Showa Period, 1926–1989, Japan
Second Sino Japanese war
Just one year before World War Two, Japan had engaged in a war against a united chinese force, the Generalissimo Chiang Kai shek led Kuomintang and Mao Zedong’s CCP. China was backed by Nazi germany, US, the USSR and the UK before the alliance between the Nazis, and the IJA was made. The war was fought because Japan was in need of raw materials for use to aid Japan’s growing industries, and because China was being united, with the emperor of Japan not wanting China to get too powerful. Another reason is, China was heavily resisting Japan’s expansion in Asia.Some historians say this was the “real” start of WW2. China suffered 3,800,000 casualties while Japan had 3,600,000. In total, Twenty million civilians were killed. As from the casualties, you can see that it was one of the bloodiest battles fought in each of the countries history. Both belligerents used a variety of equipment, from swords, handheld arms, infantry vehicles, ships and aircraft, as different theatres of the war took part in different geographical areas. Some notable theatres of the war were : The Establishment of Manchukuo and the Battle of Harbin.
World War Two
On September 27, 1940, the Tripartite pact was signed meaning the IJA was officially at war. On December 1941, the IJN and IJNAS attacked Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, sinking 4 battleships, ex battleship and destroyed 188 American aircraft. In the next 3 months, the Japanese invaded the Dutch East Indies, the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore (where HMS Repulse and HMS Prince of Wales were sunk). This started the pacific theatre WW2. On December 8, 1941, HK was captured by the Japanese. By Summer 1942, Imperial Japan had conquered Burma and Siam. On early June 1942, the battle of Midway was fought, which marked a turning point in the war. Japan was put into defense, as the US Marines ‘Island Hopped’ (capturing key islands one by one) towards Japan. On 1944, the USN first witnessed kamikaze attacks (suicide by crashing into an enemy) at the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Tokyo was Firebombed multiple times, and by early spring, Iwo Jima and Okinawa were seized by the US. The two Atomic bombs were dropped on August 1945 , 9 days apart. On September 2, 1945, the Japanese formally surrendered on the deck of USS Missouri.
Demilitarization and “de-colonization”
After the war ended with the Tokyo Bombing, The USA Demilitarized Japan, and turned it into a democratic nation with it applying to the United Nations. In culture and learning, Patriotism, was majorly removed, as well as the USA abolishing its Military. To this day, Japan remains to vow, that it would only use it’s military for defensive purposes, with no offense at all. Japan was built back up again, with major parts being reconstructed. In the 1950s, The real threat for Japan was the spread of communism, with the nation supporting the United states in the Korean War between North Korea( supported by the USSR and China) and South korea ( Supported by the US), with the US’s military squads living there. In the end, the war ended in a draw. The Formal end of the Showa period was January 7, 1989 when Emperor Hirohito died in Tokyo.