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Japan Tourist Guides — History  Japan's imperialist history begins in 600 BC, when the Emperor Jimmu, who was considered a direct descendant of the Sun God, took the throne. The members of the present day Royal family are considered descendants of this ancient family and are afforded the same reverence as gods, although today, Japan is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary government. Japanese history has been subject to strong influences from the mainland, for centuries Chinese has been the system of writing, and Buddhism vied with the indigenous Shinto religion. Japan has seen many imperialist dynasties, with a parallel power centres in the shoguns (military leader) and samurai (warrior) classes, each jostling for and occupying centre stage at various times through the centuries. The first western influences in Japan were traders from Portugal, Netherlands, England and Spain. However, fearing that western traders and missionaries were actually paving the way for military conquests, the Tokugawa family (1600 - 1867) brought an abrupt close to all relations with the outside world. An end to this forced seclusion came with the Meiji Emperor's restoration in 1868, and with it many reforms were undertaken, including the adoption of a Western legal system and constitutional government. The late 19th century saw great Japan's military dominance expand in Eastern Asia with victories in the Sino-Japanese War (1896) and the Russo-Japanese war (1904-05), World War I saw Japan growing economically powerful, and re-engaging China in war. The end of World War II however saw Japan a nation broken by four years of war culminating in a nuclear holocaust in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, loss of all its overseas possession, and occupation by Allied forces. During this period, political, economic and social reforms were introduced, the monarchy was dismantled and a democratic Japanese legislature was constituted. Japan regained sovereignty in 1952. A Herculean recovery effort saw Japan recover from its losses and transform itself into a economic superpower with huge trade surpluses and a world leader in the production of electronics, robotics, computing, cars and banking. However, in 1990, Japan faced its worst economic recession since World War II. Despite such setbacks, Japan today remains significant in the spheres of world economy and foreign policy. A member of the United Nations since 1956, Japan has expanded its economic and diplomatic ties with various nations, and treads carefully on the slippery slopes of normalizing relations with the neighboring states of China, Korea and Taiwan.
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