Japanese Imperialism Timeline Name____________________________________

1853 - ​US fleet forces Japan to open up to foreign influence after over 200 years of
self-imposed isolation.

1868 - ​End of centuries of rule by Shogun military caste, Empire of Japan proclaimed,
and country enters period of rapid industrialisation and trading dominance over East
Asia.

1894-95​ - ​Japan goes to war with China​, and its better-equipped forces win victory in
just nine months. ​China cedes Taiwan​ and permits Japan to trade on mainland.

1904​ - Japan becomes first Asian country in modern times to defeat an European power
when it routs Russia in Manchuria.

1910​ - ​Japan annexes Korea​ after three years of fighting, becoming one of the world's
leading powers.

1914​ - Japan joins World War I on the side of Britain and her allies, gaining some
Pacific islands from Germany at the end of the war.

Late 1920s​ - Extreme nationalism begins to take hold in Japan as world economic
depression hits. The emphasis is on a preservation of traditional Japanese values, and
a rejection of "Western" influence.

1931​ - ​Japanese army invades Chinese province of Manchuria​, installs puppet

regime.

1937​ - Japan goes to war with China, capturing Shanghai, Beijing and Nanjing amid
atrocities like the "Rape of Nanjing", in which up to 300,000 Chinese civilians were
killed.

1939​ - Outbreak of Second World War in Europe. With fall of France in 1940, Japan
moves to occupy French Indo-China.

1942​ - Japan occupies succession of countries, including Philippines, Dutch East

Indies, Burma and Malaya.

1945​ - US planes drop two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August.
Emperor Hirohito surrenders and relinquishes divine status. Japan placed under US
military government. All Japanese military and naval forces disbanded.