Questions tagged [japan]
An island country in the western Pacific, located east of the Asian mainland.
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What led Chiang Kai-shek to do a U-turn against the Japanese?
The Japanese feel that Western countries are unfair in imposing the status quo on Japan and calling it “peace.” Their whole conception
of diplomatic machinery and collective security is that it is ...
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Could the "Taffy" Groups have been reinforced by air during the battle of Leyte Gulf?
During the Battle for Leyte Gulf, most elements of the American fleet fought two "side" groups of the Japanese fleet to the south and north of the main action, which would take place off ...
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Is there anything to back up Mearsheimer's claims that Roosevelt pushed the Japanese to attack the United States and tried to get the US into WW2?
In this video at 1:20:05 (and a little bit of the part preceding it), Mearsheimer claims that Roosevelt "was deeply committed" to get the United States into the second world war and "...
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What did Japan do during the Siberian expedition to insure the creation of a buffer state or acquire territory?
Japan's motives in the Siberian Intervention were complex and poorly
articulated. Overtly, Japan (as with the United States and the other
international coalition forces) was in Siberia to safeguard ...
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Which part of Japanese air forces fought in Burma and how much was destroyed?
My current understanding of WW2 involving Japan is that US forces destroyed the brunt of Japanese air and naval forces in the Pacific.
I know however that land battles occurred on large scale in Burma ...
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Could Japan buy natural resources from European colonies before WW2?
Internationally, this was a time when "free trade" was in disrepute.
The great powers not only jealously protected their special economic
rights within their colonies and spheres of ...
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Why was the Red Army successful against the Japanese in 1939 but perform poorly against Finland 1939-40 and early part of WW2?
The Soviet Union's Red Army had great difficulty overcoming the vastly outnumbered Finns in the 1939-40 Winter War, and suffered disastrous defeats in the early stages of the German invasion in World ...
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Could Japan have won WW2 without interservice rivalry? [closed]
Interservice Rivalry discusses the rivalry between the Japanese army and navy and I have listened to a video which says that a naval plane landing at a army air base would not be serviced, for example....
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Did Japanese officers refuse to engage in kamikaze attacks?
The Kamikaze is a military tactic that appeared officially in Japan's forces in 1944. This was used first by some officers, and then became more and more widespread.
My understanding of the Japanese ...
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Why were some German and Japanese cities bombed more than others during WW2? Is there a scientific consensus?
I'm trying to study the long-run effects the strategic bombing of German and Japanese cities had on urban and economic development.
Reading some articles about it I get contradictory information about ...
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Initial Japanese success in WWII? [closed]
We all know about Pearl Harbor. But I’m curious how Imperial Japan managed to take Guam, Wake, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and China. The only reason I can think of to explain these conquests were ...
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Is Japanese democracy an isolated example? [closed]
There is something peculiar about the current Japanese political system: it is a democratic system which was imposed upon Japan by an invading foreign country (USA, in this case) which remained as a ...
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Why was the US so pro-China and so anti-Japan before WW2?
There is little doubt that the US embargoes on Japan pushed an already aggressive Japan towards Pearl Harbor. Japanese Navy doctrine had already been contemplating a conflict with the US and this ...
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Does city-specific economic data for the pre-WW2 decades exist for Japan and Germany? How do I find out?
I'd like to the an analysis using historical economic data of Japan and Germany.
For that I'm trying to figure out, if data exists from before 1945 of economic production in different japanese and ...
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How did East Indies oil lose its "top billing" in the Pacific War as the war went on?
The road to Pearl Harbor appeared to begin with the American embargo of oil (and other items) in July 1941. The Japanese decided that they had to 1) cripple the American Pacific fleet and 2) obtain ...
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How were Japanese elite divisions defeated? [closed]
During the early months of the involvement of Japan in World War 2, Japanese land armies performed well against British, American and other Allied (Filipino, Dutch) troops. From my research, on books ...
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What was the timetable for the arrival of the 100,000 man Japanese garrison at Rabaul?
Early in 1942, the Japanese seized the natural port of Rabaul on New Britain Island. This was to protect its existing base at Truk, in the Carolines, and also to provide a forward base for operations ...
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Were any Japanese defendants at the far east war criminal trials after WW2 IQ tested by the allies?
Since the Americans tested the IQ of the defendants of the Nuremberg trials I was wondering if there was an analogous deed done to the Japanese war criminals after the WW2.
I can't find anything ...
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Could the Japanese garrison at Rabaul have fed itself if it had been spread out over New Britain Island instead of being concentrated at Rabaul?
Early in 1942, Japan seized the fine port at Rabaul on New Britain Island. They later concentrated around 100,000 men at Rabaul, many of whom starved after the Allies encircled and blockaded the base ...
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Did the "unexpectedness" of key events argue against a "third strike" at Pearl Harbor?
Japan's Admiral Nagumo has been criticized for not launching a "third strike" at Pearl Harbor, specifically to destroy the dry docks, fuel stores, repair facilities and other key ...
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What ship is this in Sasebo, Japan Harbor, Korean War Era?
Identification of Ship in Sasebo, Japan Harbor, Korean War Era from my Flickr page
https://www.flickr.com/photos/photolibrarian/51241341355/in/dateposted-public/
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Was Anti-Japaneseism a real political ideology?
According to a page on Wikipedia, there was a movement in the Japanese New Left called "Anti-Japaneseism", which claimed that
"The nation called Japan and the entire Japanese race ...
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What was the basis of the calendar during Japan's Edo period?
I couldn't find a proper answer on the internet, every article refers to the timeline using the Gregorian calendar.
But I'm guessing Japan didn't use this method given the fact that they weren't ...
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During the defense of the home islands, what was Japan's plan for its forces off-island?
It's July 1945. Okinawa is lost. Japan is preparing for an Allied invasion of the Home Islands. While they're arming civilians with spears and clubs, Japan still had millions of soldiers in Manchuria, ...
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Were kamikaze pilots an effective strategy for Japan?
history.howstuffworks.com claims kamikaze pilots were not overly effective. Wikipedia states that there was no noticeable increase in number of ships lost even as kamikaze pilots became more common, ...
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Where can I find the calls made between Kita Ikki and the rebels in the Japanese February 26 incident?
While reading about the February 26 Incident I learnt that Kita Ikki knew of it and provided some support to the coup by phone. A documentary about Asian 20th century history contains a small portion ...
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Which operation came last in World War 2? [closed]
Which operation came last in World War 2?
I know that the Kwantung Army was defeated on the 2nd of September 1945 during the Soviet Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation (9th of August - 2nd of ...
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What is the context of the use of injustice/unrightousness (不義/fugi) in WW2 era Japanese propaganda?
The Imperial Japanese military song Nihon Rikugun (日本陸軍) begins with the line "天に代わりて不義を討つ" ("defeat injustice in place of righteousness").
What exactly did they consider 不義/fugi ...
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What is the story of this kamon?
I see that you have a lot of knowledge and I have been looking for information for several years. Do you know the story of this kamon? It is worn by my wife's family. It's Maruni ken Hanabishi; it is ...
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Why did no one take Siberia over before the Russians, and how did they do it?
I realize that Russia had ambitions in the east and they took over Siberia. However Siberia was just north of the Mongols really and its islands were easily accessible to Japan in history. They even ...
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What caused the decline of Buddhism in Japan? [closed]
I'm trying to find fairly detailed information on the causes of the decline of Buddhism in Japan. The most detailed information I could find so far is Wikipedia, but it doesn't appear to go too in-...
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What did Japanese architecture look like with heavy materials such as stone, mortar and clay?
In the Wikipedia article on Japanese architecture, it says in the Heian era, and I quote, "Heavy materials like stone, mortar and clay were abandoned as building elements, with simple wooden ...
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How common were fires in pre-Edo Japan?
It is well known that Edo-era Japan had many fires, but I want to focus on something else.
I cannot seem to find much information on fires in Japan before Edo. For example, when I google "feudal ...
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Were there high-ranking Japanese POW as witness at the Trinity Atomic Bomb Test? [closed]
One argument was that providing a demonstration on an unpopulated island ran the risk of failure in front of Japanese observers. But I have not read any suggestion of using a Japanese POW of high ...
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Could someone help to identify this Japanese mon found on what appears to be a late Edo Period Jingasa?
I am trying to identify the following Japanese mon:
My research has hinted that the tortoise-shell shape may be of Shinto influence and that the triune division is a form depiction of the tomoe, but ...
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Did Japanese modernisation have an effect on Ethiopia?
On his wikipedia page, Tekle Hawariat Tekle Mariyam, "the primary author of Ethiopia's July 1931 constitution" the article calls him a
politician and intellectual of the Japanizer school
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Were the Japanese "Kongo" class battlewagons advanced for their time?
Built in the early 1910s, Japan's Kongo class battlecruisers had eight 14-inch guns, a speed of about 30 knots, and a displacement of about 26,000 tons. This gave them advantages over British ...
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What kind of football was played in 645 Japan?
In the book History of Japan by Richard Mason, the author states in chapter 3:
In the year 645, opponents of the Soga leaders struck back. The final coup was preceded by careful preparations that ...
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What are the outer vests/jackets that samurai wear?
What are the outer vests/jackets that samurai wear some sort of jacket, what are they called?
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Why were Japanese escort ships not numerous at the battle of Bismarck Sea?
During the battle of Bismarck sea, Allied units performed air attacks that resulted in the nearly destruction of Japanese fleet.
I understand the reasons why the Allies obtain such a success, namely:
...
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What went into an Edo-era Hyakkumonogatari Kaidankai?
I was looking for information on the Edo-era parlour game hyakkumonogatari kaidankai. I found a lot of academic sources about kaidan themselves (the history, spread, adaption, influence, etc.) But at ...
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How did the Japanese populace view the emperor during the Edo Period?
What was the context behind the Sonnō Jōi (尊皇攘夷, "revere the emperor and repel the barbarians") movement?
To my understanding, the Edo Shogunate was a typical feudal society with strict ...
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What is the flag on Shinzo Abe's suit? [closed]
and are random a photos from a performance of Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe. The emblem number 1, as I understand, is the Imperial Seal. But I couldn't find any information about the emblem ...
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Did the US really consider demonstrating the atomic bomb to the Japanese by "blowing the top" off of Mt. Fuji?
In reading this Washington Post article titled Five myths about the atomic bomb, it's mentioned:
The decision to use nuclear weapons is usually presented as either/or: either drop the bomb or land on ...
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Who did Murasaki Shikibu fall in love with?
A line from Donald Keene's introductory text about The Tale of Genji piqued my curiosity:
We know little else about Murasaki’s early years, though her poems suggest that she fell in love at least ...
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How old was Murasaki Shikibu when she married her second cousin? And why did she marry him?
From Wikipedia:
Aristocratic Heian women lived restricted and secluded lives, allowed to speak to men only when they were close relatives or household members. Murasaki's autobiographical poetry ...
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Why did the USA stop expanding westwards into East Asia?
Why did the USA stop expanding westwards into East Asia? The USA initially started on the east coast of North America, and gradually expanded westwards to reach the Pacific Ocean through a combination ...
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What did the Edo samurai bureaucracy actually look like?
While researching the Japanese Edo period, the Samurai class are frequently described as bureaucrats and the government is described as a "sophisticated bureaucracy", often with detailed ...
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What led to Japan committing war crimes in WWII? [closed]
Japan committed cruel war crimes during World War 2.
According to this article WW2 Japanese war crimes - Japanese Invasion of China 1937-1944 (World war II two -Asian Holocaust)
and this The Asian ...
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Why are some school systems from September–July versus others that go April–March?
I've heard from colleagues and on-line sources that the Japanese school system starts the school year on 1st of April and I've heard the same used to be true in Germany. In Belgium, where I live, I ...
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