Changes

===World War II===

===World War II===

In a blitzkrieg operation Japan rapidly expanded at sea and land, capturing Singapore and the Philippines in early 1942, and threatening India and Australia.  Meanwhile fighting in China itself largely came to standstill, and Japan remained on neutral terms with the Soviet Union.  The U.S. Navy stopped Japanese expansion at two great naval battles in 1942, the [[Battle of the Coral Sea]] and the [[Battle of Midway]].  Japanese overextension resulted in defeat in the [[Guadalcanal Campaign]].  Japanese sea power was destroyed by the U.S. Navy in 1944 at the [[Battle of the Philippine Sea]] and the [[Battle of Leyte Gulf]]. The U.S. industrial economy was ten times larger than Japan's, and was manifest in warplanes and warships as two main thrusts approached Japan, one through the central Pacific and one through the Philippines.  

In a blitzkrieg operation Japan rapidly expanded at sea and land, capturing Singapore and the Philippines in early 1942, and threatening India and Australia.  Meanwhile fighting in China itself largely came to standstill, and Japan remained on neutral terms with the Soviet Union.  The U.S. Navy stopped Japanese expansion at two great naval battles in 1942, the [[Battle of the Coral Sea]] and the [[Battle of Midway]].  Japanese overextension resulted in defeat in the [[Guadalcanal Campaign]].  Japanese sea power was destroyed by the U.S. Navy in 1944 at the [[Battle of the Philippine Sea]] and the [[Battle of Leyte Gulf]]. The U.S. industrial economy was ten times larger than Japan's, and was manifest in warplanes and warships as two main thrusts approached Japan, one through the central Pacific and one through the Philippines.  

Systematic destruction of Japan's industrial centers began in early 1945 with the [[B-29]] raids. The Emperor refused to surrender until shocked by two atomic bombs and Soviet entry into the war in August 1945.

Systematic destruction of Japan's industrial centers began in early 1945 with the [[B-29]] raids. The Emperor refused to surrender until shocked by two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and Soviet entry into the war in August 1945.

On the conventional and atomic bombings see [[Bombing of Japan]]

On the conventional and atomic bombings see [[Bombing of Japan]]

Total Japanese military fatalities between 1937 and 1945 were 2.1 million; most came in the last year of the war.  Starvation or malnutrition-re­lated illness accounted for roughly 80 percent of Japanese military deaths in the Philippines, and 50 percent of military fatalities in China.  The aerial bombing of a total of 65 Japanese cities appears to have taken a minimum of 400,000 and possibly closer to 600,000 civilian lives (over 100,000 in Tokyo alone, over 200,000 in Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined, and 80,000-150,000 civilian deaths in the battle of Okina­wa). Civilian death among settlers who died attempting to re­turn to Japan from Manchuria in the winter of 1945 were probably around 100,000.<ref> John Dower, "Lessons from Iwo Jima," ''Perspectives'' (Sept 2007) 45#6 pp 54-56 at [http://www.historians.org/perspectives/issues/2007/0709/index.cfm]</ref>

Total Japanese military fatalities between 1937 and 1945 were 2.1 million; most came in the last year of the war.  Starvation or malnutrition-re­lated illness accounted for roughly 80 percent of Japanese military deaths in the Philippines, and 50 percent of military fatalities in China.  The aerial bombing of a total of 65 Japanese cities appears to have taken a minimum of 400,000 and possibly closer to 600,000 civilian lives (over 100,000 in Tokyo alone, over 200,000 in Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined, and 80,000-150,000 civilian deaths in the battle of Okina­wa). Civilian death among settlers who died attempting to re­turn to Japan from Manchuria in the winter of 1945 were probably around 100,000.<ref> John Dower, "Lessons from Iwo Jima," ''Perspectives'' (Sept 2007) 45#6 pp 54-56 at [http://www.historians.org/perspectives/issues/2007/0709/index.cfm]</ref>