List of territories acquired by the Empire of Japan
This is a list of regions occupied or annexed by the
People's Republic of China and Taiwan (the Senkaku Islands dispute
).
Pre-1945
Colonies
- Taiwan and the Penghu Islands – 1895–1945
- Karafuto– 1905–1943
- Kantō – 1905–1945
- Chōsen – 1910–1945
- Kiautschou Bay Leased Territory – 1914–1922
- Nan’yō 1919–1945
Occupied territories
- 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.[1]
- North Sakhalin was occupied by Japan 1920–1925.
World War II
Territory | Japanese name | Date | Population est. (1943) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
South Sakhalin | Karafuto Prefecture (樺太庁) | 1905–1943 | 406,000 | Elevated to naichi status in 1943.
|
Mainland China | Chūgoku tairiku (中国大陸) | 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 12, 1941 – August 15, 1945 | 1,400,000 | Hong Kong (UK) |
:: East Asia (subtotal) | Higashi Ajia (東アジア) | – | 310,092,000 | |
Vietnam | Annan (安南) | July 15, 1940 – August 29, 1945 | 22,122,000 | As French Indochina (FR) |
Cambodia | Kanbojia (カンボジア) | July 15, 1940 – August 29, 1945 | 3,100,000 | As French Indochina, Japanese occupation of Cambodia |
Laos | Raosu (ラオス) | July 15, 1940 – August 29, 1945 | 1,400,000 | As Japanese occupation of Laos
|
Thailand | Tai (タイ) | December 8, 1941 – August 15, 1945 | 16,216,000 | Independent State but Allied with Japan |
Malaysia | Maraya (マラヤ), Kita Boruneo (北ボルネオ), Marai (マライ) | March 27, 1942 – September 6, 1945 (Malaya), March 29, 1942 – September 9, 1945 (Sarawak, Brunei, Labuan, North Borneo) | 4,938,000 plus 39,000 (Brunei) | As Malaya (UK), British Borneo (UK), Brunei (UK) |
Philippines | Firipin (フィリピン) | May 8, 1942 – July 5, 1945 | 17,419,000 | Philippines (US) |
Dutch East Indies | Higashi Indo (東印度) | January 18, 1942 – October 21, 1945 | 72,146,000 | Dutch East Indies (NL) |
Singapore | Syōnan-tō (昭南島) | February 15, 1942 – September 9, 1945 | 795,000 | Singapore (UK) |
Burma (Myanmar) | Biruma (ビルマ) | 1942–1945 | 16,800,000 | Burma (UK) |
East Timor | Higashi Chimōru (東チモール) | February 19, 1942 – September 2, 1945 | 450,000 | Portuguese Timor (PT) |
:: Southeast Asia (subtotal) | Tōnan Ajia (東南アジア) | – | 155,452,000 | |
New Guinea | Nyū Ginia (ニューギニア) | December 27, 1941 – September 15, 1945 | 1,400,000 | As Papua and New Guinea (AU) |
Guam | Ōmiya-tō (大宮島) | January 6, 1942 – October 24, 1945 | 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, -jima (大鳥島) | December 27, 1941 – September 4, 1945 | nil | US |
Kiribati | Kiribasu (キリバス) | December 1941 – January 22, 1944 | 28,000 | from Gilbert Islands (UK) |
:: Pacific Islands (subtotal) | – | – | 1,433,000 | |
:: Total Population | – | – | 465,544,000 |
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[2] Oceania[3]
Other occupied islands during World War II:
- Andaman Islands(India) – March 29, 1942 – September 9, 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 and Manipur (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:
- 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'
References
- ^ Leonard A. Humphreys (1995). 'The Way of the Heavenly Sword: The Japanese Army in the 1920s. Stanford University Press. p. 26.
- ^ http://www.populstat.info/Asia/asia.html Archived 2020-02-23 at the Wayback Machine Populstat ASIA
- ^ http://www.populstat.info/Oceania/oceania.html Archived 2020-02-25 at the Wayback Machine Populstat OCEANIA