Eastern Asia · JPN

Japan

The story · 12 chapters

How it was drawn

A court state on the main islands that took centuries to reach the far north, built an empire across Asia in fifty years, and lost it in one war.

Play the story Take the first lesson

Through the ages

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Japan fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Tang China and Silla660 to 668
Yamato sends a fleet to help restore its ally Baekje in Korea, but Tang and Silla forces destroy it at the Battle of Baekgang in 663. Fearing invasion, the court builds fortresses in Kyushu and reforms the state on the Chinese model.
Emishi774 to 811
The peoples of northern Honshu resist the court's advance in a long frontier war. The Emishi leader Aterui surrenders to Sakanoue no Tamuramaro in 802, and the frontier moves north.
Mongol Yuan1274 to 1281
After Japan refuses to submit, Kublai Khan sends two invasion fleets from Korea and China. Samurai fight the landings in Kyushu in 1274 and 1281, and storms wreck both fleets.
Joseon Korea and Ming China1592 to 1598
Toyotomi Hideyoshi invades Korea, aiming at China. Korean admiral Yi Sun-sin cuts Japanese supply lines at sea, Ming armies come to Korea's aid, and the Japanese withdraw after Hideyoshi's death in 1598.
Ainu1669 to 1789
The Matsumae domain controls trade with the Ainu of Hokkaido. Ainu revolts, led by Shakushain in 1669 and on the Menashi coast in 1789, are put down, and Japanese control of Hokkaido tightens.
Qing China1894 to 1895
Japan and China fight over Korea. The modernised Japanese army and navy win quickly, and by the Treaty of Shimonoseki China gives up Taiwan and recognises Korea's independence, opening it to Japanese control.
Russian Empire1904 to 1905
Rivalry over Korea and Manchuria leads to war. Japan takes Port Arthur and destroys the Russian fleet at Tsushima, the first modern victory of an Asian power over a European one, and gains southern Sakhalin.
Republic of China1931 to 1945
Japan seizes Manchuria in 1931 and invades China in 1937, taking Shanghai and Nanjing, where its soldiers massacre civilians. China fights on from Chongqing until Japan's surrender in 1945.
Soviet Union1938 to 1945
Japanese and Soviet forces clash at Lake Khasan in 1938 and at Khalkhin Gol in Mongolia in 1939, where Japan is beaten. In August 1945 the Soviet Union declares war, overruns Manchuria and takes Sakhalin and the Kurils.
United States1941 to 1945
Japan attacks Pearl Harbor in December 1941. The United States wins at Midway in 1942, advances island by island across the Pacific, firebombs Japanese cities and drops atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.
RussiaSince 1945Still open
Moscow has held the southern Kuril Islands, called the Northern Territories in Japan, since 1945. Because of this dispute, Japan and Russia have never signed a peace treaty ending the Second World War.
South KoreaSince 1952Still open
South Korea has controlled the islets of Dokdo, which Japan calls Takeshima, since the early 1950s. Japan still claims them, and the dispute adds to tensions over the colonial past.
ChinaSince 1971Still open
China and Taiwan claim the Senkaku Islands, administered by Japan. Since Japan bought three of the islands from a private owner in 2012, Chinese coast guard ships patrol the surrounding waters almost constantly.
North KoreaSince 1998Still open
North Korea has fired missiles over Japan, first in 1998, and admitted in 2002 to kidnapping Japanese citizens decades earlier. Its nuclear and missile tests are a central concern of Japanese defence.

Today

Japan now

In 1603, after decades of civil warfare, the Tokugawa shogunate (a military-led, dynastic government) ushered in a long period of relative political stability and isolation from foreign influence. For more than two centuries, this policy enabled Japan to enjoy a flowering of its indigenous culture. Japan opened its ports after signing the Treaty of Kanagawa with the US in 1854 and began to intensively modernize and industrialize.

Capital: Tokyo
Government: parliamentary constitutional monarchy
Head of government: Sanae Takaichi
Head of state: Naruhito
Languages: Japanese
Area: 377,975 km²

Through time

Then and now

Population124 million2023 · 86.4 million in 1950
Life expectancy84.7 years2023 · 59.3 years in 1950
GDP per person$38,2682022 · $3,062 in 1950
Living in cities92%2025 · 37% in 1950
Literacy98%1950
Political regimeLiberal democracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950
Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950
Military spending1.4% of GDP2025
War deathsNone2025

Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.

Relations

Close partners and tensions

Close partners

United States
United Kingdom
Australia

Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 23 October 2026.

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Japan fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Tang China and Silla660 to 668

Yamato sends a fleet to help restore its ally Baekje in Korea, but Tang and Silla forces destroy it at the Battle of Baekgang in 663. Fearing invasion, the court builds fortresses in Kyushu and reforms the state on the Chinese model.

Emishi774 to 811

The peoples of northern Honshu resist the court's advance in a long frontier war. The Emishi leader Aterui surrenders to Sakanoue no Tamuramaro in 802, and the frontier moves north.

Mongol Yuan1274 to 1281

After Japan refuses to submit, Kublai Khan sends two invasion fleets from Korea and China. Samurai fight the landings in Kyushu in 1274 and 1281, and storms wreck both fleets.

Joseon Korea and Ming China1592 to 1598

Toyotomi Hideyoshi invades Korea, aiming at China. Korean admiral Yi Sun-sin cuts Japanese supply lines at sea, Ming armies come to Korea's aid, and the Japanese withdraw after Hideyoshi's death in 1598.

Ainu1669 to 1789

The Matsumae domain controls trade with the Ainu of Hokkaido. Ainu revolts, led by Shakushain in 1669 and on the Menashi coast in 1789, are put down, and Japanese control of Hokkaido tightens.

Qing China1894 to 1895

Japan and China fight over Korea. The modernised Japanese army and navy win quickly, and by the Treaty of Shimonoseki China gives up Taiwan and recognises Korea's independence, opening it to Japanese control.

Russian Empire1904 to 1905

Rivalry over Korea and Manchuria leads to war. Japan takes Port Arthur and destroys the Russian fleet at Tsushima, the first modern victory of an Asian power over a European one, and gains southern Sakhalin.

Republic of China1931 to 1945

Japan seizes Manchuria in 1931 and invades China in 1937, taking Shanghai and Nanjing, where its soldiers massacre civilians. China fights on from Chongqing until Japan's surrender in 1945.

Soviet Union1938 to 1945

Japanese and Soviet forces clash at Lake Khasan in 1938 and at Khalkhin Gol in Mongolia in 1939, where Japan is beaten. In August 1945 the Soviet Union declares war, overruns Manchuria and takes Sakhalin and the Kurils.

United States1941 to 1945

Japan attacks Pearl Harbor in December 1941. The United States wins at Midway in 1942, advances island by island across the Pacific, firebombs Japanese cities and drops atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.

RussiaSince 1945Still open

Moscow has held the southern Kuril Islands, called the Northern Territories in Japan, since 1945. Because of this dispute, Japan and Russia have never signed a peace treaty ending the Second World War.

South KoreaSince 1952Still open

South Korea has controlled the islets of Dokdo, which Japan calls Takeshima, since the early 1950s. Japan still claims them, and the dispute adds to tensions over the colonial past.

ChinaSince 1971Still open

China and Taiwan claim the Senkaku Islands, administered by Japan. Since Japan bought three of the islands from a private owner in 2012, Chinese coast guard ships patrol the surrounding waters almost constantly.

North KoreaSince 1998Still open

North Korea has fired missiles over Japan, first in 1998, and admitted in 2002 to kidnapping Japanese citizens decades earlier. Its nuclear and missile tests are a central concern of Japanese defence.

Japan now

Capital

Tokyo

Government

parliamentary constitutional monarchy

Head of government

Sanae Takaichi

Head of state

Naruhito

Languages

Japanese

Area

377,975 km²

Then and now

Population124 million2023 · 86.4 million in 1950

Life expectancy84.7 years2023 · 59.3 years in 1950

GDP per person$38,2682022 · $3,062 in 1950

Living in cities92%2025 · 37% in 1950

Literacy98%1950

Political regimeLiberal democracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950

Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950

Military spending1.4% of GDP2025

War deathsNone2025