You may have heard of the Japanese invasions, in particular, of Korea, of the Philippines, as well as the South China Sea. However, you may not know that these invasions were a major cause of World War II. These countries were attacked by the Japanese in two separate, yet linked waves. Korea was invaded by the Japanese in waves 1 and 2. There was a brief truce between the two sides in 1596 but then another wave began of Japanese aggression.
Japanese invasions of the Pacific
In 1942, the Japanese invaded Western Pacific. They invaded the U.S. on December 1st 1942. They began their bombardment of Wake Island in Alaska. This small island was home to 500 Marines, sailors, soldiers, and radiomen. They were joined by 450 civil engineers. In the end, they were forced to surrender.
Hideyoshi ordered the construction of staging areas for the invasion. The main invasion force consolidated at Nagoya, which was the nearest point in Japan to Korea. A naval base was also constructed there to transport troops across the Tsushima Strait. The Japanese navy had approximately 9,000 sailors and was made up of small pirate ships and large men's-of-war vessels.
Japanese Invasion of the Philippines
In December 1941, the Japanese invaded the Philippines. Guam and Wake Island also were affected by these invasions. The Japanese invaded the Philippines, as well as the archipelagos surrounding it, and took Manila and its harbor. These invasions were part Japan’s strategy for cutting off Allied shipping within the region.
The Japanese invaded the Philippines after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941. This attack destroyed several aircraft carriers and rendered the US Pacific Fleet inoperable. Japanese forces also conquered Dutch East Indies. They also captured Corregidor. These invasions gave Japan control of South-East Asia.
Japanese invasion of Korea
On the first day, the Japanese army had 7,000 soldiers. They left Tsushima at morning to reach Busan at evening. The Japanese naval intelligence mistakenly identified the Japanese fleet as trading boats, and the naval commander ignored them. Yoshitoshi (the Japanese commander) landed alone on the shores at Busan and demanded safe passage to China. Yoshitoshi took control of the city and began to take over from the Koreans.
Go Gyeongmyeong, who commanded a volunteer army with 6,000 men during the siege, joined forces to fight against militias in Chungcheong Province. But he was made aware of the Japanese invasion, and he returned home to his land. Go Gyeong Myeong and his men fought the Japanese at Battle of Ichi. The result was decisive.
Japanese invasions of the South China Sea
Japan's presence within the South China Sea goes back to the 19th-century, when it claimed an area of islands that is now part of Vietnam. These disputes have become increasingly heated in recent decades, especially between China and its neighbor, the Philippines, and Vietnam. China also has a long-standing territorial dispute with Japan dating back to at least the nineteenth century.
During World War II the Japanese military held many South China Sea Islands. China was forced by them to recover them. Today, Japan is bound to the Potsdam Proclamation as well as the Cairo Declaration. These documents outline the postwar international order. It must abide by these agreements or else risk incurring criminal and civil liability for violating their terms.