List of wars involving Japan

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This is a list of wars involving Japan recorded in history.

## List

[edit]

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (May 2025)

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This page lists battles between Japanese central or local forces and foreign forces, as well as battles between Japanese central and local forces. Battles that resulted in de facto regime change are also listed. Many battles between local daimyō (feudal lords) and clans that did not result in a de facto change of government are not included in the following list.

Conflict | Combatant 1 | Combatant 2 | Results

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Jōmon period
East Expedition of Emperor Jimmu
(c. 7th century BCE)  |  Kamu-yamato Iware-biko no mikoto's loyal warriors  | Troops led by local chiefdoms  | Kamu-yamato Iware-biko no mikoto victory

* Kamu-yamato Iware-biko no-mikoto became first Emperor (Emperor Jimmu).
* Mythical foundation of Japan

Yayoi period
Civil War of Wa
(2nd century CE)  | Unknown Yayoi chiefdoms  | Unknown Yayoi chiefdoms  | Establishment of Yamatai state

* Consolidation of chiefdoms
* Himiko made queen

Yamato period
Goguryeo–Wa conflicts
(391–404)  | Wa
Baekje
Gaya

* Ara Gaya

| Goguryeo
Silla | Defeat

* The Wa troops withdrew from the capital of Silla, but Ara Gaya captured the capital of Silla again.
* The Wa troops lost the battle against Goguryeo in Pyongyang (Gwanggaeto Stele).

Soga–Mononobe conflict
(552–587)  | Soga clan | Mononobe clan | Soga victory

* Consolidated Soga clan influence on the Yamato court.
* Early spread of Buddhism in Japan promoted by the Soga clan.
* Emperor Sushun acceded to the throne.

Mishihase War
(658–660)  | Yamato State
Emishi | Mishihase | Victory

* Mishihase were possible recent settlers from Siberia.
* Yamato and Emishi force defeated Mishihase. (Nihon Shoki)
* Place uncertain, possibly Hokkaido

Baekje-Tang War
(660–663)  | Yamato (Wa)
Baekje
Goguryeo | Tang
Silla | Defeat

* Wa troops withdrew from Baekje.
* Conquest of Baekje by the Tang dynasty and Silla

Jinshin War
(672)  |  Prince Ōama |  Prince Ōtomo | Prince Ōama victory

* Death of Prince Ōtomo
* Emperor Tenmu (Prince Ōama) acceded to the throne.

Nara period
Thirty-Eight Years' War
(770–811)  |  Imperial Court | Emishi | Imperial victory

* Sakanoue no Tamuramaro became shōgun.
* Death of Aterui. Most of Emishi entered under the rule of Imperial Court.

Heian period
Tengyō no Ran
(935–940)  |  Imperial Court | Provincial landowners  | Imperial victory

* Rebellion quelled

Former Nine Years' War
(1051–1063)  |  Imperial Court |  Abe clan | Imperial victory

* Rise of the Minamoto clan
* The Kiyohara clan ruled Mutsu Province and Dewa Province.

Later Three Year's War
(c. 1083–1089)  |  Minamoto clan
Northern Fujiwara clan | Kiyohara clan | Minamoto and Fujiwara victory

* The Northern Fujiwara clan ruled the former territory of the Kiyohara clan.

Hōgen rebellion
(July 28 – August 16, 1156)  | Forces loyal to Emperor Go-Shirakawa | Forces loyal to Emperor Sutoku | Victory for Emperor Go-Shirakawa

* Beginning of the Minamoto-Taira rivalry

Heiji rebellion
(January 19 – February 5, 1160)  | Taira forces loyal to Emperor Go-Shirakawa | Minamoto clan | Taira victory

* Minamoto leaders banished

Genpei War
(1180–1185)  |  Minamoto clan |  Taira clan | Minamoto victory

* Death of Emperor Antoku
* Establishment of the Kamakura shogunate

Kamakura period
Jōkyū War
(1221)  |  Kamakura shogunate |  Retired Emperor Go-Toba's loyal warriors  | Kamakura victory

* Retired emperors exiled

Mongol invasions of Japan
(1274 and 1281)  | Japan

* Imperial Court
* Kamakura shogunate
* Hōjō clan
* Sō clan
* Shōni clan
* Sashi clan
* Taira clan
* Kikuchi clan
* Ōtomo clan
* Shimazu clan
* Matsura clan

| Yuan dynasty

* Goryeo

| Victory

* Japan defeats the Mongol invasions.

Genkō War
(1331–1333)  |  Emperor Go-Daigo's loyal forces  |  Kamakura shogunate | Imperial victory

* Rise of the Ashikaga shogunate

Muromachi period
Ōei Invasion
(1419)  |  Tsushima Province

* Sō clan

|  Joseon | Victory[1][2]

* Withdrawal of Korean armies from Tsushima[3][4]
* After 24 years, the Treaty of Gyehae was concluded and the number of wokou gradually decreased.[5]

Ōnin War
(1467–1477)  |  Hosokawa clan |  Yamana clan | Hosokawa clan victory

* Hosokawa clan gains control of the shogunate
* Ashikaga Yoshihisa assumed the post of shōgun
* Most of Kyoto destroyed
* Disintegration of the power of the Shogunate, beginning of the Sengoku period[6]

Battle of Fukuda Bay
(1565)  |  Matsura clan |  Kingdom of Portugal | Defeat
Azuchi–Momoyama period
1582 Cagayan battles (1582)
| Wokou (Japanese, Chinese, and Korean pirates)  |  Spain

* New Spain
* Spanish Philippines
* Indian auxiliaries from Mexico (mostly Tlaxcalans)[7]

| Defeat
Bunroku-Keicho War/Imjin War
(1592-1598)  |  Japan

* Toyotomi clan

|  Joseon Korea
Ming China | Defeat

* Withdrawal of Japanese armies from Korean peninsula following military stalemate

Battle of Sekigahara
(1600)  |  Eastern Army

* Forces loyal to Tokugawa Ieyasu, clans of Eastern Japan

|  Western Army

* Forces loyal to Ishida Mitsunari, many clans from Western Japan

| Eastern Army victory

* Tokugawa clan gains nominal control of all Japan

Edo period
Invasion of Ryukyu
(1609)  |  Satsuma Domain |  Ryūkyū Kingdom | Satsuma victory

* The Ryukyu Kingdom becomes a Japanese vassal state.

Nossa Senhora da Graça incident
(1610)  |  Tokugawa shogunate

* Hizen-Arima clan

|  Kingdom of Portugal | Victory

* The expulsion of João Rodrigues Tçuzu and the loss of confidence in the Jesuits and Portugal by the Tokugawa shogunate.

Shimabara Rebellion
(1637–1638)  |  Tokugawa shogunate
Dutch Empire | Roman Catholics and rōnin rebels  | Victory

* National seclusion policy imposed
* Christianity driven underground

Bombardment of Kagoshima
(1863)  |  Satsuma Domain |  Britain | Defeat

* Kagoshima is bombarded by British Ships
* Satsuma makes payment of £25,000 to the British[8]

Shimonoseki Campaign
(1863–1864)  |  Chōshū Domain |  Britain
Dutch Empire
France
United States |

Defeat

* Chōshū pays an indemnity of $3,000,000.

Summer War
(1866)  |  Chōshū Domain |  Tokugawa shogunate
Aizu Domain | Tokugawa defeat

* Choshu Victory
* Weakening of the Tokugawa shogunate

Meiji period
Boshin War
(1868–1869)  |  Imperial Court

Tozama:

Satchō Alliance

* Satsuma Domain
* Chōshū Domain

Other Tozama daimyō:

* Tosa Domain
* Hiroshima Domain
* Tsu Domain
* Saga Domain
* Ogaki Domain
* Hirosaki Domain
* Kuroishi Domain
* Yodo Domain

* * *

Japan

* * *

United States

United Kingdom

|  Tokugawa shogunate

Aizu Domain
Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei

* Jozai Domain
* Nagaoka Domain
* Sendai Domain

and others...

Takamatsu Domain
Tsuruoka Domain
Kuwana Domain
Matsuyama Domain
Ogaki Domain

* * *

Republic of Ezo

* * *

France

| Imperial victory

* End of the Tokugawa shogunate
* Meiji Restoration

Japanese invasion of Taiwan (1874)
(1874)  |  Japan | Paiwan
China | Victory

* Occupation of Taiwan by Japan

Battle of Ganghwa
(1875)  |  Japan |  Korea | Victory

* Severe damage inflicted on Korean defenses

Southwestern War
(1877)  |  Japan |  Shizoku clans from Satsuma Domain | Imperial victory

* Shizoku rebellions were suppressed.
* The conscription system was established in Japan.

First Sino-Japanese War
(1894–1895)  |  Japan |  China | Victory

* Korea removed from Chinese suzerainty
* Treaty of Shimonoseki

Japanese invasion of Taiwan
(1895)  |  Japan |  Formosa | Victory

* Annexation of Formosa

Boxer Rebellion
(1899-1901)  |

Eight-Nation Alliance
British Empire
Russia
Japan
France
Germany
United States
Italy
Austria-Hungary

* * *

* Netherlands
* Spain
* Belgium

* * *

Mutual Defence Pact of Southeast China (after 1900)

* Boxer movement
* Qing dynasty (after 1900)

| Eight-Nation Alliance victory

* The rebellion was suppressed.
* Signing of the Boxer Protocol
* Provisions for foreign troops to be stationed in Beijing

Russo-Japanese War
(1904-1905)  |  Japan |  Russia | Victory

* Treaty of Portsmouth
* Russia cedes Guandong Leased Territory and South Sakhalin to Japan

Battle of Namdaemun
(1907)  |  Japan |  Korea | Victory

* Imperial Korean Armed Forces was disbanded.

Beipu uprising
(1907)  |  Japan | Hakka
Saisiyat | Victory

* Marked a new phase in armed Taiwanese resistance.

Taishō period
Truku War
(1914)  |  Japan | Truku Tribe | Victory

* Truku Tribe were scattered into many different locations.

Tapani incident
(1915)  |  Japan | Tai Republic
Han Taiwanese
Taiwanese aborigines | Victory

* The colonial government subsequently took steps to improve colonial administration in southern Taiwan.

World War I
(1914-1918)  |  Japan
France
United Kingdom

* India
* Canada
* Australia
* New Zealand
* South Africa

Russia
Italy
United States
Serbia
Montenegro
Belgium
Romania
Portugal
Hejaz
China
Greece
Brazil

|  Germany
Austria-Hungary
Ottoman Empire
Bulgaria | Victory

* End of the German Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Ottoman Empire, and Russian Empire
* Formation of new countries in Europe and the Middle East
* Transfer of German colonies and regions of the former Ottoman Empire to other powers
* Creation of the League of Nations

Occupation of Constantinople
(1918-1923)  |  Japan[9]
United Kingdom
France
Italy
Greece
United States[9] |  Ottoman Empire | Temporary occupation

* Temporary military occupation of Constantinople after World War I by the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Greece.

Japanese intervention in Siberia
(1918-1922)  |  Japan
White movement
United States
United Kingdom
France
Italy
Poland
China
Czechoslovakia
Mongolia |  Russia
Far Eastern Republic
Mongolian People's Party | Defeat
Shōwa period
Jinan incident
(1928)  |  Japan |  Kuomintang government | Victory

* Occupation of Jinan by Japanese Army

Musha Incident
(1930)  |  Japan
Toda
Truku (Taroko)  | Tkdaya | Victory

* Seediq land was given to the Truku (Taroko) and Toda by the Japanese after the incident.

Japanese invasion of Manchuria
(1931-1932)  |  Japan |  China | Victory

* Establishment of the Japanese puppet state Manchukuo

Pacification of Manchukuo
(1931-1942)  |  Japan
Manchukuo |  China | Victory

* Chinese fighting against the Japanese invaders were mostly defeated.

January 28 incident
(1932)  |  Japan |  China | Stalemate

* China and Japan signed the Shanghai Ceasefire Agreement
* Shanghai demilitarized

Soviet–Japanese border conflicts
(1932-1939)  |  Japan

* Manchukuo
* Korea

|  Soviet Union
Mongolia | Defeat

* Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact

Operation Nekka
(1933)  |  Japan

* Manchukuo

|  China | Victory

* Tanggu Truce

Second Sino-Japanese War
(1937-1945)  |  Japan

* * *

Reorganized National Government
Manchukuo
Mengjiang
Provisional Government
Reformed Government
East Hebei

|  China

* * *

United States
Soviet Union
Britain

| Defeat

* Merged into World War II
* Chinese victory as part of the Allied victory in the Pacific War
* Surrender of all Japanese forces in mainland China (excluding Manchuria), Formosa and French Indochina north of 16° north to China
* China becomes a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.
* Resumption of the Chinese Civil War

Invasion of French Indochina
(1940)  |  Japan |  Vichy France

* French Indochina

| Victory

* Japanese occupation of Northern French Indochina

World War II
(1941-1945)  |  Japan
Germany
Italy
Romania
Hungary
Bulgaria
Slovakia
Croatia
Finland
Thailand
Iraq |  United States
Soviet Union
United Kingdom
China
France
Poland
Yugoslavia
Greece
Netherlands
Belgium
Luxembourg
Denmark
Norway
Czechoslovakia
India
Canada
Australia
New Zealand
South Africa
Philippines
Ethiopia
Brazil
Mexico
Mongolia
Tuva | Defeat

* Fall of the Empire of Japan, Greater German Realm, and Kingdom of Italy
* Allied occupation of Japan and Germany
* Continuation of the Chinese Civil War
* Substantial weakening of European colonial powers, gradual decolonization of Asia (including the Indonesian National Revolution and the First Indochina War)
* Creation of the United Nations
* Emergence of the United States and the Soviet Union as superpowers
* Beginning of the Cold War

Pacific War
(1941–1945)  |  Japan
Thailand |  United States

* Philippines

United Kingdom
Australia
New Zealand
Netherlands

* Dutch East Indies

| Defeat

Allied victory

* End of World War II
* Fall of the Empire of Japan
* Continuation of the Chinese Civil War
* Substantial weakening of European colonial powers and the gradual decolonization of Asia
* First Indochina War
* Indonesian National Revolution
* Korean War
* 1951 Treaty of San Francisco
* 1956 Soviet–Japanese Joint Declaration

Allied occupation of Japan (1945–1952)

* Removal of Japanese troops occupying parts of China and the retrocession of Taiwan to China
* Liberation of Korea and Manchuria from Japanese rule, followed by the division of Korea
* Cession of Japanese-held islands in the Central Pacific Ocean to the United Nations
* Seizure and annexation of South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands by the Soviet Union
* The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands is created by the United Nations and placed under the authority of the United States. The UN Security Council ended the vast trusteeship in stages, from 1986 to 1994, with the US gaining the territory of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Soviet invasion of Manchuria
(1945)  |  Japan

* Manchukuo
* Mengjiang

|  Soviet Union
Mongolia | Defeat

Allied victory

* End of World War II
* Fall of Manchukuo and Mengjiang
* Partition of the Korean Peninsula at the 38th parallel.
* Most of Manchuria and Inner Mongolia are returned to the Nationalist government of China by a 1945 bilateral agreement
* Parts of Manchuria and Inner Mongolia are secretly handed over to the Chinese Communist Party guerrillas after the Soviet withdrawal in 1946.

Indonesian National Revolution
(1945–1949)  |  Japan (volunteers)
Indonesia
India (defectors)  |  Japan (until 1946)

Netherlands

* Dutch East Indies
* Dutch Caribbean

United Kingdom

* India

Australia

| Indonesian Victory

* Netherlands accepts the Independence of Indonesia
* Restoration of the reputation of the remnants of the Japanese army

Operation Masterdom
(1945-1946)  |  Japan
United Kingdom
France |  Viet Minh | Victory

* Restoration of French rule in Indochina
* Start of the First Indochina War, lasting until the Geneva Conference of 1954

Heisei period
Battle of Amami-Ōshima
(2001)  |  Japan |  North Korea | Victory

* North Korean naval trawler sunk

Iraq War
(2003-2011)  |

Coalition forces

* Japan
* South Korea
* Spain
* Denmark
* Romania
* El Salvador
* Estonia
* Bulgaria
* Moldova
* Albania
* Ukraine
* Czech Republic
* Tonga
* Azerbaijan
* Singapore
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Macedonia
* Latvia
* Kazakhstan
* Armenia
* Mongolia
* Georgia
* Slovakia
* Lithuania
* Italy
* Norway
* Hungary
* Netherlands
* Portugal
* New Zealand
* Thailand
* Philippines
* Honduras
* Dominican Republic
* Nicaragua
* Iceland

* United States
* United Kingdom
* Australia
* Poland

Peshmerga

* * *

New Iraqi government

Iraqi Regional Branch

* Supreme Command for Jihad and Liberation
* Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order

* * *

Sunni insurgents

* Islamic State of Iraq
* Islamic Army of Iraq
* Ansar al-Sunnah

* * *

Shia insurgents

* Mahdi Army
* Special Groups
* Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq
* Others

* * *

Iraq

| Victory

* Invasion and occupation of Iraq
* Defeat of Ba'ath Party-led regime and execution of Saddam Hussein
* Iraqi insurgency, emergence of al-Qaeda in Iraq, and civil war
* Subsequent depletion of Iraqi insurgency, improvements in public security
* Establishment of democratic elections and formation of new Shia led government
* U.S.–Iraq Status of Forces Agreement
* Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq
* Rise of Iraqi insurgency after U.S. withdrawal and spillover with the Syrian Civil War
* Resurgence of al-Qaeda in Iraq and Syria

Operation Ocean Shield
(2009-2016)  |  Japan
Somalia
NATO
Australia
China
Colombia
India
Indonesia
Malaysia
New Zealand
Oman
Pakistan
Puntland
Russia
Saudi Arabia
Seychelles
Singapore
South Korea
Ukraine | Somali pirates | Victory

* Number of Somali pirate attacks have been reduced dramatically.

## See also

[edit]

* Japan portal

* Japan during World War I
* Japan during World War II
* List of Japanese battles

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "The Veritable Records of King Sejong". Retrieved 20 January 2021. "左議政朴訔啓: "左軍節制使朴實 對馬島敗軍時所(護)〔獲〕 漢人 宋官童等十一名, 備知我師見敗之狀, 不可解送中國, 以見我國之弱。Left State Councilor Bak Eun advised, "Eleven Chinese people including Song Guantong, who were freed when Bak Sil, commander of the Left Army, was defeated in Tsushima Island, know much about the situation in which our troops were defeated. [They] should not be sent to China under escort, because that would reveal our country's weakness [to China].""
2. ^ "The Veritable Records of King Sejong". esillok.history.go.kr. Retrieved 18 July 2021. "仇里安曰: "本島之屬於慶尙道, 己之所不知, 戒道豈能獨知乎? 必是妄言也。 … 對馬島, 日本邊境。攻對馬島, 是攻本國也 Kyūrian said, "I did not know about our island's subordination to Gyeongsang Province. How could [Shin] Kaidō alone have known? This surely was reckless talk. … Tsushima is on the Japanese frontier, thus an attack on Tsushima is an attack on Japan."
3. ^ 세종실록 4권, 세종 1년 7월 3일 National Institute of Korean History.
4. ^ 세종실록 4권, 세종 1년 7월 9일 National Institute of Korean History.
5. ^ "Wakō". Britannica. Archived from the original on 24 July 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
6. ^ Sansom, George (1961). A History of Japan, 1334–1615. Stanford University Press. p. 217. ISBN 0804705259. `{{cite book}}`: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
7. ^ Tampico, Vladimir Meza | El Sol de. "La batalla de Cagayán, tlaxcaltecas contra piratas y ¿samuráis?". El Sol de Tampico | Noticias Locales, Policiacas, sobre México, Tamaulipas y el Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-06-20.
8. ^ Rowbotham, W. B. (11 September 2009). "The Bombardment of Kagoshima, 15th August, 1863". Royal United Services Institution. Journal. 108 (631): 273–278\. doi:10.1080/03071846309424838. ISSN 0035-9289.
9. ^ a b "Occupation during and after the War (Ottoman Empire) | International Encyclopedia of the First World War (WW1)". encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net.

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