Questions tagged [japan]
An island country in the western Pacific, located east of the Asian mainland.
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How could it be that 80% of townspeople were farmers during the Edo period in Japan?
I've read in the book "A modern history of Japan" by Andrew Gordon and other articles, that most of the Japanese townspeople were farmers(about 80% I suppose) during the Edo period. But according to ...
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4answers
3k views
Why did WWI include Japan?
WWI mainly developed in Europe. It only included the USA because Germans attacked a US ship. What did Japan have to do with Europe?
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1answer
222 views
How did Japan get so many Nobel Prizes?
Japan in the last 80 years has earned nearly 30 Nobel Prizes, which is more than any other Asian country (at least two of which dwarf it in terms of population). In the 21'st century, only the United ...
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1answer
101 views
Can someone give me the history on this Japanese Crest symbol
What is the History and meaning of the symbol #23 (丸に七曜) in this image?
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0answers
151 views
Why do schools in Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea use the Westminster Quarters as school chime?
Today, I read about the Westminister Quarters, the chime used by Big Ben in Westminster, London. In that article, I see this assertion:
Most schools in Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea play the ...
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1answer
177 views
What was the postage from Japan to US in 1945?
I was wondering how many postage stamps it would require to send a letter from Japan to the US (and vice versa) around 1945, and during the occupation? And perhaps you might know what the stamps ...
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1answer
198 views
Did Japan have secret films about going into the US in the 40s?
This film (narrated by Ronald Regan) was produced in the 40s. It discusses detailed planning for an air mission into an area in Japan.
Did Japan have similar fims in the time period to aid them in ...
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1answer
147 views
Did the citizens of US really back the declaration of war on Japanese Empire as it was implied by F.D. Roosevelt in his Pearl Harbor Speech? [closed]
December 7th, 1941, was the date that was to live in infamy, as mentioned by F.D. Roosevelt in his Pearl Harbor speech. Overall, the speech was quite straightforward in its goal: assurance to the ...
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1answer
248 views
Is there any economic history account of the role of Japan's precious metal deposits in the roles of the country's early industrialization?
The Japanese archipelago is generally scarce in natural resources, but Japan has a large deposit of precious metals in the Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine, and a few other mines, to a smaller extent. Japan ...
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3answers
461 views
Did Imperial Japan persecute Slavic people, as European fascists did?
Over the interwar period, fascist governments in Europe heavily promoted anti-Slavic propaganda. In Germany, they were labelled as Untermensch alongside the Jews, and in Italy, Slavic media, languages,...
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2answers
207 views
What anti-Japanese guerrilla units were active in Manchuria from 1944-1945?
I am writing a historical fiction novel with a North Korean protagonist joining anti-Japanese guerrilla forces in Manchuria in 1944.
I understand that major anti-Japanese resistance in Manchuria was ...
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1answer
276 views
Why did this post card not allow communication with Japan?
In this postcard posted in Canterbury on 21 July 1908 (I assume) it is marked that:
This space may be used for communication for Inland Postage and Foreign Countries, except Japan.
Why?
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3answers
355 views
What is this 120 yr old Japanese tool?
I bought this from an antique shop in Japan. Beside the price tag it said it was 120 years old. The shop owner didn't speak much English. All he kept saying was "boat" and kept making a motion like ...
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0answers
83 views
After the Japanese declaration of War, what happened to the Japanese Embassy in Washington DC? [duplicate]
The Japanese Declaration of War against the UK and USA was given on 1941 Dec 7. This happened in Washington DC via the Japanese Embassy.
I would like to know what happened to that embassy and the ...
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3answers
664 views
What were the flaws in the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey?
According to this source, "Some historians have identified flaws in the [U.S. Strategic Bombing] survey, based on contemporary evidence." I have unsuccessfully searched the internet for these ...
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Was Japan known to be a potential threat to the USA in the 10 year period prior to 1941
In the years leading up to the Pearl Harbor attack, did non-military Americans see Japan as a potential threat to the USA?
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1answer
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Was there a Japanese equivalent of the Gestapo during WW2
Colonial Japanese rule on occupied territories has been described as harsh as has been their treatment of prisoners of war. In some cases, this was not a fleeting occupation but one lasting years or ...
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2answers
521 views
Why couldn't the Ottoman Empire modernise the way Meiji Japan did? [closed]
What makes it appear to me that Japan modernised to come to a level of advancement comparable to Western powers was, unlike Ottoman Empire
Japan had universal compulsory education
the level of ...
10
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1answer
650 views
How many pens were used by MacArthur to end the final chapter of World War II and where are they now?
General Douglas MacArthur counter-signs the Japanese instrument of surrender as Supreme Allied Commander aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, September 2, 1945. Standing behind him are Generals ...
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4answers
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When/how did Harry Truman give the order to bomb Hiroshima?
Am I correct in assuming that Truman and only Truman had the authority to order the bombing of Hiroshima? After all, it was the very first A-bomb and procedures may not have been formalized yet. It ...
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1answer
269 views
Why did the GHQ not promote English during the occupation? [closed]
I wonder why GHQ did not force Japanese people to use the English language during the occupation, or at least add English to one of its official languages, much like Hong Kong under occupation by UK. ...
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2answers
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Why did the Japanese withdraw from Siberia in 1922?
According to Wikipedia the Japanese were the de facto leaders of the foreign anti-Bolshevik intervention in Siberia during the Russian Civil War. The other foreign powers pulled out by 1920, ...
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1answer
326 views
Why do people not talk about Tokyo fire bombing during WW2? [closed]
I was wondering why Hiroshima and Nagasaki are remembered as some of the most devastating attacks during WW2; but, the Tokyo firebombing March 9, 1945—which caused more casualties and was a really ...
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1answer
198 views
Why is the Jewel Voice Broadcast called that?
I can't seem to find out the reason behind the naming of the audio Jewel Voice Broadcast.
I learned that this broadcast was the first instance of the Emperor directly communicating to masses. I can ...
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1answer
683 views
Are records on the meetings of the Japanese war council during 1945 publicly available?
There is lately some interest to the question of the Japanese surrender in august 1945 and the motivations of the Japanese government for doing so and doing it in the way they did. E.g. it is voiced ...
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How did Heian Era Japanese Clans work? (esp. Taira vs. Minamoto)
Wikipedia tells me that certain children of emperors were demoted (removed from the royal lineage) and assigned to Taira as well as Minamoto "clans" during the Heian period.
How did this work?
Was ...
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3answers
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Why were there so few American deaths in the Bataan Death March?
There was estimated to be 500-650 American deaths during the Bataan death march while there was estimated to be 5,000 to 18,000 Filipino deaths, according to Wikipedia. I can't wrap my head around why ...
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1answer
204 views
What light machine guns did the imperial Japanese army use in ww1?
I would love to more about Japanese weaponry in the Great War and, more specifically, about their use of light machine guns, and did they use things like a c96 Mauser or a Madsen LMG. Also, did they ...
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2answers
502 views
Why were so few Koreans enlisted in the Japanese Army before conscription was introduced in 1944?
Citing two sources, the article Korea under Japanese rule gives the following figures showing that very few Koreans who volunteered for enlistment into the Japanese army 1938 – 1943 were actually ...
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1answer
610 views
Did imperialist Japan ever want to annex Hawaii because of the Japanese minority living here?
Hawaii had been colonized by Japanese people during the 19th century, before it became an American territory. There was an estimated 40% of Japanese in Hawaii in 1900 and 43% in 1920; thus we can ...
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1answer
671 views
Why did Japan commit atrocities against natives populaces after “liberating” them during WW2?
The propaganda Japan used during World War 2 when conquering China and Southeast Asia was Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
. I suppose that to mean that they would want to be seen as a liberator,...
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2answers
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Distinguish Mitsubishi G6M1-L2 and G4M1 aircraft in this picture
Here is a picture of Bataan 1 and Bataan 2:
Wikipedia:
Bataan 1 and Bataan 2 were two demilitarized Japanese bomber/transport aircraft that carried the first surrender delegations from Japan to Ie ...
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2answers
312 views
Was the end date of Soviet-Japanese Border War the direct reason of starting Soviet invasion on Poland in 1939
The end date of the Soviet-Japanese Border War oddly coincides with the beginning date of the Soviet invasion on Poland in 1939. Was the end date of the Soviet-Japanese Border War the direct reason of ...
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2answers
304 views
Where was Emperor Hirohito during the Kyūjō incident?
Where was Emperor Hirohito during Kyūjō incident ? Did he came in physical contact with the rebels, did they actually tried to dissuade him from surrender ?
9
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1answer
486 views
Couldn't Japan have solved the problem of drifting at sea?
The Edo period shogunate received annual tributes from local clans, on the order of the rice to feed a thousand people. The sengokubune ships used on this route were suited for calm inland waters, ...
8
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2answers
348 views
What caused the long lasting of peace in during the Heian Period?
I see the Heian Period of Japan described as being an era of long lasting peace. For example, the Met Museum says:
In Kyoto, the court enjoyed a relatively long period of peace and political ...
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2answers
270 views
Did the House of Representatives during Meiji Era exercise their powers?
Currently, I am researching into the Imperial Diet of Japan during the Meiji Era. It has been established by historians that the House of Representatives were granted some form of power, such as the ...
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Was Hiroshima targeted because its mountains would “rebound the explosion back into the city for more damage”?
In English class, while analyzing the anti-war themes of a book, my teacher brought up something that I had never heard before and honestly significantly doubt the accuracy of. She said that:
...
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317 views
How common were duels in the Tokugawa Japan?
It is my understanding that during Tokugawa era Japan, Samurai could and would occasionally engage in duels to the death. But how often? Do we know from any record keeping how common deadly duels were?...
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When did 石井 四郎 (Shirō Ishii) start medical school?
石井 四郎 (Shirō Ishii) was a surgeon in the Japanese Army, making the rank of General and earned the Order of the Golden Kite, Fourth Class. He committed war crimes, but made a deal with the U.S. to give ...
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3answers
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Why didn't Japanese attack Soviet Union simultaneously as the Germans? [duplicate]
As everyone knows, the Japanese went south, conquering most of the Pacific and attacking Pearl Harbour. But why didn't the Japanese wait until Hitler went on the eastern campaign (attacking the Soviet ...
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1answer
220 views
Please post a picture of the mills tonfa were supposedly used to turn
A tonfa is a forearm length club with a handle protruding sideways. A common claim is that the weapon was originally a handle used to turn millstones. German Wikipedia claims that there are pictures ...
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1answer
847 views
In WW2, why didn't Japan invade Macau?
Macau was a Portuguese Colony right next door to Hong Kong. Why didn't Japan invade it during WW2?
Japan did invade Hong Kong, and they did invade Portuguese Timor too. Yet I am not even sure if ...
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1answer
374 views
How was the Washington Naval Treaty enforced?
In view of Pearl Harbor, I would be interested to know how the Washington Naval Treaty was enforced - if at all? - given that this was before the establishment of the UN.
Would the the signatories ...
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2answers
599 views
Before WW2, how did Japan pay for imported US oil?
Related question that brings something up. Japan was importing most of its oil from the USA, until the oil embargo was imposed in summer 1941. Before this embargo, how did Japan pay for this oil? What ...
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2answers
346 views
Did the Netherlands join the anti-Japanese oil embargo later than US? If so why?
From Wikipedia's Dutch East Indies Campaign:
President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an executive order on 26 July 1941 which froze all of Japan's U.S. assets and embargoed all oil exports to Japan. ...
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3answers
726 views
Did Japan ever attack Vladivostok in WW2? Why or why not?
That's a screenshot from Battlefield Season 4 Episode 3. I added the location of Vladivostok.
In all my readings, I have never found a Japanese attack on Vladivostok during or right before WW2. You ...
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0answers
109 views
How did life for commoners in Okinawa change with the Satsuma invasion?
In 1609, the kingdom of Ryukyu which covers what is today known as Okinawa, was invaded by the Japanese Satsuma clan.
How did this affect the everyday life of commoners (Everybody not noble or a ...
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2answers
3k views
What made the Russian Fleet suspect Japanese Torpedo boats were in North Sea in 1904/5?
I'm finding several references that during the Russia - Japanese war of 1904/1905 that the Russians had intelligence that suggested the Japanese either had torpedo boats present in the North Sea or ...
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1answer
248 views
Were there crewmen from other USN ships on USS Missouri when the Japanese surrendered?
I have tried finding a list of the crewmen on the USS Missouri at the time of the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, or at least some general information about who was on the ship at ...
