Japanese Empire: A History from Beginning to End

At one point, the Japanese Empire was one of the largest the world had ever seen, governing almost 20% of the total population of the Earth. One of the most striking features of this empire was the rapidity with which it grew. In 1870, Japan was a largely agrarian nation with a culture and society based on feudal values. Then, it went through a massive transformation, adopting western technologies to become an industrial power. It won two wars against much larger nations, and for the first time, Japan began to acquire control over new territories. The empire continued to grow steadily, mainly through military conquest, until a global war saw it grow with stunning rapidity until it controlled much of Asia.

Yet within this lightning expansion were the seeds of the empire’s destruction; Japan lacked the military power to retain all the territory it had so rapidly conquered. Under relentless attack by American, British, and Commonwealth forces, it was forced back until, in 1945, the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki forced Japan to surrender. Although it barely lasted for 75 years, the Japanese Empire had a profound impact on the subsequent history of Asia and the world. This is the story of the rapid rise and even more rapid fall of the Japanese Empire.