List of wars involving Japan

This is a list of wars involving Japan.

List

Conflict	Combatant 1	Combatant 2	Results
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). 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).
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 (675)	Prince Ōama's loyal warriors	Prince Ōtomo's loyal warriors	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
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.
Gosannen 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.
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	Mongol Empire China Korea	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)	Ashikaga shogunate Tsushima Province	Korea	Victory[1] Withdrawal of Korean armies from Tsushima island
Ōnin War (1467–1477)	Hosokawa clan	Ashikaga shogunate Yamana clan	Stalemate Weakening of the Ashikaga shogunate
Azuchi–Momoyama period
Bunroku-Keicho War/Imjin War (1592–1598)	Japan Toyotomi clan	Korea China	Defeat Withdrawal of Japanese armies from Korean peninsula following military stalemate
Edo period
Invasion of Ryukyu (1609)	Satsuma Domain	Ryūkyū Kingdom	Satsuma victory The Ryukyu Kingdom becomes a vassal state.
Shimabara Rebellion (1637–1638)	Tokugawa shogunate  Dutch Empire	Roman Catholics and rōnin rebels	Tokugawa victory National seclusion policy imposed Christianity driven underground
Bombardment of Kagoshima (1863)	Satsuma Domain	British Empire	Stalemate Tactical stalemate and mitigated British victory
Shimonoseki Campaign (1863–1864)	Chōshū Domain	British Empire  Dutch Empire  France  United States	Defeat Chōshū pays an indemnity of $3,000,000.
Summer War (1866)	Chōshū Domain	Tokugawa shogunate Aizu Domain	Chōshū 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)	Japan  Russia  United Kingdom  France  United States  Germany  Austria-Hungary  Italy	China	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
Taishō period
Truku War (1914)	Japan	Truku Tribe	Victory
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
Siberian Intervention (1918–1922)	Japan White movement  United States  United Kingdom  France  Italy  Poland China  Czechoslovakia Mongolia	Russia  Far Eastern Republic Mongolian People's Party	Defeat Bolsheviks regain Siberia.
Shōwa period
Japanese invasion of Manchuria (1931–1932)	Japan	China	Victory Tanggu Truce Establishment of the Japanese puppet state Manchukuo
Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945)	Japan Reorganized National Government  Manchukuo  Mengjiang Provisional Government Reformed Government East Hebei	China  United States  Soviet Union  British Empire	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	Soviet Union  United States  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
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.

Reference

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]."

See also

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