Japan

Japan (Japanese: ??, Nihon or Nippon) is a country on the western edge of the Pacific Ocean. Known as the "Land of the Rising Sun", Japan lies to the east of the Asian continent, and is composed of over 3,000 islands. The largest and main islands are, from north to south, Hokkaid?, Honsh? (the largest island), Shikoku, and Ky?sh?. The Ryukyu Islands, including Okinawa, are southwest of the main islands.

Military

Following centuries of feudalism, Japan established two separate military services in the late 1800s, the Imperial Japanese Army (modeled upon the army of Germany) and the Imperial Japanese Navy (modeled upon the Royal Navy of the UK). Following the American Occupation in the wake of World War II, the only time in Japan's recorded history where it had been occupied by a foreign power, the Imperial Army was dissolved in 1945 and were replaced after 1954 by the Japan Self-Defense Forces, which remain barred from waging war by the Constitution. Japan's involvement in the Iraq War has marked their first use of their military since World War II.

Related Topics:
Feudalism - Imperial Japanese Army - Germany - Imperial Japanese Navy - Royal Navy - UK - American Occupation - World War II - Japan Self-Defense Forces - Iraq War

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