Important dates in Japanese history:
1853 – After more than 200 years of isolation, an American fleet brings Japan under foreign influence.
1868 – The Empire of Japan is proclaimed and the country enters a period of rapid industrialization and imperial expansion.
1894-95 – Japan goes to war with China, but its better equipped military wins the war after just nine months. China cedes Taiwan and allows Japan to trade on the Chinese mainland.
1904 – Japan defeats Russia in Manchuria, becoming the first Asian country to defeat a European power in modern times.
1910 – After three years of fighting, Japan annexed Korea, becoming one of the world's greatest powers.
1914 – Japan enters World War I on the side of Britain and its allies, acquiring several Pacific islands from Germany.
1923 – An earthquake in the Tokyo area kills more than 100,000 people.
The British Empire ended its 21-year alliance with Japan, signaling Western and American concerns about Japanese expansion in East Asia.
1925 – Universal male suffrage is enacted. The number of eligible voters increases fivefold.
Late 1920s – With the onset of the Great Depression, extreme nationalism begins to spread in Japan, with emphasis on preserving traditional Japanese values and rejecting “Western” influences.
1931 – Japanese troops invade Manchuria, China, and establish a puppet government.
1932 – Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi is assassinated in an attempted coup by Nationalist military officers. The military's influence in the country increases.
1936 – Japan enters into an alliance with Nazi Germany.
1937 – Japan begins war with China, occupying Shanghai, Beijing and Nanjing, killing as many as 300,000 Chinese civilians in atrocities including the “Nanjing Massacre.”
1939 – World War II begins in Europe. After the fall of France in 1940, Japan occupies French Indochina.
1941 – Japan launches a surprise attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The U.S. and its major allies declare war on Japan.
1942 – Japan occupies countries in rapid succession, including the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies, Burma, and Malaya. In June, American aircraft carriers defeat Japanese forces at the Battle of Midway. The United States begins a strategy of “island-hopping,” cutting off Japanese support lines as its own forces advance.
(In August 1945, US military aircraft dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Emperor Showa surrendered and renounced his deity. Japan came under US military rule. All Japanese army and navy forces were disbanded.
1947 – A new constitution goes into effect, establishing a parliamentary system with universal adult suffrage. Japan renounces war and pledges not to maintain an army, navy, or air force for wartime purposes. The Emperor is given ceremonial status.
1951 – Japan signs peace treaties with the United States and other countries, but not with Russia, the legal successor to the Soviet Union.
1952 – Japan regains its independence. The United States retains several islands, including Okinawa, for military use.
1955 – The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is formed. With the exception of short hiatuses, the party would govern until the 21st century.
1956 – Japan joins the United Nations.
1972 – Japanese Prime Minister visits China and normal diplomatic relations are resumed. Japan subsequently closes its embassy in Taiwan.
Okinawa will be returned to Japanese sovereignty, but U.S. military bases will remain.
1989 – Emperor Showa dies and is succeeded by Akihito.
1995 – An earthquake strikes central Japan, killing thousands and causing widespread damage, with the city of Kobe suffering the most.
The religious group Aum Shinrikyo released the deadly nerve gas sarin into the Tokyo subway, killing 12 people and injuring thousands.
2006 – Congress approves the creation of the first full-fledged Department of Defense since World War II.
2011 – A massive earthquake offshore and subsequent tsunami devastates miles of coastline, and damage to the Fukushima nuclear power plant causes a radiation leak that makes large areas uninhabitable and contaminates food supplies.
2015 – The House of Representatives passes a bill authorizing the military to fight overseas for the first time since 1945, sparking protests at home and criticism from China.
2019 – Emperor Akihito abdicates and his son, Emperor Naruhito, ascends to the throne.
2022 – The world is shocked by the assassination of Shinzo Abe, Japan's former and longest serving prime minister. His murder raises questions about the politician's ties to the Unification Church.
