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99-619: The peace treaty went into effect on the day it was signed. It was registered in the United Nations Treaty Series on 23 August 1951. During World War II, Thailand was an ally of the Empire of Japan . In that capacity, it gained some territories that were incorporated in Thailand in exchange for freedom for the Japanese government to establish military bases in these territories as well as in

198-628: A blank check for the Allies. The "prompt and utter destruction" clause has been interpreted as a veiled warning about American possession of the atomic bomb , which had been successfully tested in New Mexico on July 16, 1945, the day before the opening of the conference. Although the document warned of further destruction like the Operation Meetinghouse raid on Tokyo and other carpetbombing of Japanese cities , it did not mention anything about

297-635: A general election was held. After the treaty, the United States lent $ 10,000,000 to Thailand for the reconstruction of her transportation network, heavily damaged by American bombing. Thailand joined the United Nations on 16 December 1946. A separate Australian–Thai Peace Treaty , required by the Australian declaration of war of 2 March 1942 and the Australian Statute of Westminster Adoption Act ,

396-539: A tributary state of China's Qing Empire , which exerted large influence over the conservative Korean officials who gathered around the royal family of the Joseon kingdom. On February 27, 1876, after several confrontations between Korean isolationists and the Japanese, Japan imposed the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876 , forcing Korea open to Japanese trade. The act blocked any other power from dominating Korea, resolving to end

495-636: A Theory of Civilization", which detailed Western society and his own philosophies. In the Meiji Restoration period, military and economic power was emphasized. Military strength became the means for national development and stability. Imperial Japan became the only non-Western world power and a major force in East Asia in about 25 years as a result of industrialization and economic development. As writer Albrecht Fürst von Urach comments in his booklet "The Secret of Japan's Strength", published in 1942, during

594-592: A chapel of the Russian Consulate. St. Nicholas of Japan made his own translation of the New Testament and some other religious books ( Lenten Triodion , Pentecostarion , Feast Services , Book of Psalms , Irmologion ) into Japanese . Nicholas has since been canonized as a saint by the Patriarchate of Moscow in 1970, and is now recognized as St. Nicholas, Equal-to-the-Apostles to Japan. His commemoration day

693-623: A continued collaboration with the Tokugawa, Saigō Takamori , leader of the Satsuma clan, threatened the assembly into abolishing the title shōgun and ordered the confiscation of Yoshinobu's lands. On January 17, 1868, Yoshinobu declared "that he would not be bound by the proclamation of the Restoration and called on the court to rescind it". On January 24, Yoshinobu decided to prepare an attack on Kyoto, occupied by Satsuma and Chōshū forces. This decision

792-686: A free hand in running the affairs of Japan afterwards. Each of the Allies who signed the Declaration had their own intentions for doing so, and all parties desired to receive reparations for war damages from the Japanese. The Republic of China – under the Nationalist rule of Chiang Kai-shek – desired immediate withdrawal of the Imperial Japanese Army and its subsidiary force the Kwantung Army from all Chinese territory, including Manchuria. Until

891-761: A great power following the First Sino-Japanese War , the Boxer Rebellion , the Russo-Japanese War , and World War I . Economic and political turmoil in the 1920s, including the Great Depression , led to the rise of militarism , nationalism , statism and authoritarianism, and this ideological shift eventually culminated in Japan joining the Axis alliance with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy , and also conquering

990-734: A large part of the Asia-Pacific . During this period, the Japanese army committed many atrocities, including the Nanjing Massacre . However, there has been a debate over defining the political system of Japan as a dictatorship . The Imperial Japanese Armed Forces initially achieved large-scale military successes during the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific War . However, from 1942 onwards, and particularly after decisive Allied advances at Midway Atoll and Guadalcanal , Japan

1089-811: A new Japan's constitution was enacted, officially ending the Japanese Empire and forming modern Japan . During this time, the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces were dissolved. It was later replaced by the current Japan Self-Defense Forces in 1954. Reconstruction under the Allied occupation continued until 1952, consolidating the modern Japanese constitutional monarchy . In total, the Empire of Japan had three emperors: Meiji , Taishō , and Shōwa . The Imperial era came to an end partway through Shōwa's reign , and he remained emperor until 1989. The historical state

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1188-450: A prospect hard-liners from Satsuma and Chōshū found intolerable. On January 3, 1868, Satsuma-Chōshū forces seized the imperial palace in Kyoto , and the following day had the fifteen-year-old Emperor Meiji declare his own restoration to full power. Although the majority of the imperial consultative assembly was happy with the formal declaration of direct rule by the court and tended to support

1287-628: A radius that stretched for more than 1 mile (1.6 kilometers). On August 9, 1945, Soviet general secretary Joseph Stalin , based on a secret agreement at the Yalta Conference in February, unilaterally abrogated the 1941 Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact and declared war on Japan. Thus began the Soviet–Japanese War , with the Soviets invading Manchuria on three fronts. The previous day, 8 August,

1386-449: A variety of fields to come to Japan to educate the populace. For instance, the judicial system and constitution were modeled after Prussia , described by Saburō Ienaga as "an attempt to control popular thought with a blend of Confucianism and German conservatism ." The government also outlawed customs linked to Japan's feudal past, such as publicly displaying and wearing katana and the top knot , both of which were characteristic of

1485-469: A widely broadcast speech after the bombing of Hiroshima, which was picked up by Japanese news agencies, Truman warned that if Japan failed to accept the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, it could "expect a rain of ruin from the air, the like of which has never been seen on this earth." As a result, Suzuki felt compelled to meet the Japanese press, and he reiterated his government's commitment to ignore

1584-529: Is February 16. Andronic Nikolsky , appointed the first Bishop of Kyoto and later martyred as the archbishop of Perm during the Russian Revolution , was also canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church as a Saint and Martyr in the year 2000. Divie Bethune McCartee was the first ordained Presbyterian minister missionary to visit Japan, in 1861–1862. His gospel tract translated into Japanese

1683-526: Is currently better known as the Kaihōrei ( 解放令 Emancipation Edict ). However, the elimination of their economic monopolies over certain occupations actually led to a decline in their general living standards, while social discrimination simply continued. For example, the ban on the consumption of meat from livestock was lifted in 1871, and many former burakumin moved on to work in abattoirs and as butchers . However, slow-changing social attitudes, especially in

1782-510: Is frequently referred to as the "Empire of Japan", the "Japanese Empire", or "Imperial Japan" in English. In Japanese it is referred to as Dai Nippon Teikoku ( 大日本帝國 ) , which translates to "Empire of Great Japan" ( Dai "Great", Nippon "Japanese", Teikoku "Empire"). Teikoku is itself composed of the nouns Tei "referring to an emperor" and -koku "nation, state", literally "Imperial State" or "Imperial Realm" (compare

1881-458: Is prudent; the news media should be instructed to print it without any comments." The Potsdam Declaration and consideration of adopting it occurred before nuclear weapons were used. The terms of the declaration were hotly debated within the Japanese government. Upon receiving the declaration, Foreign Minister Shigenori Tōgō hurriedly met with Prime Minister Kantarō Suzuki and Cabinet Secretary Hisatsune Sakomizu . Sakomizu recalled that all felt

1980-496: Is the flashpoint around which much of historiographical controversy surrounding the Declaration revolves. According to American historian Tsuyoshi Hasegawa the Japanese cabinet remained averse to surrender, and no governmental record immediately pursuant to the Little Boy nuclear detonation over Hiroshima indicates a shift toward capitulation under the terms of the Potsdam Declaration. Hasegawa also notes that Stalin told Truman at

2079-690: The Allies , and the empire's territory subsequently shrunk to cover only the Japanese archipelago resembling modern Japan. Under the slogans of fukoku kyōhei and shokusan kōgyō , which followed the Boshin War and the restoration of power to the Emperor from the Shogun , Japan underwent a period of large-scale industrialization and militarization , often regarded as the fastest modernization of any country to date. All of these aspects contributed to Japan's emergence as

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2178-613: The Axis powers period: The rise of Japan to a world power during the past 80 years is the greatest miracle in world history. The mighty empires of antiquity, the major political institutions of the Middle Ages and the early modern era, the Spanish Empire, the British Empire, all needed centuries to achieve their full strength. Japan's rise has been meteoric. After only 80 years, it is one of

2277-611: The German Kaiserreich ). The name "Empire of Japan" appeared for the first time in the 1854 Convention of Kanagawa between the United States and the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate . This meaning is significant in terms of geography, encompassing Japan, and its surrounding areas. The nomenclature Empire of Japan had existed since the anti-Tokugawa domains, Satsuma and Chōshū , which founded their new government during

2376-653: The Japanese archipelago , the Kurils , Karafuto , Korea , and Taiwan . Concessions such as the Kwantung Leased Territory were de jure not parts of the empire but dependent territories. In the closing stages of World War II , with Japan defeated alongside the rest of the Axis powers , the formalized Japanese Instrument of Surrender was issued on 2 September 1945 in compliance with the Potsdam Declaration of

2475-624: The Meiji Restoration , with the intention of forming a modern state to resist Western domination. Later the Empire emerged as a great power in the world. Due to its name in kanji characters and its flag, it was also given the exonyms "Empire of the Sun" and "Empire of the Rising Sun". After two centuries, the seclusion policy, or sakoku , under the shōguns of the Edo period came to an end when

2574-678: The Meiji period , affecting religious practices and institutions. Conversion from traditional faith was no longer legally forbidden, officials lifted the 250-year ban on Christianity, and missionaries of established Christian churches reentered Japan. The traditional syncreticism between Shinto and Buddhism ended. Losing the protection of the Japanese government which Buddhism had enjoyed for centuries, Buddhist monks faced radical difficulties in sustaining their institutions, but their activities also became less restrained by governmental policies and restrictions. As social conflicts emerged in this last decade of

2673-776: The Shrine Consolidation Policy and the Meiji government built the new modern 15 shrines of the Kenmu restoration as a political move to link the Meiji restoration to the Kenmu restoration for their new State Shinto cult. Japanese had to look at old paintings in order to find out what the Horyuji temple used to look like when they rebuilt it. The rebuilding was originally planned for the Shōwa era. The Japanese used mostly concrete in 1934 to rebuild

2772-463: The State Department did not want the United States to be seen as suing for peace . The Japanese ambassador to Moscow reacted to the news by calling the declaration "a big scare-bomb directed against us". American bombers dropped over 3 million leaflets describing the declaration over Japan, despite the fact that picking up enemy propaganda leaflets and listening to foreign radio broadcasts

2871-521: The Togetsukyo Bridge , unlike the original destroyed wooden version of the bridge from 836. The idea of a written constitution had been a subject of heated debate within and outside of the government since the beginnings of the Meiji government . The conservative Meiji oligarchy viewed anything resembling democracy or republicanism with suspicion and trepidation, and favored a gradualist approach. The Freedom and People's Rights Movement demanded

2970-477: The United States Army Air Forces dropped the first atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 and then the second atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. Both bombings devastated the two cities, killing tens of thousands of people and destroying much of the cities' infrastructure as well as military bases and factories in a matter of seconds in

3069-505: The bombardment of Shimonoseki by a multinational force in 1864. The Chōshū clan also launched the failed coup known as the Kinmon incident . The Satsuma-Chōshū alliance was established in 1866 to combine their efforts to overthrow the Tokugawa bakufu . In early 1867, Emperor Kōmei died of smallpox and was replaced by his son, Crown Prince Mutsuhito (Meiji) . On November 9, 1867, Tokugawa Yoshinobu resigned from his post and authorities to

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3168-413: The Allies' demands and fight on. However, soon after that statement, it became clear to many that surrender was a realistic option. The thoroughness of the Allies' demands and the fact they were made public forced the Japanese leaders and populace to realize the success that Japan's enemies had achieved in the war. After the receipt of the Potsdam Declaration, the Japanese government attempted to maintain

3267-555: The British commander. The force landed near Tianjin on July 5. On 17 June 1900, naval Rikusentai from the Kasagi and Atago had joined British, Russian, and German sailors to seize the Dagu forts near Tianjin. In light of the precarious situation, the British were compelled to ask Japan for additional reinforcements, as the Japanese had the only readily available forces in the region. Britain at

3366-754: The Chinese forces on the Liaodong Peninsula , and nearly destroyed the Chinese navy in the Battle of the Yalu River . The Treaty of Shimonoseki was signed between Japan and China, which ceded the Liaodong Peninsula and the island of Taiwan to Japan. After the peace treaty, Russia, Germany, and France forced Japan to withdraw from Liaodong Peninsula in the Triple Intervention . Soon afterward, Russia occupied

3465-654: The Daimyo and Shoguns. It was only due to the 1964 Summer Olympics in Japan that cheap concrete replicas of those castles were built for tourists. The vast majority of castles in Japan today are new replicas made out of concrete. In 1959 a concrete keep was built for Nagoya castle. During the Meiji restoration's Shinbutsu bunri , tens of thousands of Japanese Buddhist religious idols and temples were smashed and destroyed. Many statues still lie in ruins. Replica temples were rebuilt with concrete. Japan then closed and shut done tens of thousands of traditional old Shinto shrines in

3564-475: The Edo period, some new religious movements appeared, which were directly influenced by shamanism and Shinto . Emperor Ogimachi issued edicts to ban Catholicism in 1565 and 1568, but to little effect. Beginning in 1587 with imperial regent Toyotomi Hideyoshi's ban on Jesuit missionaries, Christianity was repressed as a threat to national unity. Under Hideyoshi and the succeeding Tokugawa shogunate, Catholic Christianity

3663-552: The Emperor and his Imperial House, and also against some major Shinto shrines which were believed to be tied strongly to the Emperor. The government strengthened its control over religious institutions that were considered to undermine State Shinto or nationalism. The majority of Japanese castles were smashed and destroyed in the late 19th century in the Meiji restoration by the Japanese people and government in order to modernize and westernize Japan and break from their past feudal era of

3762-614: The Heavens and with the Earth, We shall maintain and secure from decline the ancient form of government. ... In consideration of the progressive tendency of the course of human affairs and in parallel with the advance of civilization, We deem it expedient, in order to give clearness and distinctness to the instructions bequeathed by the Imperial Founder of Our House and by Our other Imperial Ancestors, to establish fundamental laws. ... Imperial Japan

3861-542: The Japanese advance in 1941–42. These included Singapore , Malaya , North Borneo , Hong Kong , and others. A key motivation of the British government was a restoration of control in its prewar possessions, along with a prompt end to the Japanese war effort, especially on the Indian front in Burma . The United States desired to keep maximum strategic latitude for itself upon the defeat of Japan. The American government had demanded in

3960-555: The Japanese government one million British pounds in exchange for Japanese participation. Potsdam Declaration The Potsdam Declaration , or the Proclamation Defining Terms for Japanese Surrender , was a statement that called for the surrender of all Japanese armed forces during World War II . On July 26, 1945, United States President Harry S. Truman , United Kingdom Prime Minister Winston Churchill , and Chairman of China Chiang Kai-shek issued

4059-436: The Japanese, including the extent and number of Allied "occupation points," the fate of Japan's minor islands, and the extent to which the Allies planned to "control" Japan's "raw materials," as well as whether Hirohito was to be regarded as one of those who had "misled the people of Japan" or he might potentially become part of "a peacefully inclined and responsible government," were thus left unstated, which essentially made it

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4158-623: The Korean government. When Korea demanded that Japan withdraw its troops from Korea, the Japanese refused. In early June 1894, the 8,000 Japanese troops captured the Korean king Gojong, occupied the Royal Palace in Seoul and, by June 25, installed a puppet government in Seoul. The new pro-Japanese Korean government granted Japan the right to expel Qing forces while Japan dispatched more troops to Korea. China objected and war ensued. Japanese ground troops routed

4257-436: The Liaodong Peninsula, built the Port Arthur fortress, and based the Russian Pacific Fleet in the port. Germany occupied Jiaozhou Bay , built Tsingtao fortress and based the German East Asia Squadron in this port. In 1900, Japan joined an international military coalition set up in response to the Boxer Rebellion in the Qing Empire of China. Japan provided the largest contingent of troops: 20,840, as well as 18 warships. Of

4356-421: The Meiji Restoration, the practices of the samurai classes, deemed feudal and unsuitable for modern times following the end of sakoku in 1853, resulted in a number of edicts intended to 'modernise' the appearance of upper class Japanese men. With the Dampatsurei Edict of 1871 issued by Emperor Meiji during the early Meiji Era, men of the samurai classes were forced to cut their hair short, effectively abandoning

4455-411: The Soviet Union agreed to adhere to the Potsdam Declaration. However, the word mokusatsu can also mean "withholding comment." Since then, it has been alleged that the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were attributable to English translations of mokusatsu having misrepresented Suzuki as rejecting the terms of the Potsdam Declaration; however, this claim is not universally accepted. In

4554-463: The Thai government as a friendly nation. The British government, however, refused to accept this interpretation and demanded that a peace treaty be concluded. The main effect of the peace treaty was to undo the Thai annexation of the Shan States and four of the Unfederated Malay States . The British achieved less than they had hoped, largely because the United States opposed any punitive action against Thailand. They were unable, for instance, to reduce

4653-434: The Tokugawa army. A series of battles were then fought in pursuit of supporters of the Shogunate; Edo surrendered to the Imperial forces and afterward, Yoshinobu personally surrendered. Yoshinobu was stripped of all his power by Emperor Meiji and most of Japan accepted the emperor's rule. Pro-Tokugawa remnants retreated to northern Honshū ( Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei ) and later to Ezo (present-day Hokkaidō ), where they established

4752-469: The United States, Britain, and China released the declaration announcing the terms for Japan's surrender, with the warning as an ultimatum : "We will not deviate from them. There are no alternatives. We shall brook no delay." For Japan, the terms of the declaration specified: On the other hand, the declaration offered: The mention of " unconditional surrender " came at the end of the declaration: Contrary to what had been intended at its conception, which

4851-405: The United States, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and China. The Potsdam Declaration went through many drafts until a version acceptable to all was found. Knowing on 24 July that the " Joint Chiefs of Staff had reached an agreement on ... military strategy", Truman gave Churchill a copy of the draft proclamation, which didn't mention the Soviet Union. The United States Delegation adopted all

4950-459: The atomic bomb. The Potsdam Declaration had terms unclearly stated. It is not clear from the document itself whether a Japanese government would remain under Allied occupation or the occupation would be run by a foreign military government. In the same manner, it was not clear whether after the end of the occupation, Japan was to include any territory other than the four main Japanese islands. However, State Department policy showed an intent to obtain

5049-439: The breakaway Republic of Ezo . An expeditionary force was dispatched by the new government and the Ezo Republic forces were overwhelmed. The siege of Hakodate came to an end in May 1869 and the remaining forces surrendered. The Charter Oath was made public at the enthronement of Emperor Meiji of Japan on April 7, 1868. The Oath outlined the main aims and the course of action to be followed during Emperor Meiji's reign, setting

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5148-406: The cabinet demanded that there be guarantees from the British in return for the risks and costs of the major deployment of Japanese troops. On July 6, 1900, the 5th Infantry Division was alerted for possible deployment to China, but no timetable was set for this. Two days later, with more ground troops urgently needed to lift the siege of the foreign legations at Peking, the British ambassador offered

5247-494: The centuries-old Chinese suzerainty . On June 4, 1894, Korea requested aid from the Qing Empire in suppressing the Donghak Rebellion . The Qing government sent 2,800 troops to Korea. The Japanese countered by sending an 8,000-troop expeditionary force (the Oshima Composite Brigade) to Korea. The first 400 troops arrived on June 9 en route to Seoul , and 3,000 landed at Incheon on June 12. The Qing government turned down Japan's suggestion for Japan and China to cooperate to reform

5346-438: The chonmage ( chonmage ) hairstyle. During the early 20th century, the government was suspicious towards a number of unauthorized religious movements and periodically made attempts to suppress them. Government suppression was especially severe from the 1930s until the early 1940s, when the growth of Japanese nationalism and State Shinto were closely linked. Under the Meiji regime lèse majesté prohibited insults against

5445-446: The command of Captain Shimamura Hayao . The Japanese were able to contribute 52 men to the Seymour Expedition . On 12 June 1900, the advance of the Seymour Expedition was halted some 50 kilometres (30 mi) from the capital, by mixed Boxer and Chinese regular army forces. The vastly outnumbered allies withdrew to the vicinity of Tianjin , having suffered more than 300 casualties. The army general staff in Tokyo had become aware of

5544-401: The country was forced open to trade by the Convention of Kanagawa which came when Matthew C. Perry arrived in Japan in 1854. Thus, the period known as Bakumatsu began. The following years saw increased foreign trade and interaction; commercial treaties between the Tokugawa shogunate and Western countries were signed. In large part due to the humiliating terms of these unequal treaties ,

5643-458: The countryside, meant that abattoirs and workers were met with hostility from local residents. Continued ostracism as well as the decline in living standards led to former burakumin communities turning into slum areas. In the Blood tax riots , the Japanese Meiji government brutally put down revolts by Japanese samurai angry over the legal revocation of the traditional untouchable status of burakumin. The social tension continued to grow during

5742-429: The decentralized American system with no central bank. In 1871, the New Currency Act of Meiji 4 (1871) abolished the local currencies and established the yen as the new decimal currency. It had parity with the Mexican silver dollar. The First Sino-Japanese War , fought in 1894 and 1895, revolved around the issue of control and influence over Korea under the rule of the Joseon dynasty . Korea had traditionally been

5841-462: The declaration must be accepted. Despite being sympathetic to accepting the terms, Tōgō felt it was vague about the eventual form of government for Japan, disarmament, and the fate of accused war criminals. He also still had hope that the Soviet Union would agree to mediate negotiations with the Western Allies to obtain clarifications and revisions of the declaration's terms. Shortly afterwards, Tōgō met with Emperor Hirohito and advised him to treat

5940-403: The declaration with the utmost circumspection, but that a reply should be postponed until the Japanese received a response from the Soviets to mediate peace. According to Foreign Ministry official Toshikazu Kase , Hirohito "said without hesitation that he deemed it [the declaration] acceptable in principle." Meanwhile, the Supreme Council for the Direction of the War met the same day to discuss

6039-412: The declaration. War Minister Korechika Anami , General Yoshijirō Umezu , and Admiral Soemu Toyoda opposed accepting the declaration, argued that the terms were "too dishonorable," and advised for the Japanese government to reject it openly. Suzuki, Tōgō, and Admiral Mitsumasa Yonai leaned towards accepting it but agreed that clarification was needed over the status of the Emperor. Tōgō's suggestion for

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6138-451: The direction of prime minister Suzuki Kantarō, did not publicly entertain the possibility of surrender to the Allies. The historical controversy lies in whether or not the demand for an unconditional surrender by Japan stalled possible peace negotiations. If the demand for unconditional surrender had not been made, so the argument goes, there could be no argument for the necessity of the use of firebombing and nuclear weapons against Japan. This

6237-416: The document, which outlined the terms of surrender for the Empire of Japan , as agreed upon at the Potsdam Conference . The ultimatum stated that, if Japan did not surrender, it would face "prompt and utter destruction." Right at the start of the conference, the United States Delegation initially started considering a proclamation demanding Japan's unconditional surrender by the Heads of Governments of

6336-437: The emperor, agreeing to "be the instrument for carrying out" imperial orders, leading to the end of the Tokugawa shogunate. However, while Yoshinobu's resignation had created a nominal void at the highest level of government, his apparatus of state continued to exist. Moreover, the shogunal government, the Tokugawa family in particular, remained a prominent force in the evolving political order and retained many executive powers,

6435-418: The face of a major breakthrough by the Western Allies and the Soviet Union , with the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet invasion of Manchuria . The Pacific War officially came to an end on 2 September 1945, leading to the beginning of the Allied occupation of Japan , during which United States military leader Douglas MacArthur administered the country. In 1947, through Allied efforts,

6534-406: The few great powers that determine the fate of the world. In the 1860s, Japan began to experience great social turmoil and rapid modernization. The feudal caste system in Japan formally ended in 1869 with the Meiji restoration . In 1871, the newly formed Meiji government issued a decree called Senmin Haishirei ( 賤民廃止令 Edict Abolishing Ignoble Classes ) giving burakumin equal legal status. It

6633-400: The government not to respond until it received the Soviet response was accepted. Suzuki stated that the Japanese policy toward the declaration was one of mokusatsu ( 黙殺 , lit. "killing with silence") , which the United States interpreted as meaning "rejection by ignoring." That led to a decision by the White House to carry out the threat of destruction. After the White House decision,

6732-431: The immediate establishment of an elected national assembly , and the promulgation of a constitution. The constitution recognized the need for change and modernization after the removal of the shogunate : We, the Successor to the prosperous Throne of Our Predecessors, do humbly and solemnly swear to the Imperial Founder of Our House and to Our other Imperial Ancestors that, in pursuance of a great policy co-extensive with

6831-441: The issue of the Emperor's administrative prerogative within the Potsdam Declaration by its surrender offer of August 10, but in the end, it had to take comfort with US Secretary of State James F. Byrnes ' reply: "From the moment of surrender the authority of the Emperor and the Japanese Government to rule the state shall be subject to the Supreme Commander of the Allied powers who will take such steps as he deems proper to effectuate

6930-462: The legal stage for Japan's modernization. The Meiji leaders also aimed to boost morale and win financial support for the new government . Japan dispatched the Iwakura Mission in 1871. The mission traveled the world in order to renegotiate the unequal treaties with the United States and European countries that Japan had been forced into during the Tokugawa shogunate, and to gather information on western social and economic systems, in order to effect

7029-514: The modernization of Japan. Renegotiation of the unequal treaties was universally unsuccessful, but close observation of the American and European systems inspired members on their return to bring about modernization initiatives in Japan. Japan made a territorial delimitation treaty with Russia in 1875, gaining all the Kuril islands in exchange for Sakhalin island . The Japanese government sent observers to Western countries to observe and learn their practices, and also paid " foreign advisors " in

7128-598: The murder of an Englishman, Charles Lennox Richardson , by a party of samurai from Satsuma . The British demanded reparations but were denied. While attempting to exact payment, the Royal Navy was fired on from coastal batteries near the town of Kagoshima . They responded by bombarding the port of Kagoshima in 1863. The Tokugawa government agreed to pay an indemnity for Richardson's death. Shelling of foreign shipping in Shimonoseki and attacks against foreign property led to

7227-610: The past the unconditional surrender of Japan as the precondition to peace, and the text of the Declaration reiterated this demand. In the remainder of Asia, the American government had the goals of total rollback of the Empire of Japan's overseas possessions, as well as the additional goal of preventing the communists – with the support and patronage of the Soviet Union – from expanding influence in East Asia and Southeast Asia. The declaration

7326-577: The rest of Thailand. The territories gained by Thailand were taken from French Indochina during a brief war with France in late 1940 and early 1941 and from British Malaya during the Japanese attack in December 1941. On 25 January 1942, the Thai government declared war on the United States and the United Kingdom . The Northern Army was sent to assist in the invasion of British Burma and part of that area

7425-475: The samurai class, which was abolished together with the caste system. This would later bring the Meiji government into conflict with the samurai . Several writers, under the constant threat of assassination from their political foes, were influential in winning Japanese support for westernization . One such writer was Fukuzawa Yukichi , whose works included "Conditions in the West", " Leaving Asia ", and "An Outline of

7524-450: The shogunate soon faced internal hostility, which materialized into a radical, xenophobic movement, the sonnō jōi (literally "Revere the Emperor, expel the barbarians"). In March 1863, the Emperor issued the " order to expel barbarians ." Although the shogunate had no intention of enforcing the order, it nevertheless inspired attacks against the shogunate itself and against foreigners in Japan. The Namamugi Incident during 1862 led to

7623-585: The size of Thai armed forces. The treaty did require the free delivery of up to 1.5 million tons rice, which was in surplus in Thailand, to British Malaya, where there was a shortage. It also forbade the Thais from building a canal across the Kra isthmus without British government permission, which clause undercut the authority of Pridi Banomyong 's government. After its enactment, the United States and Britain restored diplomatic relations with Thailand on 5 January. The next day

7722-562: The start to serve as legal basis for handling Japan after the war. After the surrender of the Japanese government and the landing of General MacArthur in Japan in September 1945, the Potsdam Declaration served as the legal basis for the occupation's reforms. The People's Republic of China cites the Potsdam Declaration as one of the bases for the One-China Principle that Taiwan is part of China. The Imperial Japanese Government, under

7821-457: The suggested British amendments. Since Chiang Kai-shek had not been invited to the conference in a Berlin suburb, China did not participate in the drafting of the Potsdam Declaration. Chinese agreement on the issuance of the proposed proclamation was sought by telegram on 24 July. Ambassador Hurley delivered the message the next day in Chongqing . Chiang Kai-shek concurred with one amendment to

7920-456: The surrender terms." Thus, at 1200 JST on August 15, 1945, the Emperor announced his acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration, which culminated in the surrender documents signature on board the USS ; Missouri on September 2, 1945. The radio announcement to the Japanese people was the first time many of them had actually heard the voice of the Emperor. The Potsdam Declaration was intended from

8019-720: The text, the listing of “President of the National Government of the Republic of China” before the Prime Minister of Great Britain, and the telegraphic reply sent from Chongqing at 11:05 a.m. on 26 July. Thus, Churchill could authorize the text as British Prime Minister, before submitting his resignation later that evening. In reality, the “signatures” of the Generalissimo and Prime Minister were in Truman’s handwriting. On July 26,

8118-608: The time was heavily engaged in the Boer War , so a large part of the British army was tied down in South Africa. Further, deploying large numbers of troops from its garrisons in India would take too much time and weaken internal security there. Overriding personal doubts, Foreign Minister Aoki Shūzō calculated that the advantages of participating in an allied coalition were too attractive to ignore. Prime Minister Yamagata agreed, but others in

8217-627: The total, 20,300 were Imperial Japanese Army troops of the 5th Infantry Division under Lt. General Yamaguchi Motoomi; the remainder were 540 naval rikusentai (marines) from the Imperial Japanese Navy . At the beginning of the Boxer Rebellion the Japanese only had 215 troops in northern China stationed at Tientsin; nearly all of them were naval rikusentai from the Kasagi and the Atago , under

8316-522: The two-hundred-year-old Tokugawa shogunate. Tokugawa Yoshinobu launched a military campaign to seize the emperor's court in Kyoto. However, the tide rapidly turned in favor of the smaller but relatively modernized imperial faction and resulted in defections of many daimyōs to the Imperial side. The Battle of Toba–Fushimi was a decisive victory in which a combined army from Chōshū, Tosa, and Satsuma domains defeated

8415-671: The very end of the war the Japanese Army had been campaigning in China to assert the rule of the Japanese colonial state there, and the Chinese Nationalists and Communists had been fighting in tandem to expel them from the country. The Potsdam Declaration was issued in part to make clear the Chinese expectation of complete Japanese withdrawal from China. The United Kingdom had lost control of its possessions in Southeast Asia and China to

8514-540: The worsening conditions in China and had drafted ambitious contingency plans, but in the wake of the Triple Intervention five years before, the government refused to deploy large numbers of troops unless requested by the western powers. However three days later, a provisional force of 1,300 troops commanded by Major General Fukushima Yasumasa was to be deployed to northern China. Fukushima was chosen because he spoke fluent English which enabled him to communicate with

8613-456: Was among the first Protestant literature in Japan. In 1865, McCartee moved back to Ningbo , China, but others have followed in his footsteps. There was a burst of growth of Christianity in the late 19th century when Japan re-opened its doors to the West. Protestant church growth slowed dramatically in the early 20th century under the influence of the military government during the Shōwa period . Under

8712-538: Was annexed . During the war, parts of the Thai government kept secret ties with the Allied governments and cooperated secretly with their intelligence services . As the Japanese government surrendered in August 1945, the Thai government claimed it was never at war with the western powers, and that the declaration of war was imposed on it by the Japanese government. The US government accepted this legal interpretation, and treated

8811-424: Was characterized by rapid industrialization , the development of a capitalist economy , and the transformation of many feudal workers to wage labour . The use of strike action also increased, and 1897, with the establishment of a union for metalworkers, the foundations of the modern Japanese trade-union movement were formed. Samurai were allowed to work in any occupation they wanted. Admission to universities

8910-422: Was determined based on examination results. The government also recruited more than 3,000 Westerners to teach modern science, mathematics, technology, and foreign languages in Japan ( O-yatoi gaikokujin ). Despite this, social mobility was still low due to samurai and their descendants being overrepresented in the new elite class. After sending observers to the United States, the Empire of Japan initially copied

9009-501: Was forced to adopt a defensive stance against the United States . The American-led island-hopping campaign led to the eventual loss of many of Japan's Oceanian island possessions in the following three years. Eventually, the American military captured Iwo Jima and Okinawa Island , leaving the Japanese mainland unprotected and without a significant naval defense force. By August 1945, plans had been made for an Allied invasion of mainland Japan , but were shelved after Japan surrendered in

9108-682: Was founded, de jure , after the 1889 signing of Constitution of the Empire of Japan. The constitution formalized much of the Empire's political structure and gave many responsibilities and powers to the Emperor. In 1890, the Imperial Diet was established in response to the Meiji Constitution. The Diet consisted of the House of Representatives of Japan and the House of Peers . Both houses opened seats for colonial people as well as Japanese. The Imperial Diet continued until 1947. Economic development

9207-652: Was illegal in Japan. The initial English radio transmission was received in Japan by the Foreign Ministry, Dōmei News Agency , the Imperial Army, and the Imperial Navy. It was translated into Japanese by Takeso Shimoda of the Treaty Division of the Foreign Ministry. An internal discussion in the Foreign Ministry concluded that acceptance was unavoidable, but there was still room for negotiation. "Remaining silent

9306-510: Was prompted by his learning of a series of arson attacks in Edo, starting with the burning of the outworks of Edo Castle , the main Tokugawa residence. The Boshin War ( 戊辰戦争 , Boshin Sensō ) was fought between January 1868 and May 1869. The alliance of samurai from southern and western domains and court officials had now secured the cooperation of the young Emperor Meiji, who ordered the dissolution of

9405-614: Was released to the press in Potsdam on the evening of July 26 and simultaneously transmitted to the Office of War Information (OWI) in Washington. By 5:00 p.m. Washington time, OWI's West Coast transmitters, aimed at the Japanese home islands, were broadcasting the text in English, and two hours later they began broadcasting it in Japanese. The declaration was never transmitted to the Japanese government by diplomatic channels, one reason being that

9504-415: Was repressed and adherents were persecuted. After the Tokugawa shogunate banned Christianity in 1620, it ceased to exist publicly. Many Catholics went underground, becoming hidden Christians ( 隠れキリシタン , kakure kirishitan ) , while others lost their lives. After Japan was opened to foreign powers in 1853, many Christian clergymen were sent from Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox churches, though proselytism

9603-519: Was signed on 3 April 1946. Empire of Japan Unitary parliamentary semi-constitutional monarchy (1889–1947) The Empire of Japan , also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan , was the Japanese nation-state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 until the Constitution of Japan took effect on 3 May 1947. From 1910 to 1945 , it included

9702-491: Was still banned. Only after the Meiji Restoration, was Christianity re-established in Japan. Freedom of religion was introduced in 1871, giving all Christian communities the right to legal existence and preaching. Eastern Orthodoxy was brought to Japan in the 19th century by St. Nicholas (baptized as Ivan Dmitrievich Kasatkin), who was sent in 1861 by the Russian Orthodox Church to Hakodate , Hokkaidō as priest to

9801-406: Was to disenfranchise the Japanese leadership so that the people would accept a mediated transition, the declaration made no direct mention of the Japanese emperor at all. However, it insisted that "the authority and influence of those who have deceived and misled the people of Japan into embarking on world conquest must be eliminated for all time." Allied intentions on issues of utmost importance to

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