Regions/cnrj/installations/cfa_yokosuka.html/StoreFront/CommandHistory/|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201085505/http://www.cnic.navy.mil/regions/cnrj/installations/cfa_yokosuka.html/StoreFront/CommandHistory.htm |archive-date=2016-12-01}}</ref> The base was previously the headquarters of the [[Yokosuka Naval District]] of the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]], but now only a small portion of it is used by the [[Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force|JMSDF]]. [[Kadena Air Base]] is the largest and most active US Air Force base in the [[Far East]].<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/kadena.htm |title = Kadena Air Base}}</ref> Japan pays 75% ($4.4 billion) of all US basing costs.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theglobepost.com/2017/12/25/allies-ripping-off-america/|title=Defending Allies: Here is how much US Gains from Policing World|last=Zeynalov|first=Mahir|date=2017-12-25|work=The Globe Post|access-date=2018-05-10|language=en-US}}</ref> Japan's willingness to host the majority of the US Armed Forces in Asia makes Japan essential to America's security policy in the [[Indo-Pacific]]. This helps the U.S. to project military force in the Pacific and Asia. The U.S.-Japan alliance is the cornerstone of peace, stability and economic prosperity in the Pacific.<ref name="US-Forces-Japan-Video">{{cite video |title=The Mission of U.S. Forces Japan |date=17 January 2019|publisher=U.S. Forces Japan |access-date=25 June 2019 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3ozSkVQRmg |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/V3ozSkVQRmg| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="Unfair-Defense-Pact">{{cite news |title=Trump muses privately about ending "unfair" postwar U.S.-Japan defense pact |date=25 June 2019|newspaper=The Japan Times |access-date=25 June 2019 |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/06/25/national/politics-diplomacy/trump-muses-privately-ending-unfair-postwar-u-s-japan-defense-pact/}}</ref>

On December 4, 2013, the [[National Security Council (Japan)|National Security Council]] was established to coordinate the national security policies of Japan.<ref name="Martin">{{cite news|url=https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303653004579210881381219784|title=Japan to Form Own National Security Council|author=Alexander Martin|date=21 November 2013|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|access-date=4 February 2014}}</ref>

In June 2014, Prime Minister [[Shinzo Abe]] and his cabinet agreed to lift the long-term ban on Japanese troops engaging in combat abroad. This was in a bid to strengthen the Japanese situation amid an ever-growing Chinese military aggression and North Korea's nuclear weapons programme.<ref>{{cite news|author=Justin McCurry in Tokyo |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/01/japan-pacifists-military-intervention-shinzo-abe?CMP=twt_gu |title=Japanese pacifists unnerved by lifting of ban on military intervention {{pipe}} World news |newspaper=The Guardian |date=2014-07-01 |access-date=2014-08-03}}</ref>

The JSDF Act was amended in 2015 in order to make it illegal for JSDF personnel/staff to participate in collective insubordination or to command forces without authority or in violation of orders, which was stated to be the reason why Japan invaded China in World War II.<ref>{{cite news |last=Jones |first=Colin P. A. |title=Jail in Japan for cannabis in Canada? Possible but unlikely |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2018/11/08/issues/jail-in-japan-for-toking-in-canada-possible-but-unlikely/#.W_jj1OJoSUk |date=8 November 2018 |newspaper=[[The Japan Times]] |department=Community |access-date=27 June 2019}}</ref>

====Global U.S.-Japan alliance====
[[Image:Japan_Ground_Self-Defense_Force_(JGSDF)_Flag_-_Orient_Shield_2017_Opening_Ceremony.png|thumb|right|[[Japan Ground Self-Defense Force|JGSDF]] and U.S. soldiers participate in the Orient Shield 2017 opening ceremony at Camp Shin Yokotsuka, Sept. 11, 2017.]]

Until 2015, the U.S.-Japan alliance was a regional alliance with an exclusively defense oriented policy on defending Japan. The ''Guidelines for Japan-U.S. Defense Cooperation (2015)'' changed it into a global alliance with global military cooperation and greater U.S.-Japan coordination. It removed the regional restrictions that the alliance was only for Japan and the surrounding area. This allowed Japan to assume a global military role such as in the [[Indo-Pacific]].<ref name="Japan-US-Guidelines-2015">{{cite news|title=The Guidelines for Japan-U.S. Defense Cooperation |date=April 27, 2015 |access-date=June 23, 2019 |publisher=Ministry of Defense |url=https://www.mod.go.jp/e/d_act/anpo/shishin_20150427e.html|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608153455/https://www.mod.go.jp/e/d_act/anpo/shishin_20150427e.html |archive-date=June 8, 2019}}</ref> It was the first defense cooperation guidelines revision since 1997. Former U.S. Secretary of State [[John Kerry]] reaffirmed that America has an ironclad commitment to Japan's security which covers all territories under Japan's administration.<ref>{{cite news|title=U.S., Japan unveil new defense guidelines for global Japanese role |last=Mohammed |first=Arshad |date=28 April 2015 |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-japan-defense-idUSKBN0NI08O20150428|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322145021/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-japan-defense-idUSKBN0NI08O20150428 |archive-date=March 22, 2016 }}</ref> Constitutional reinterpretations of [[Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution|Article 9]] and military legislation have expanded the role of the JSDF such as [[Collective security|collective self-defense]] with allies.

On 18 September 2015, the National Diet enacted the [[2015 Japanese military legislation]], a series of laws that allow Japan's Self-Defense Forces to [[Collective security|collective self-defense]] of allies in combat for the first time under its constitution. The Self-Defense Forces may provide material support to allies engaged in combat internationally. It also allows JSDF troops to defend weapons platforms of foreign countries that contribute to Japan's defense. The justification is that by not defending/supporting an ally, it would weaken alliances and endanger Japan. These were Japan's broadest changes to its defense laws since World War II.<ref>{{cite news|title=Japan enacts major changes to its self-defense laws |last=Slavin |first=Erik |location=Tokyo |date=18 September 2015 |newspaper=[[Stars and Stripes (newspaper)|Stars and Stripes]] |url=http://www.stripes.com/news/pacific/japan-enacts-major-changes-to-its-self-defense-laws-1.368783|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180619063041/https://www.stripes.com/news/pacific/japan-enacts-major-changes-to-its-self-defense-laws-1.368783 |archive-date=June 19, 2018 }}</ref>

Since March 2016, Japan's Legislation for Peace and Security enables seamless responses of the JSDF to any situation to protect the lives and livelihood of Japanese people. It also increases proactive contributions to peace and security in the world and deepens cooperation with partners. This enhanced the Japan-US alliance as global partners to promote peace and security in the region and the international community.<ref name="reorg">{{cite book | url = https://www.mod.go.jp/e/about/organization/reorganized/p4-5.pdf | title = The Ministry of Defense Reorganized: For the Support of Peace and Security | year = 2007 | publisher = Japan Ministry of Defense | location = Tokyo | pages = 4–5 | access-date = 2019-06-24 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190412080502/https://www.mod.go.jp/e/about/organization/reorganized/p4-5.pdf | archive-date = 2019-04-12 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

As of 2012, Japan and its allies want to maintain a "Free and Open Indo-Pacific" (FOIP). This means any country can freely navigate across the [[Indian Ocean]] and [[Pacific Ocean]] from Asia to Africa for economic purposes. By implementing and guarding the rule of law in the oceans, peace, stability and prosperity can be promoted.<ref name="Free-Indo-Pacific">{{cite news |title=Priority Policy for Development Cooperation FY2017 |date=1 April 2017|publisher=International Cooperation Bureau, MOFA|access-date=16 June 2019 |url=https://www.mofa.go.jp/files/000259285.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502135008/https://www.mofa.go.jp/files/000259285.pdf |archive-date=2019-05-02}}</ref> The FOIP strategy became the official policy of Japan and the United States in 2017.<ref name="FIOP-Strategy">{{cite news |title=What does the "Indo-Pacific strategy" mean? |date=11 March 2019|newspaper=The Japan Times|access-date=16 June 2019 |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2019/03/11/commentary/japan-commentary/indo-pacific-strategy-mean/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331062121/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2019/03/11/commentary/japan-commentary/indo-pacific-strategy-mean/  |archive-date=2019-03-31}}</ref> This is the opposite to China's [[Belt and Road Initiative]] where China seeks to become the main economic partner with major or dominant influence in countries in Eurasia, the Middle-East and Africa. There are [[territorial disputes in the South China Sea]], because China claims nearly the whole [[South China Sea]] and wants to control the vital [[sea lanes]] in Asia. China built military outposts on islands which intimidate and violate the territorial claims of other countries like Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia,  Indonesia, Brunei and the Philippines. One third of global seaborne trade ($3 trillion) passed through the South China Sea in 2017.<ref name="US-Bombers-South-China-Sea">{{cite news |title=U.S. sends bombers over disputed South China Sea for second time in 10 days |date=14 March 2019|publisher=The Japan Times|access-date=4 July 2019 |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/03/14/asia-pacific/u-s-sends-bombers-disputed-south-china-sea-second-time-10-days|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411091329/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/03/14/asia-pacific/u-s-sends-bombers-disputed-south-china-sea-second-time-10-days/|archive-date=2019-04-11}}</ref>

A January 2018 survey by the [[Cabinet Office (Japan)|Cabinet Office]] found 89.8% have a good impression of the [[Japan Self-Defense Forces|JSDF]].<ref name="SDF-approval-poll">{{cite news |title=自衛隊への好印象度は89.8％ (Good impression of SDF 89.8%) |date=19 March 2019|publisher=Yahoo! News Japan|access-date=8 June 2019 |url=https://news.yahoo.co.jp/byline/fuwaraizo/20180319-00082828/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502211231/https://news.yahoo.co.jp/byline/fuwaraizo/20180319-00082828/|archive-date=May 2, 2019}}</ref>

Japan activated the [[Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade]], its first marine unit since World War Two, on April 7, 2018. They're trained to counter invaders from occupying [[Japanese islands]].<ref name=JapanMarines2018>Kubo, Nobuhiro [https://web.archive.org/web/20180408212637/https://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAKCN1HE069-OCATP Japan activates first marines since WW2 to bolster defenses against China]. April 7, 2018. ''[[Reuters]]''. Retrieved August 2, 2018</ref> Japan did not have an amphibious force since the [[Imperial Japanese Navy Land Forces]]. 50 [[Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade|ARDB]] soldiers were deployed with 4 armored vehicles for the first time in an overseas training exercise with [[United States Marine Corps|American]] and [[Philippine Marine Corps|Filipino marines]] in Operation Kamandag in [[Luzon]], the Philippines from 2 to 11 October 2018. This was the first time that Japanese armored vehicles landed on foreign soil since [[World War II]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Amid rising tensions with China, Japan just sent armored vehicles to foreign soil for the first time since World War II |date=6 October 2018 |website=Business Insider |access-date=31 August 2019 |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/japanese-armored-vehicles-first-military-exercise-on-foreign-soil-2018-10/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190828103437/https://www.businessinsider.com/japanese-armored-vehicles-first-military-exercise-on-foreign-soil-2018-10/ |archive-date=2019-08-28}}</ref>

The Ministry of Defense said from 1 October 2018, the maximum age for enlisted personnel and non-commissioned officer applicants will be raised to 32 from 26 to secure "a stable supply of Self-Defense Forces (military) personnel amid a declining pool of recruits due to the recently declining birth rate."<ref name="reuters20180809">{{cite news |title=Japan to raise maximum age for new recruits to boost dwindling military ranks |date=9 August 2018|work=Reuters|access-date=26 August 2018 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-military-recruits/japan-to-raise-maximum-age-for-new-recruits-to-boost-dwindling-military-ranks-idUSKBN1KU0CK}}</ref>

The Ministry of Defense is developing supersonic glide bombs to strengthen the defense of [[Japan]]'s remote islands, including the [[Senkaku Islands]]. The anti-surface strike capability will be used to help the [[Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade]]'s landing and recapture operations of remote islands.<ref>{{cite news |title=Japan developing supersonic glide bombs to defend Senkaku Islands |date=25 September 2018|newspaper=The Japan Times|access-date=26 September 2018 |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/09/25/national/japan-developing-supersonic-glider-bombs-defend-remote-islands|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180925082734/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/09/25/national/japan-developing-supersonic-glider-bombs-defend-remote-islands |archive-date=2018-09-25}}</ref>

Military cooperation increased significantly with other like-minded democratic countries such as [[India]], [[Australia]], the [[United States]] and the [[United Kingdom]]. Such as on 2 October 2018, British troops of the [[Honourable Artillery Company]] (HAC) exercised together for the first time with Japanese GSDF soldiers in [[Oyama, Shizuoka|Oyama]], Shizuoka prefecture. This also marked the first time in history that foreign soldiers other than Americans exercised on Japanese soil. The purpose was to improve their strategic partnership and security cooperation. Lieutenant General [[Patrick Sanders (British Army officer)|Patrick Sanders]] said that Japan won't have to fight alone.<ref name="brit-exercise">{{cite news |title=British troops join forces with Japanese for first time on their soil amid North Korea tensions |date=2 October 2018|newspaper=The Telegraph |access-date=18 October 2018 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/10/02/british-troops-join-forces-japanese-first-time-soil-amid-north|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181012220912/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/10/02/british-troops-join-forces-japanese-first-time-soil-amid-north |archive-date=2018-10-12}}</ref>

The Ministry of Defense allocated $57 million for research and development of a [[hypersonic missile]] in the 2019 Defense Budget. It could travel five times the [[speed of sound]] ([[Mach number|Mach]] 5) or faster. A scramjet engine prototype, jet fuel technology and heat-resistant materials will be built with testing from 2023 to 2025.<ref>{{cite news |title=Japan to develop hypersonic missile for "defense purposes" |date=19 September 2018|publisher=UPI |access-date=7 October 2018 |url=https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2018/09/19/Japan-to-develop-hypersonic-missile-for-defense-purposes/9911537361251/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001001655/https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2018/09/19/Japan-to-develop-hypersonic-missile-for-defense-purposes/9911537361251/ |archive-date=2018-10-01}}</ref>

Japan christened the 84-meter long, 2,950 tons Oryu submarine on October 4, 2018. It is Japan's first submarine powered by lithium-ion batteries and was developed by [[Mitsubishi Heavy Industries]]. The [[Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force]] will utilize it by March 2020.<ref>{{cite news |title=Japan's silent submarines extend range with new batteries |date=5 October 2018|publisher=Nikkei Asian Review |access-date=5 October 2018 |url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Trade-War/Japan-s-silent-submarines-extend-range-with-new-batteries|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181005000835/https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Trade-War/Japan-s-silent-submarines-extend-range-with-new-batteries |archive-date=2018-10-05}}</ref>

The [[Japan Ground Self-Defense Force|JGSDF]] and the [[Indian Army]] conducted their first joint military exercise in the Indian state of [[Mizoram]] from 27 October to 18 November 2018. It's primarily anti-terror drills and improving bilateral cooperation with 60 Japanese and Indian officers.<ref>{{cite news |title=India-Japan military exercise begins in Mizoram |date=1 November 2018|publisher=Moneycontrol.com |access-date=6 November 2018 |url=https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/india/india-japan-military-exercise-begins-in-mizoram-3119031.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181102191336/https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/india/india-japan-military-exercise-begins-in-mizoram-3119031.html |archive-date=2018-11-02}}</ref>

Japan and the United States conducted the biggest military exercise around Japan thus far in the biennial Keen Sword from 29 October to 2 November 2018. It included a total of 57,000 sailors, marines and airmen. 47,000 service members were from the JSDF and 10,000 from the [[U.S. Armed Forces]]. A naval supply ship and frigate of the [[Royal Canadian Navy]] also participated. There were simulations of air combat, ballistic missile defense and amphibious landings.<ref>{{cite news |title=U.S. carrier leads warships in biggest Japan defense war game |date=4 November 2018|newspaper=Asahi Shimbun |access-date=6 November 2018 |url=http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201811040018.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105050807/http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201811040018.html |archive-date=2018-11-05}}</ref>

[[File:Number-of-Scrambles-Japan-Air-Self-Defense-Force.png|thumb|Number of scrambles and its breakdown of the JASDF (2010–2018)]]

Since 2008, the number of scrambles by the [[Japan Air Self-Defense Force|JASDF]] to intercept Chinese aircraft has increased rapidly. In 2010 there were scrambles against 31 Chinese aircraft and 193 Russian aircraft. In 2018 this increased to 638 Chinese aircraft and 343 Russian aircraft. Chinese aircraft flight paths are mostly in the [[East China Sea]], around the [[Ryukyu Islands]] and through the [[Korea Strait]]. Russia frequently conducts flights orbiting Japan.<ref name=scramble>{{cite web |url=https://www.mod.go.jp/asdf/English_page/roles/role03/index.html |title=Airspace Surrounding Japan |publisher=Japan Ministry of Defense |date=26 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180826204908/http://www.mod.go.jp/asdf/about/role/role03/index.html |archive-date=26 August 2018 |access-date=28 October 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Ministry of Defense (Japan)|Ministry of Defense]] reported in fiscal 2018 that there were 999 scrambles by [[Japan Air Self-Defense Force|JASDF]] jets against mainly Chinese and Russian unidentified aircraft. That is the second highest amount of [[Scrambling (military)|scrambles]] by the JASDF since 1958. 638 (64%) were Chinese aircraft and 343 (34%) were Russian aircraft. On June 20, 2019, two Russian bombers ([[Tupolev Tu-95]]) violated Japanese airspace twice on the same day.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.stripes.com/news/russian-bombers-violated-japan-s-airspace-twice-in-one-day-defense-ministry-says-1.586945|title=Russian bombers violated Japan's airspace twice in one day, defense ministry says|date=2019-06-21|work=Stars and Stripes|access-date=2019-06-23|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190622144557/https://www.stripes.com/news/russian-bombers-violated-japan-s-airspace-twice-in-one-day-defense-ministry-says-1.586945|archive-date=2019-06-22|url-status=live}}</ref>

In December 2018, the Ministry of Defense announced they would procure an additional 63 F-35As and 42 F-35Bs. This increases the total [[Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II|F-35 Lightning II]] procurement from 42 to 147.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.defensenews.com/global/asia-pacific/2018/12/18/with-massive-f-35-increase-japan-is-now-biggest-international-buyer/|title=With massive F-35 increase, Japan is now biggest international buyer|last=Mehta|first=Aaron|date=18 December 2018|website=DefenseNews|access-date=22 April 2019}}</ref>

The Japanese government approved the first ever JSDF dispatch to a peacekeeping operation that's not led by the United Nations. Two JGSDF officers will monitor a cease-fire between Israel and Egypt at the Multinational Force and Observers command in the [[Sinai peninsula]] from 19 April till 30 November 2019.<ref>{{cite news|title=Japan approves plan to send JSDF officers to Sinai, on first non-U.N. peacekeeping mission|date=2 April 2019|newspaper=The Mainichi|access-date=3 April 2019|url=https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20190402/p2g/00m/0na/043000c|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402131957/https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20190402/p2g/00m/0na/043000c|archive-date=2 April 2019|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

On 19 April 2019, Japan and the United States confirmed that [[cyberattacks]] are also covered by the [[Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security Between the United States and Japan|bilateral security treaty]]. This will be judged on a case-by-case basis. Defense cooperation will increase for outer space, cyber and electronic warfare.<ref>{{cite news|title=US to defend Japan from cyberattack under security pact|date=20 April 2019|newspaper=The Mainichi|access-date=21 April 2019|url=https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20190420/p2g/00m/0na/002000c|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190421170114/https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20190420/p2g/00m/0na/002000c|archive-date=21 April 2019|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Defense Minister [[Takeshi Iwaya]] announced plans to deploy Type 12 surface-to-ship missiles in March 2020. They have an increased range of 300&nbsp;km and will be used to protect the southern [[Ryukyu Islands]]. Japan is also developing high-speed gliding missiles with a range of 1000&nbsp;km.<ref>{{cite news |title=Japan deploying longer-range missiles to counter China |date=30 April 2019|publisher=Asahi|access-date=19 June 2019 |url=http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201904300006.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502011428/http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201904300006.html |archive-date=2019-05-02}}</ref>

===Reiwa era (2019–present)===
{{Main|Reiwa era}}

[[People's Liberation Army Navy]] vessels (PLAN) increasingly make incursions in the Western [[Pacific Ocean]] via the [[Miyako Strait]]. The [[Miyako Strait]] is one of the few international waterways through which China can access the [[Pacific Ocean]]. There is also increased Chinese naval and aerial activity near the [[Senkaku Islands dispute|Senkaku islands]] which are owned by Japan, but claimed by China. This puts the Southern [[Ryukyu Islands]] at the forefront of Japan's national defense. By 2030 China could have four aircraft carriers. Meanwhile, Japan only has two relatively small [[Izumo-class multi-purpose operation destroyer|Izumo-class]] carriers. Each Izumo can carry just 10 [[Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II|F-35]]s. There are currently no plans to build bigger [[Izumo-class multi-purpose operation destroyer|multi-purpose operation destroyers]] though experts say Japan needs at least four carriers for effective use in real combat situations.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/05/23/national/izumo-needed-upgrade-mere-show-force |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604123208/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/05/23/national/izumo-needed-upgrade-mere-show-force/ |archive-date=4 June 2019 |title=Japan's plan to remodel Izumo-class carriers: Needed upgrade or mere show of force? |work=The Japan Times |date=23 May 2019 |access-date=19 June 2019|last1=Yoshida |first1=Reiji }}</ref>

China's military spending has increased greatly since 1999. In 2019 China was the second highest [[List of countries by military expenditures|military spender]] with $250 billion (1.9% of GDP). This has strengthened its military power in the seas and skies around Japan. Comparatively, Japan's expenditure was $46.6 billion (0.9% of GDP).<ref name=SIPRI-2018>{{cite web | url=https://sipri.org/sites/default/files/2019-04/fs_1904_milex_2018_0.pdf |title=Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2018 |publisher=[[Stockholm International Peace Research Institute]] |first1=Nan |last1=Tian |first2=Aude |last2=Fleurant |first3=Alexandra |last3=Kuimova |first4=Pieter D. |last4=Wezeman |first5=Siemon T. |last5=Wezeman |date=28 April 2019 |access-date=30 April 2019}}</ref> Japan still depends on America for deterrence and offensive attack capabilities due to [[Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution|Article 9]] of the 1947 constitution.

In May 2019, the [[Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force|JMSDF]] participated for the first time in two quadrilateral naval exercises. It included the {{JS|Izumo}} and {{JS|Murasame}}. It was also the first extended naval deployment of marines of the [[Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade]]. The first exercise was a four-way sail-through in the [[South China Sea]] with naval ships of the United States, India, Japan and the Philippines. The second was the La Pérouse exercise in the [[Bay of Bengal]] with France, United States, Australia and Japan.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201907030058.html |url-status=live |title=Warship shows Japan's plan to expand military role |work=The Asahi Shimbun |date=3 July 2019 |access-date=4 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704022510/http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201907030058.html |archive-date=4 July 2019}}</ref>

On May 28, 2019, President of the United States [[Donald Trump]] inspected the {{JS|Kaga}}, the second ship in the [[Izumo-class multi-purpose operation destroyer|Izumo class]], during his visit in Japan and supported the country's effort for an active role in the defense and security of the Pacific region. This was the first ever inspection by a U.S. president of a Japanese warship. Trump also stated that the {{JS|Kaga}} will help defend Japan and America against threats in the region and far beyond.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/trump-becomes-first-us-leader-to-inspect-japanese-warship-in-show-of-solidarity-with |url-status=live |title=Trump becomes first US leader to inspect Japanese warship in show of solidarity with Abe |work=Straits Times |date=28 May 2019 |access-date=20 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530003840/https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/trump-becomes-first-us-leader-to-inspect-japanese-warship-in-show-of-solidarity-with |archive-date=30 May 2019|last1=Sim |first1=Walter }}</ref>

There is increasing support among Japanese to change Japan from being a pacifist to a "normal" country with an official military. In April 2019, a [[Kyodo News]] poll showed 45% thought [[Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution|Article 9]] of the constitution should be revised.<ref name="Kyodo-poll">{{cite news |title=40% back Abe-proposed approach to revise pacifist Constitution: poll |date=11 April 2019|newspaper=The Mainichi |access-date=8 June 2019 |url=https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20190411/p2g/00m/0na/010000c|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411122134/https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20190411/p2g/00m/0na/010000c |archive-date=April 11, 2019}}</ref> This support for revision is partially due to: the hostility of [[North Korea]], an increasingly assertive [[China]], and unstable relations with [[Russian Federation|Russia]] due to territorial disputes that prevent a [[Soviet–Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956|peace treaty]] being signed. There are territorial disputes involving the [[Senkaku Islands]], [[Liancourt Rocks]], and the [[Kuril Islands dispute|Kuril Islands]]. Japanese claim that the U.S. has failed to properly address these issues, so Japan must grant itself the means to adequately protect itself.

Attempts have been made by multiple [[Government of Japan|Governments of Japan]] to amend the [[Japanese Constitution]] so that Japan can have an official and normal military with offensive capabilities to share an equal burden of national security duties. This was prevented by an anti-war sentiment among the populace and politicians. In May 2017, Japanese Prime Minister [[Shinzo Abe]] set a 2020 deadline for revising the [[Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution]], a clause in the national Constitution of Japan outlawing war as a means to settle international disputes involving the state. This charter was written by the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thediplomat.com/2017/05/abes-new-vision-for-japans-constitution/|title=Abe's New Vision for Japan's Constitution|first=Yuki|last=Tatsumi|website=The Diplomat|access-date=18 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121021422/https://thediplomat.com/2017/05/abes-new-vision-for-japans-constitution/ |archive-date=2018-11-21}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/05/03/national/politics-diplomacy/abe-declares-2020-goal-new-constitution/|title=Abe declares 2020 as goal for new Constitution|first1=Tomohiro|last1=Osaki|first2=Daisuke|last2=Kikuchi|date=3 May 2017|access-date=18 May 2017|newspaper=Japan Times Online|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190302095136/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/05/03/national/politics-diplomacy/abe-declares-2020-goal-new-constitution/|archive-date=2019-03-02|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="reuters.com">{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-government-constitution-idUSKBN17Z0BH|title=Japan's Abe hopes for reform of pacifist charter by 2020|date=3 May 2017|access-date=18 May 2017|newspaper=Reuters|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103161631/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-government-constitution-idUSKBN17Z0BH|archive-date=2019-01-03|url-status=live}}</ref>

The 'Defense of Japan 2019' white paper lists China as a bigger threat than North Korea. Defense Minister [[Taro Kono]] said "The reality is that China is rapidly increasing military spending," "China is deploying air and sea assets in the Western Pacific and through the Tsushima Strait into the Sea of Japan with greater frequency." The paper downgraded South Korea for exiting a military intelligence-sharing pact. This could make it more difficult to manage threats from North Korea.<ref name="whitepaper">{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-defence/japan-lists-china-as-bigger-threat-than-nuclear-armed-north-korea-idUSKBN1WC051|title=Japan lists China as bigger threat than nuclear-armed North Korea|date=27 September 2019|access-date=3 November 2019|publisher=Reuters|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191010063138/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-defence/japan-lists-china-as-bigger-threat-than-nuclear-armed-north-korea-idUSKBN1WC051|archive-date=2019-10-10|url-status=live}}</ref>

On October 21, 2019, a senior U.S. military officer in Tokyo said that "Japan's avoidance of offensive weaponry under its constitution is no longer acceptable." The officer stated that Japan needs to rethink its rejection of offensive weapons and that the government should discuss it with the public. The officer also mentioned restrictions that limit the US forces and the JSDF's preparation for contingencies. The officer said that the government of Japan should inform the public about the threats of China and North Korea. In particular China's military buildup with [[ballistic missiles]] and its antagonistic behavior threatens Japan and other countries.<ref name="bloomberg-inform">{{cite news |url=https://ednews.net/en/news/world/396054-us-military-says-japan-must-inform-public-of-china-threat |title=U.S. Military says Japan must inform public of China threat |date=21 October 2019 |access-date=27 October 2019 |publisher=Bloomberg, republished on Eurasia Diary |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191026222516/https://ednews.net/en/news/world/396054-us-military-says-japan-must-inform-public-of-china-threat |archive-date=2019-10-26|url-status=live}}</ref>

On September 10, 2020, Japan and [[India]] signed a military pact called the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA). The pact allows them to exchange logistical support and supplies. This includes transportation and cross-use of facilities during joint exercises and [[U.N. peacekeeping operations]] and to share food, fuel, spare parts. [[Narendra Modi]] and [[Shinzo Abe]] believe it will boost a Free and Open Indo-Pacific region and to deter Chinese aggression in [[Asia]]. Japan already had such agreements with Australia, Canada, France, UK and USA.<ref name="india-pact">{{cite news |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/09/10/national/japan-india-sign-military-supply-sharing-pact/ |title=Japan and India sign military supply-sharing pact |date=10 September 2020 |access-date=11 September 2020 |publisher=The Japan Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200910150759/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/09/10/national/japan-india-sign-military-supply-sharing-pact/ |archive-date=2020-09-10|url-status=live}}</ref>

Australia and Japan agreed in-principle to sign a [[Reciprocal Access Agreement]] (RAA) on 17, November 2020. This will enhance and streamline strategic and defense co-operation. Prime Minister [[Scott Morrison|Morrison]] said it is a "pivotal moment in the history of Japan-Australia ties".<ref name="aus-defensepact">{{cite news |title=Australia agrees landmark defence pact with Japan in face of rising Chinese ambitions |url=https://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/military/australia-agrees-landmark-defence-pact-with-japan-in-face-of-rising-chinese-ambitions/news-story/215ab27048d243da78a2c77d23a76c0f |date=November 18, 2020 |newspaper=News.com.au |author=Victoria Craw |access-date=November 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128173358/https://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/military/australia-agrees-landmark-defence-pact-with-japan-in-face-of-rising-chinese-ambitions/news-story/215ab27048d243da78a2c77d23a76c0f |archive-date=28 November 2020}}</ref>

In 2021, the [[NHK]] reported that the Chinese military used a hacker group called Tick for cyberattacks on nearly 200 Japanese research institutions and firms.<ref name="cyberattacks-2021"/> A member of China's Communist Party used a false name to rent servers in Japan from which the cyberattacks were conducted.<ref name="cyberattacks-2021">{{cite news |title=Chinese Military Seen Behind Japan Cyberattacks, NHK Says |date=April 20, 2021 |newspaper=Bloomberg.com |url= https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-20/chinese-military-seen-behind-japan-cyberattacks-nhk-says |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420033306/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-20/chinese-military-seen-behind-japan-cyberattacks-nhk-says |archive-date=April 20, 2021}}</ref>

{{As of|2021}}, the Japanese government has discovered that foreign groups funded with Chinese capital are involved in at least 700 land sales within {{convert|10|km|mi|abbr=on}} of U.S. military bases—and Japanese Self-Defense Force, Coast Guard, and space development facilities—in Japan. In [[Kanagawa Prefecture]], a Chinese government–linked land buyer acquired multiple high-rise buildings and other locations overlooking the bases. Similar instances were found in [[Okinawa Prefecture]] and [[Tottori Prefecture]]. In 2017, the ''[[Sankei Shimbun]]'' reported that Chinese capital had purchased land in [[Hokkaido]] equivalent to the acreage of 513 [[Tokyo Dome]]s. The [[Japanese Diet]] intends to pass a foreign land use control bill.<ref name="land-sales">{{cite web |title=Chinese buying up land around military bases in Japan: report |url=https://hk.appledaily.com/news/20210514/F43B5ZF6VJH2TEGZ5HUMDYIE5Q/ |date=May 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514092459/https://hk.appledaily.com/news/20210514/F43B5ZF6VJH2TEGZ5HUMDYIE5Q/ |archive-date=May 14, 2021 |url-status=live |website=[[Apple Daily]] |access-date=16 May 2021}}</ref>

== Japan's militaristic heritage ==
[[File:Edo social structure.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|A social hierarchy chart based on old academic theories. Such hierarchical diagrams were removed from Japanese textbooks after various studies in the 1990s revealed that peasants, craftsmen, and merchants were in fact equal and merely social categories.<ref name="tokyoshoseki">{{cite web|url=https://www.tokyo-shoseki.co.jp/question/e/syakai.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231130175341/https://www.tokyo-shoseki.co.jp/question/e/syakai.html|script-title=ja:「士農工商」や「四民平等」の用語が使われていないことについて|language=ja|website=
[[Tokyo Shoseki]] |archive-date=30 November 2023|access-date=7 March 2024}}</ref><ref name="uki300823">{{cite web|url=https://www.city.uki.kumamoto.jp/2028316|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230830135959/https://www.city.uki.kumamoto.jp/2028316|script-title=ja:第35回　教科書から『士農工商』が消えた ー後編ー　令和3年広報うき「ウキカラ」8月号|language=ja|website=[[Uki, Kumamoto]]|archive-date=30 August 2023|access-date=7 March 2024}}</ref><ref name="shimonoseki">{{cite web|url=https://www.city.shimonoseki.lg.jp/uploaded/attachment/58936.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230606001503/https://www.city.shimonoseki.lg.jp/uploaded/attachment/58936.pdf|script-title=ja:人権意識のアップデート|language=ja|website=[[Shimonoseki]] |archive-date=6 June 2023|access-date=7 March 2024}}</ref> Successive shoguns held the highest or near-highest [[List of Japanese court ranks, positions and hereditary titles|court ranks]], higher than most court nobles.<ref name="kakaku">{{cite web|url=https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%AE%B6%E6%A0%BC-43286#|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240307120204/https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%AE%B6%E6%A0%BC-43286|script-title=ja:家格|language=ja|website=
Kotobank |archive-date=7 March 2024|access-date=7 March 2024}}</ref>]]

What distinguishes Japan from other countries is that Japan was near continuously ruled by the military class with the [[shōgun]], [[daimyo]] and [[samurai]] in the top of the Japanese [[social structure]] for 676 years (from 1192 till 1868). In 1192, the shōgun [[Minamoto no Yoritomo]] and the [[Minamoto clan]] established a feudal [[military government]] in [[Kamakura]].<ref name="nussbaum459">[[Louis-Frédéric|Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric]]. (2005). [https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&pg=PA459 "''Kamakura-jidai''"] in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459.</ref>  The [[Emperor of Japan|Emperor]] was above the [[shōgun]] and revered as the sovereign, but merely a [[figurehead]]. The [[Imperial Court in Kyoto|Imperial Court]] nobility was a nominal ruling court with little influence. The actual ruling class were Japanese military figures: the [[shōgun]] (military dictator), [[daimyo]] (feudal lords) and the [[samurai]] ([[military]] [[nobility]] and [[Officer (armed forces)|officers]]).<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FiHJX2FRg6sC&q=%22territorial+lord%22&pg=PA291|page=291|title=An Introduction to the History of Japan |first= Hara |last=Katsuro |publisher= BiblioBazaar, LLC|year= 2009 |isbn= 978-1-110-78785-2}}</ref> The samurai were idolized and their conduct was role model behavior for other social classes. This resulted in Japanese culture to have a long militaristic heritage. In [[human history]] only a few countries had a [[warrior]] [[social class|caste]] at the top of their [[social structure]], a class that was practically above the aristocracy. Few [[military government]]s lasted more than 600 years.

One key difference between ancient China and Japanese society was the development of the [[samurai]] class in Japan. Feudal China had four classes: [[Confucianism|Confucian literati]] and [[landlords]], peasants, artisans and merchants. The Confucian literati and landlords were at the top of Chinese [[social structure]]. Japanese feudal society was also stratified, but had the [[samurai]] class in the top of Japanese society since the 12th century. Thus many experts consider pre-modern Japan a "warrior nation" as the ideals, ideologies of the [[samurai]] permeated through Japanese culture and society.<ref name="warrior-nation">{{cite news |title=Imperial Japan saw itself as a "warrior nation" – and the idea lingers today |date=22 December 2017|publisher=The Conversation |access-date=25 August 2019 |url=http://theconversation.com/imperial-japan-saw-itself-as-a-warrior-nation-and-the-idea-lingers-today-87289 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428112755/http://theconversation.com/imperial-japan-saw-itself-as-a-warrior-nation-and-the-idea-lingers-today-87289 |archive-date=April 28, 2019}}</ref> Such as [[bushido]] and the Japanese proverb ''[[Hana wa sakuragi, hito wa bushi]]'' ({{langx|ja|花は桜木人は武士}}, literally "the [best] blossom is the cherry blossom; the [best] man is the warrior").<ref>{{cite book | editor=Daniel Crump Buchanan| title =Japanese Proverbs and Sayings| url=https://archive.org/details/japaneseproverbs00buch| url-access=registration| publisher =University of Oklahoma Press| year =1965| page =[https://archive.org/details/japaneseproverbs00buch/page/119 119]| isbn =0806110821}}</ref> Comparatively the Chinese idiom is ''Haonan budang Bing, Hao tie bu dading'' ({{lang-zh|好铁不打钉、好男不当兵}}, means "Good iron is not cast into nails; good men are not made into soldiers").<ref name="Japans-Arduous-Rejuvenation">{{cite book | last1 = Teo | first1 = Victor | year = 2019 | title = Japan's Arduous Rejuvenation as a Global Power: Democratic Resilience and the US-China Challenge | publisher = Palgrave Macmillan | pages = 43–44 | isbn=978-9811361890}}</ref>

In 1551, during the [[Sengoku Period]], the [[Navarre]]se [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] [[missionary]] [[Francis Xavier]] was one of the [[List of Westerners who visited Japan before 1868|first westerners who visited Japan]].<ref>{{cite journal | last =Pacheco  | first =Diego  | title =Xavier and Tanegashima  | journal = [[Monumenta Nipponica]] | volume =29  | date =Winter 1974  | issue =4  | pages =477–480  | jstor =  2383897| doi =10.2307/2383897 }}</ref> Francis described Japan as follows: {{blockquote|Japan is a very large empire entirely composed of islands. One language is spoken throughout, not very difficult to learn. This country was discovered by the Portuguese eight or nine years ago. The Japanese are very ambitious of honors and distinctions, and think themselves superior to all nations in military glory and valor. They prize and honor all that has to do with war, and all such things, and there is nothing of which they are so proud as of weapons adorned with gold and silver. They always wear swords and daggers both in and out of the house, and when they go to sleep they hang them at the bed's head. In short, they value arms more than any people I have ever seen. They are excellent archers, and usually fight on foot, though there is no lack of horses in the country. They are very polite to each other, but not to foreigners, whom they utterly despise. They spend their means on arms, bodily adornment, and on a number of attendants, and do not in the least care to save money. They are, in short, a very warlike people, and engaged in continual wars among themselves; the most powerful in arms bearing the most extensive sway. They have all one sovereign, although for one hundred and fifty years past the princes have ceased to obey him, and this is the cause of their perpetual feuds.<ref>{{cite letter | first = Francis  | last = Xavier | recipient = Society of Jesus at Goa | subject = Letter from Japan, to the Society of Jesus at Goa, 1552 | language = en | date = 1552 | type = letter | url = https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/1552xavier4.asp | access-date = 17 June 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last= Coleridge |first= Henry James |year=1872 |orig-date= 1876|title= The life and letters of St. Francis Xavier |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=gbJSAAAAcAAJ&q=bibliogroup:%22The+Life+and+Letters+of+St.+Francis+Xavier%22|volume=1 |edition=2nd|location= London|publisher= Burns and Oates |publication-date=1872 |pages= 331–350 |access-date= 17 June 2019}} [https://archive.org/details/lifelettersofstf01coleuoft Alt URL]</ref>}}

Nakamura explained in 1843: {{blockquote|Our nation is a nation of arms. The land to the west [China] is a nation of letters. Nations of letters value the pen. Nations of arms value the sword. That's the way it has been from the beginning... Our country and theirs are separated from one another by hundreds of miles, our customs are completely different, the temperaments of our people are dissimilar – so how could we possibly share the same Way? (Nakamura 1843 cited in Watanabe 2012: 285).<ref>Nakamura, M. Shoburon (1843), In Vol. 6 of Bushido Zensho, ed., Inoue Tetsujiro, Saeki Ariyoshi, Ueki Naoichiro, and Kokusho Kankokai, 1998.</ref><ref>Watanabe, H. A History of Japanese Political Thought, 1600–1901. Translated by David Noble. LTCB International Library Trust, International House of Japan, 2012.</ref>}}

The [[Meiji Restoration]] consolidated the political system under the [[Emperor of Japan]] with practical abilities. The shogun and daimyo were abolished. Their domains were returned to the emperor. Power was mainly transferred to a group of people called the [[Meiji oligarchy]] and the [[Genrō]] who helped restore imperial power.<ref name="polsy">{{cite book|last1=Gordon|first1=Andrew|title=A Modern History of Japan From Tokugawa Times to the Present.|url=https://archive.org/details/modernhistoryjap00gord_458|url-access=limited|date=2003|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York|isbn=9780198027089|pages=[https://archive.org/details/modernhistoryjap00gord_458/page/n75 61]–62}}</ref> The Genrō were retired senior statesmen and informal advisers to the emperor. All [[Genrō]] except [[Saionji Kinmochi]] were descendants of medium or lower ranking samurai families from [[Satsuma domain|Satsuma]] and [[Chōshū domain|Chōshū]]. They were instrumental in overthrowing the [[Tokugawa Shogunate]] in the [[Boshin War]] (1868–1869).<ref>{{cite book | last = Jansen | first = Marius B. | author-link = Marius Jansen | year = 2000 | title = The Making of Modern Japan | publisher = Harvard University Press | isbn = 978-0-674-00334-7 | oclc = 44090600 | url = https://archive.org/details/makingofmodernja00jans }}</ref>

In 1873, [[Emperor Meiji]] abolished the [[samurai|samurai class]] in favor of a western-style conscripted army. They lost their privileges such as the only class allowed to wield weapons. Many samurai volunteered as soldiers, and many advanced to be trained as officers. Much of the [[Imperial Japanese Army]] officer class was of samurai origin, and were highly motivated, disciplined, and exceptionally trained. Many samurai were literate and well-educated. Such as [[Baron]] [[Sadao Araki]] who served as the [[Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Japan)|Minister of Education]] and [[Iwasaki Yatarō]] who founded [[Mitsubishi]] in 1870.<ref>{{cite news|title=Obituary|work=The Times|issue=31373|date=18 February 1885|location=London|page=6}}</ref> So most leaders in Japanese society during the [[Meiji period]] (military, politics and business) were ex-[[samurai]] or descendants of samurai. They shared a set of values and outlooks. This caused [[Japanese militarism]] to dominate the political and social life of the [[Empire of Japan]]. The military class has arguably been the de facto rulers of Japan for about 753 years from 1192 until 1945, starting with the first shogun until the last ex-samurai politicians. The [[Constitution of Japan|1947 constitution]] transformed Japan into a [[pacifist]] country. The former soldiers gained other professions such as [[salaryman]]. [[Douglas MacArthur]] was dubbed the {{Nihongo||外人将軍|Gaijin Shōgun}} for being the military governor of Japan from 1945 to 1951.<ref name="Gaijin-Shogun"/>

In modern Japan, the warrior heritage is remembered and revered. For example, famous [[samurai]] and soldiers in literature (e.g. [[Miyamoto Musashi]], [[Hiroo Onoda]]), festivals ([[Shingen-ko Festival]]), [[Japanese martial arts|martial arts]], [[samurai cinema|movies]], entertainment, art and feudal castles. Cultural practices like the [[Japanese tea ceremony]], [[Japanese painting|monochrome ink painting]], [[Japanese rock garden]]s and poetry such as the [[death poem]] are associated with the samurai and were adopted by warrior patrons throughout the centuries (1200–1600).<ref>{{cite book|author1=R. H. P. Mason|author2=John Godwin Caiger|title=A history of Japan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m_XL2iELo-oC&pg=PA152|access-date=9 April 2011|date=15 November 1997|publisher=Tuttle Publishing|isbn=978-0-8048-2097-4|pages=152–}}</ref><ref>Mayumi Ito, ''Japanese Tokko Soldiers and Their Jisei''</ref> There are influential [[Japanese people]] in business and politics who are descendants of samurai families. The ideals of the [[samurai]] and [[bushido]] are integral parts of Japanese culture. The ideologies that originated from Japan's military class are adapted and utilized when necessary.

==Japanese military museums==
These are significant museums about Japanese military history.
*Self Defense Force
**[[JMSDF Kure Museum]] – About the [[Japan Maritime Self Defence Force|JMSDF]] and includes the retired JMSDF [[Yūshio-class submarine]] [[Akishio (SS-579)]].
**{{ill|JGSDF Public Information Center|ja|陸上自衛隊広報センター}} – Asaka, Saitama. It has a museum with real combat equipment and vehicles of the [[Japan Ground Self Defence Force|JGSDF]].
**[[Hamamatsu Air Base]] – It has a museum about the [[Japan Air Self Defence Force|JASDF]] with Japanese aviation, planes, technology, tokusatsu and military history.
**[[Kanoya Air Base Museum]]
**[[Naval Academy Etajima#The Naval History Museum|The Naval History Museum]] - Etajima, Hiroshima
*Modern
**[[Yūshūkan]] – this is the first and oldest war and military museum in Japan, established in 1882.
**[[Yamato Museum]] – it has a 1/10 scale model of the battleship [[Japanese battleship Yamato|Yamato]], a [[Mitsubishi A6M Zero]] model 62 and [[Kaiten]] human torpedo and a [[Kairyū-class submarine]].
**[[Chiran Peace Museum for Kamikaze Pilots]] – a peace museum dedicated to the hundreds of Kamikaze pilots from the airbase at Chiran.
**[[Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum]] – dedicated to documenting the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in World War II.
*Feudal Japan
**[[Matsumoto Castle]] – the second floor features a collection of feudal guns, armor, and other weapons.
**[[Ninja Museum of Igaryu]] – about the history of the [[ninja]] and [[ninjutsu]].
**[[Japanese Sword Museum]] – dedicated to the art of Japanese swordmaking.

== See also ==
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-2}}
* [[Japan Self-Defense Forces]]
** [[Military ranks and insignia of the Japan Self-Defense Forces]]
** [[JSDF Overseas Dispatches]]
** [[Military budget of Japan]]
* [[Ministry of Defense (Japan)]]
* [[Imperial Japanese Armed Forces]]
** [[Imperial Japanese Army]]
*** [[Imperial Japanese Army Air Service]]
*** [[Kempeitai]]
** [[Imperial Japanese Navy]]
*** [[Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service]]
*** [[Special Naval Landing Forces]]
*** [[Tokubetsu Keisatsutai]]
* [[Japan and weapons of mass destruction]]

{{Col-2}}
;Related
* [[History of Japan]]
* [[History of Japanese foreign relations]]
* [[List of wars involving Japan]]
* [[List of Japanese battles]]
** [[Pacific War]] (Greater East Asia War)
* [[Japanese militarism]]
* [[Ōban (Great Watch)]]
* [[Samurai]]
* [[Ninja]]
{{Col-end}}

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=Note}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Sources ==
* {{Cite book |last=Bryant |first=Anthony J. |author-link=Anthony J. Bryant |title=Sekigahara 1600: The final struggle for power |date=1995 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-8553-2395-7 |ol=8992865M |language=en}}
* {{Cite book |last=Connaughton |first=R. M. |year=1988 |title=The War of the Rising Sun and the Tumbling Bear—A Military History of the Russo-Japanese War 1904–5 |location=London |isbn=0-415-00906-5 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Davis |first=Paul K. |title=100 decisive battles : from ancient times to the present |publisher=New York : Oxford University Press |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-19-514366-9 |chapter=Sekigahara, 21 October 1600}} Paul Davis used the following sources to compile the chapter "Sekigahara, 21 October 1600" in ''100 Decisive Battles: From Ancient Times to the Present'' "Sekigahara, 21 October 1600."
* {{citation|last=Habu|first=Junko|title=Ancient Jomon of Japan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vGnAbTyTynsC|date=29 July 2004|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-77670-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Paine |first=S.C.M |title=The Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895: Perceptions, Power, and Primacy |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-521-81714-1}}
* {{cite book | last = Peattie |first = Mark R | author-link=Mark Peattie | title = Sunburst: The Rise of Japanese Naval Air Power, 1909–1941 | publisher = Naval Institute Press | location = Annapolis, Maryland | year = 2007 | isbn = 978-1612514369 }}
* {{cite book |editor-last1=Steinberg |editor-first1=John W. |editor-last2=Menning |editor-first2=Bruce W. |editor-last3=Schimmelpenninck van der Oye |editor-first3=David |editor-last4=Wolff |editor-first4=David |editor-last5=Shinji |editor-first5=Yokote |display-editors=1 |year=2005 |title=The Russo-Japanese War in Global Perspective: World War Zero |volume=I |series=History of Warfare/29 |location=[[Leiden]] |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-900414284-8}}
** {{harvc |last=Schimmelpenninck van der Oye |first=David |in=Steinberg  |in2=Menning |in3=Schimmelpenninck van der Oye |in4=Wolff |year=2005 |c=The Immediate Origins of the War }}
**{{cite journal |author=Gary P. Cox |date=January 2006 |title=The Russo-Japanese War in Global Perspective: World War Zero (review) |journal=The Journal of Military History |volume=70 |issue=1 |pages=250–251 |doi=10.1353/jmh.2006.0037 |s2cid=161979005 |ref=none}}
* {{cite book|author-link=Stephen Turnbull (historian)|last=Turnbull|first=Stephen|title=The Samurai Sourcebook|location=London|publisher=Cassell & Co|year=1998}}
* {{cite book|last=Turnbull|first=Stephen|title=The Samurai: A Military History|publisher=Routledge|year=2013}}

== Further reading ==
* Crowley, James B. "Japan's military foreign policies." in James William Morley, ed., ''Japan's foreign policy, 1868–1941: a research guide'' (Columbia UP, 1974), Covers, pp 3–117; historiography
* Drea, Edward J. ''Japan's Imperial Army: Its Rise and Fall, 1853–1945'' (2016) [https://muse.jhu.edu/book/45542 online]
* Edgerton, Robert B. ''Warriors of the Rising Sun: A History of the Japanese Military'' (1997)
* Farris, William Wayne. ''Heavenly Warriors: The Evolution of Japan's Military, 500–1300'' (Harvard East Asian Monographs) (1996) 
* [[Karl Friday|Friday, Karl F.]] ''Samurai, Warfare and the State in Early Medieval Japan'' (2nd ed 2003) [https://www.amazon.com/Samurai-Warfare-State-Medieval-History/dp/0415329639/  excerpt and text search]
* Friday K. F. "Bushido or Bull? A Medieval Historian's Perspective on the Imperial Army and the Japanese Warrior Tradition," ''The History Teacher'' (1994) 27:339–349, [https://www.jstor.org/stable/494774 in JSTOR]
* Gordon, David M. "The China-Japan War, 1931–1945" ''[[The Journal of Military History]]'' (Jan 2006) v 70#1, pp 137–82. Historiographical overview of major books
*{{cite book| title = Command Decisions| editor = Kent Roberts Greenfield| url = http://www.history.army.mil/books/70-7_0.htm| first = Louis| last = Morton| chapter = Japan's Decision for War| chapter-url = http://www.history.army.mil/books/70-7_04.htm| publisher = [[United States Army Center of Military History]]| edition = 2000| year = 1960| id = CMH Pub 70-7| access-date = 2010-06-18| archive-date = 2007-12-30| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071230145455/http://www.history.army.mil/books/70-7_0.htm| url-status = dead}}
* Harris, Sheldon H. ''Factories of death: Japanese biological warfare, 1932–45, and the American cover-up'' (Routledge, 1995).
* Harries, M. and S. Harries. ''Soldiers of the Sun: The Rise and Fall of the Imperial Japanese Army'' (1991).
* Hesselink, Reinier H. "The introduction of the art of mounted archery into Japan." ''Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan'' 6 (1991): 27–48.
* Hook, Glenn D. et al. ''Japan's International Relations: Politics, Economics and Security'' (2011) [https://www.amazon.com/Japans-International-Relations-Economics-University/dp/0415587433/ excerpt]
* [[Hoyt, E. P.]] ''Yamamoto: The Man Who Planned Pearl Harbor'' (1990).
* Kleinschmidt, Harald. ''Warfare in Japan'' (Routledge, 2017).
* Lone S. ''Japan's First Modern War: Army and Society in the Conflict with China, 1894–95'' (1994). [https://www.amazon.com/Japans-First-Modern-War-Strategic/dp/0333555546/ excerpt]
* [[Nitobe Inazō]]. ''[[Bushido: The Soul of Japan]]'' (Rutland, VT: Charles E. Tuttle, 1969)
* Paine, S.C. ''The Japanese Empire: Grand Strategy from the Meiji Restoration to the Pacific War'' (2017) [https://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Empire-Strategy-Restoration-Pacific/dp/1107676169/  excerpt]
* [[Sansom, George]]. ''A History of Japan to 1334'' (Stanford University Press, 1958); ''A History of Japan: 1334–1615'' (1961); ''A History of Japan: 1615–1867'' (1963).
* Tarling, Nicholas. "The Japanese Occupation of Southeast Asia." ''SEJARAH: Journal of the Department of History'' 9.9 (2017) [https://mojem.um.edu.my/index.php/SEJARAH/article/download/9116/6441 online free].
* Towle, Philip. ''From ally to enemy: Anglo-Japanese military relations, 1900–45'' (Global Oriental, 2006).
* Turnbull, Stephen (2002). ''War in Japan: 1467–1615''. Oxford: Osprey Publishing.
* Wood, James B. ''Japanese Military Strategy in the Pacific War: Was Defeat Inevitable?'' (Rowman & Littlefield, 2007).

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline}}

{{Asia in topic|Military history of}}
{{Japan topics}}
{{WWII history by nation}}

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