Military history of Japan

Military History of Japan
Founded	Jōmon – 1000 BC
Current form	Japan Self-Defense Forces
Service branches	Japan Ground Self-Defense Force  Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force  Japan Air Self-Defense Force
Headquarters	Ministry of Defense, Tokyo, Japan
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History of Japan
List Paleolithic before 14,000 BC Jōmon 14,000 – 1000 BC Yayoi 1000 BC – 300 AD Kofun 300 AD – 538 AD Asuka 538 – 710 Nara 710 – 794 Heian Former Nine Years' War Later Three-Year War Genpei War 794–1185 Kamakura Jōkyū War Mongol invasions Genkō War Kenmu Restoration 1185–1333 Muromachi Nanboku-chō period Sengoku period 1336–1573 Azuchi–Momoyama Nanban trade Imjin War Battle of Sekigahara 1573–1603 Edo (Tokugawa) Tokugawa shogunate Invasion of Ryukyu Siege of Osaka Sakoku Perry Expedition Convention of Kanagawa Bakumatsu Meiji Restoration Boshin War 1603–1868 Meiji Invasion of Taiwan (1874) Satsuma Rebellion First Sino-Japanese War Treaty of Shimonoseki Triple Intervention Invasion of Taiwan (1895) Colonization of Taiwan Boxer Rebellion Russo-Japanese War Treaty of Portsmouth Japan–Korea Treaty Colonization of Korea 1868–1912 Taishō World War I Intervention in Siberia Great Kantō earthquake 1912–1926 Shōwa Militarism Financial crisis Nanking incident Mukden Incident Invasion of Manchuria May 15 incident February 26 incident Anti-Comintern Pact Tripartite Pact Second Sino-Japanese War World War II Attack on Pearl Harbor Pacific War Atomic bombings Soviet–Japanese War Surrender of Japan Occupation of Japan Postwar Japan Anpo protests Economic miracle Asset price bubble 1926–1989 Heisei Lost Decades Great Hanshin earthquake Cool Japan Tōhoku earthquake Imperial transition 1989–2019 Reiwa COVID-19 pandemic Abe assassination 2019–present
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The military history of Japan covers a vast time-period of over three millennia - from the Jōmon (c. 1000 BC) to the present day. After a long period of clan warfare until the 12th century, there followed feudal wars that culminated in military governments known as the Shogunate. History of Japan records that a military class and the Shōgun ruled Japan for 676 years - from 1192 until 1868. The Shōgun and the samurai warriors stood near the apex of the Japanese social structure - only the aristocratic nobility nominally outranked them.^[1] The sakoku policy effectively closed Japan from foreign influences for 212 years - from 1641 to 1853. Feudal militarism transitioned to imperialism in the 19th century after the arrival of U.S. Admiral Matthew C. Perry in 1853 and the elevation of Emperor Meiji in 1868. Western colonial powers and their imperialist policies impacted on Japan's outlook and led to Japanese colonialism and rampant imperialism (c. 1895 - 1945) until Japan's defeat in World War II. The 1947 Japanese Constitution prohibits Japan from offensively using war against other nations. This led to the establishment of the Japan Self-Defense Forces in 1954. The U.S.–Japan Alliance (1951 onwards) requires the United States to protect Japan and to conduct offensive^{[citation needed]} duties. In 2015, the Japanese government voted to reinterpret the constitution to allow collective self-defense of Japan's allies.^[2]

As of 1954 the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) consist of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF), Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) and Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF).^[3] The Prime Minister is the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Military authority runs from the Prime Minister to the cabinet-level Minister of Defense of the Japanese Ministry of Defense.^[4] The Prime Minister and Minister of Defense are advised by the Chief of Staff, Joint Staff, who heads the Joint Staff (統合幕僚監部, Tōgō Bakuryō Kanbu).^[5] The Chief of Staff, Joint Staff, is the highest-ranking military officer in the Japan Self-Defense Forces, and is the head of the Operational Authority over the JSDF, executing orders of the Minister of Defense with directions from the Prime Minister.^[6]