This is a list of regions occupied or annexed by the Empire of Japan until 1945, the year of the end of World War II in Asia, after the surrender of Japan. Control over all territories except most of the Japanese mainland (Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku, and some 6,000 small surrounding islands) was renounced by Japan in the unconditional surrender after World War II and the Treaty of San Francisco. A number of territories occupied by the United States after 1945 were returned to Japan, but there are still a number of disputed territories between Japan and Russia (the Kuril Islands dispute), South Korea and North Korea (the Liancourt Rocks dispute), the People's Republic of China and Taiwan (the Senkaku Islands dispute).
Pre-WWI
Colonies
- Ryūkyū Kingdom - 1872
- Taiwan and the Penghu Islands – 1895–1945
- Karafuto – 1905–1943
- Kantō – 1905–1945
- Chōsen – 1910–1945
Occupied territories
- Japanese occupation of Gyeongbokgung 1894
- Occupation of Peking 1900
WWI
Colonies
- Nan’yō 1919–1945
Occupied territories
- Japanese Occupation of Tsingtao
- All ports and major towns in the Primorsky Krai and Siberia regions of Russia east of the city of Chita, from 1918 until gradually withdrawing in 1922.
- North Sakhalin was occupied by Japan 1920–1925.
- Japanese occupation of German colonial possessions
- Japanese occupation of Mariana Islands, Marshall Islands, Palau Islands, Caroline Islands
- Occupation of Istanbul 1918–1923.
- Allied occupation of German New Guinea
Siberian intervention
Occupied territories
- Japanese occupation of Vladivostok
World War II
| Territory | Japanese name | Date | Population est. (1944) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Sakhalin | Karafuto Prefecture (樺太庁) | 1905–1943 | 406,000 | Elevated to naichi status in 1943. |
| Mainland China | Chūgoku tairiku (中國大陸) | 1931–1945 | 200,000,000 (est.) | Manchukuo 50 million (1940), Rehe, Kwantung Leased Territory, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Shandong, Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin, plus parts of : Guangdong, Guangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Fujian, Guizhou, Inner Mongolia |
| Japan proper | naichi (内地) | 1868–1945 | 76,200,000 | Present day Japan, South Sakhalin (after 1943), and Kuril Islands |
| Korea | Chōsen (朝鮮) | 1910–1945 | 25,500,000 | |
| Taiwan | Taiwan (臺灣) | 1895–1945 | 6,586,000 | |
| Hong Kong | Hon Kon (香港) | December 25, 1941 – August 30, 1945 | 1,400,000 | Hong Kong (UK) |
| :: East Asia (subtotal) | Higashi Ajia (東アジア) | – | 310,092,000 | |
| Vietnam | Annan (安南) | September 1940 – August 1945 | 22,122,000 | As French Indochina (FR) |
| Cambodia | Kambojia (カンボジア) | July 1941 - August 1945 | 3,100,000 | As French Indochina, Japanese occupation of Cambodia |
| Laos | Laosu (ラオス) | 1,400,000 | As French Indochina, Japanese occupation of Laos | |
| Thailand | Thai (タイ) | December 8, 1941 – August 15, 1945 | 16,216,000 | Independent state but allied with Japan |
| Malaysia | Malaya (マラヤ), Kita Boruneo (北ボルネオ), Malai (マライ) | December 8, 1941 – September 12, 1945 (Malaya), December 16, 1941 – September 11, 1945 (Sarawak, Brunei, Labuan, North Borneo) | 4,938,000 plus 39,000 (Brunei) | As Malaya (UK), British Borneo (UK), Brunei (UK) |
| Philippines | Philipin (フィリピン) | May 8, 1942 – September 2, 1945 | 17,419,000 | Philippines (US) |
| Dutch East Indies | Higashi Indo (東印度), Sumatora Nishikaigan (スマトラ西海岸) | 1942 – 1945 | 72,146,000 | Dutch East Indies (NL), West Coast Sumatra (NL) |
| Singapore | Shōnan-tō (昭南島) | February 15, 1942 – September 12, 1945 | 795,000 | Singapore (UK) |
| Burma (Myanmar) | Biruma (ビルマ) | May 28, 1942–September 13, 1945 | 16,800,000 | Burma (Myanmar) (UK) |
| East Timor | Higashi Chimōru (東チモール) | February 19, 1942 – September 11, 1945 | 450,000 | Portuguese Timor (PT) |
| :: Southeast Asia (subtotal) | Tōnan Ajia (東南アジア) | – | 155,452,000 | |
| Manipur | Manipurū (マニプール) | October 21, 1943 – August 18, 1945 | 525,000 | Azad Hind (also independent but Japanese-allied) |
| :: South Asia (subtotal) | Minami ajia (南亞細亞) | - | 525,000 | |
| New Guinea | Nyū Ginia (ニューギニア) | 1941 - 1945 | 1,400,000 | As Papua and New Guinea (AU) |
| Guam | Ōmiya-tō (大宮島) | December 10, 1941 – August 10, 1944 | from Guam (US) | |
| South Seas Mandate | Nan'yō Guntō (南洋群島) | 1919–1945 | 129,000 | from German Empire |
| Nauru | Nauru (ナウル) | August 26, 1942 – September 13, 1945 | 3,000 | Occupied from the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand |
| Wake Island, US | Ōtori-shima, -tō (大鳥島) | December 23, 1941 – September 4, 1945 | nil | US |
| Kiribati | Kiribasu (キリバス) | December 1941 – 1945 | 28,000 | from Gilbert Islands (UK) |
| :: Pacific Islands (subtotal) | – | – | 1,433,000 | |
| :: Total Population | – | – | 466,069,000 |
Disclaimer: Not all areas were considered part of Imperial Japan but rather part of puppet states & sphere of influence, allies, included separately for demographic purposes. Sources: POPULSTAT Asia Oceania
Other occupied islands during World War II:
- Andaman Islands (India) – March 1942 - October 7, 1945
- Christmas Island (Australia) – March 1942 – October 1945
- Attu and Kiska (Alaska, United States) – June 3, 1942 – August 15, 1943
Areas attacked but not conquered
- Kohima (India)
- Dornod (Khalkhin Gol, Mongolia)
- Midway Atoll (United States)
Raided without immediate intent of occupation
- Air raids
- Pearl Harbor (Hawaii, United States)
- Colombo and Trincomalee (Sri Lanka)
- Calcutta (India)
- Chittagong (Bangladesh)
- Air raids on Australia, including:
- Broome (Western Australia, Australia)
- Darwin (Northern Territory, Australia)
- Townsville (Queensland, Australia)
- Dutch Harbor (Alaska, United States)
- Lookout Air Raids (Oregon, United States)
- Naval bombardment by submarine
- British Columbia (Canada)
- Ellwood (Santa Barbara, California, United States)
- Fort Stevens (Oregon, United States)
- Newcastle (New South Wales, Australia)
- Gregory (Western Australia, Australia)
- Midget sub attack
- Sydney (New South Wales, Australia)
- Diego Suarez (Madagascar)
See also
- Japanese colonial empire
- Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
- Tanaka Memorial
- Jewish settlement in the Japanese Empire
- List of wars involving Japan
- Sangokujin – 'third country person'
- Japanese Occupation
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