Japan
History Timeline
Travel through our timeline of major events in Japan's history.
500-600:
Buddhism arrives in Japan from Korea. The religion is based on the teachings of the Indian philosopher Siddhartha Gautama, known as Buddha.
1192-1868:
Samurai, or warrior clans, become powerful. Although Japan has an emperor, military dictators, known as shoguns, rule.
1853:
U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry arrives with naval ships and demands the Japanese trade with the United States.
1895-1905:
Japan wins wars against China and Russia, gaining territory and international respect. In 1910, Japan takes over Korea.
1923:
The Great Kanto Earthquake, one of the worst in world history, destroys Tokyo and Yokohama. More than 140,000 people are killed.
1926:
Hirohito becomes emperor. He and Prime Minister Reijiro Wakatsuki push to expand Japan's empire.
1931:
Japan invades Manchuria, China. In 1937, Japan goes to war with China.
1945:
Four years after the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, the U.S. ends World War II by dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
1947-1952:
ile occupying Japan, the U.S. issues a new constitution, which gives power to the Japanese people rather than the emperor.
1964:
The Summer Olympics are held in Tokyo. The Games are the first ever held in the Far East.
1972:
Japan's prime minister, Kakuei Tanaka, visits China, and the two countries restore diplomatic relations.
1995:
An earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale rocks central Japan, killing more than 6,000 people and causing billions of dollars of damage.
1998:
The Winter Olympics are held in Nagano.
2002:
Japan and South Korea co-host the World Cup, the largest and most popular soccer tournament in the world.
