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Territories acquired and administered by the Empire of Japan (1868–1945) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a list of regions occupied or annexed by the Empire of Japan until 1945, the year of the end of World War II in Asia, after the surrender of Japan. Control over all territories except most of the Japanese mainland (Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku, and some 6,000 small surrounding islands) was renounced by Japan in the unconditional surrender after World War II and the Treaty of San Francisco. A number of territories occupied by the United States after 1945 were returned to Japan, but there are still a number of disputed territories between Japan and Russia (the Kuril Islands dispute), South Korea and North Korea (the Liancourt Rocks dispute), the People's Republic of China and Taiwan (the Senkaku Islands dispute).
| Territory | Japanese name | Date | Population est. (1944) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Sakhalin | Karafuto Prefecture (樺太庁) | 1905–1943 | 406,000 | Elevated to naichi status in 1943. |
| Mainland China | Chūgoku tairiku (中国大陸) | 1931–1945 | 200,000,000 (est.) | Manchukuo 50 million (1940), Rehe, Kwantung Leased Territory, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Shandong, Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin, plus parts of : Guangdong, Guangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Fujian, Guizhou, Inner Mongolia |
| Japan proper | naichi (内地) | 1868–1945 | 76,200,000 | Present day Japan, South Sakhalin (after 1943), and Kuril Islands |
| Korea | Chōsen (朝鮮) | 1910–1945 | 25,500,000 | |
| Taiwan | Taiwan (臺灣) | 1895–1945 | 6,586,000 | |
| Hong Kong | Hon Kon (香港) | December 25, 1941 – August 15, 1945 | 1,400,000 | Hong Kong (UK) |
| :: East Asia (subtotal) | Higashi Ajia (東アジア) | – | 310,092,000 | |
| Vietnam | Annan (安南) | July 1941 – August 1945 | 22,122,000 | As French Indochina (FR) |
| Cambodia | Kanbojia (カンボジア) | August 1941 - August 1945 | 3,100,000 | As French Indochina, Japanese occupation of Cambodia |
| Laos | Raosu (ラオス) | July , 1940 – August 1945 | 1,400,000 | As French Indochina, Japanese occupation of Laos |
| Thailand | Tai (タイ) | December 8, 1941 – August 15, 1945 | 16,216,000 | Independent state but allied with Japan |
| Malaysia | Maraya (マラヤ), Kita Boruneo (北ボルネオ), Marai (マライ) | December 8, 1941 – September 2, 1945 (Malaya), December 1941 – September 1945 (Sarawak, Brunei, Labuan, North Borneo) | 4,938,000 plus 39,000 (Brunei) | As Malaya (UK), British Borneo (UK), Brunei (UK) |
| Philippines | Firipin (フィリピン) | May 1942 – September 1945 | 17,419,000 | Philippines (US) |
| Dutch East Indies | Higashi Indo (東印度), Sumatora Nishikaigan (スマトラ西海岸) | 1942 – 1945 | 72,146,000 | Dutch East Indies (NL), West Coast Sumatra (NL) |
| Singapore | Syōnan-tō (昭南島) | February 15, 1942 – September 12, 1945 | 795,000 | Singapore (UK) |
| Burma (Myanmar) | Biruma (ビルマ) | 1942–1945 | 16,800,000 | Burma (UK) |
| East Timor | Higashi Chimōru (東チモール) | February 19, 1942 – September 11, 1945 | 450,000 | Portuguese Timor (PT) |
| :: Southeast Asia (subtotal) | Tōnan Ajia (東南アジア) | – | 155,452,000 | |
| New Guinea | Nyū Ginia (ニューギニア) | 1941 - 1945 | 1,400,000 | As Papua and New Guinea (AU) |
| Guam | Ōmiya-tō (大宮島) | December 10, 1941 – August 10, 1944 | from Guam (US) | |
| South Seas Mandate | Nan'yō Guntō (南洋群島) | 1919–1945 | 129,000 | from German Empire |
| Nauru | Nauru (ナウル) | August 26, 1942 – September 13, 1945 | 3,000 | Occupied from the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand |
| Wake Island, US | Ōtori-shima, -jima (大鳥島) | December 23, 1941 – September 4, 1945 | nil | US |
| Kiribati | Kiribasu (キリバス) | December 1941 – January 22, 1944 | 28,000 | from Gilbert Islands (UK) |
| :: Pacific Islands (subtotal) | – | – | 1,433,000 | |
| :: Total Population | – | – | 465,544,000 |
Disclaimer: Not all areas were considered part of Imperial Japan but rather part of puppet states & sphere of influence, allies, included separately for demographic purposes. Sources: POPULSTAT Asia[2] Oceania[3]
Other occupied islands during World War II:
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