List of territories occupied by Imperial Japan

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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 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, with 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).

Maximum extent of the Japanese empire

Pre-World War II

Colony

Occupied locations

World War II

Occupied or controlled region Japanese name Date Population est.(1943) Notes
South SakhalinKarafuto Prefecture(樺太庁) of Imperial Japanprewar-1945406,000
mainland Chinavarious1931 - 1945200,000,000 (est)Manchukuo 50 million (1940), Jehol, Kwantung Leased Territory, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Shandong, Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin, plus parts of : Guangdong, Guangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Fujian, Guizhou, Inner Mongolia
JapanNaichi (内地)prewar-194572,000,000Present day Japan, Kuril and Ryukyu Islands
KoreaChosen (朝鮮)prewar-194525,500,000Both North and South
TaiwanTaiwan (臺灣)prewar-19456,586,000
Hong KongHong kong (香港)December 12, 1941 - August 15, 19451,400,000Hong Kong (UK)
:: East Asia (subtotal)--306,792,000
VietnamAnnan (安南)July 15, 1940 - August 29, 194522,122,000As French Indochina
CambodiaKambojia (カンボジア)July 15, 1940 - August 29, 19453,100,000As French Indochina, Japanese occupation of Cambodia
LaosRaosu　(ラオス)July 15, 1940 - August 29, 19451,400,000As French Indochina, Japanese occupation of Laos
ThailandTai　(タイ)December 8, 1941 - August 15, 194516,216,000Allied with Japan
MalaysiaMaraya （マラヤ) Kita Boruneo (北ボルネオ)March 27, 1942 - September 6, 1945 (Malaya), March 29, 1942 - September 9, 1945 (Sarawak, Brunei, Labuan, North Borneo)4,938,000 plus 39,000 (Brunei)As Malaya (UK), British Borneo (UK), Brunei (UK)
PhilippinesFiripin (フィリピン)May 8, 1942 - July 5, 194517,419,000Philippines (USA)
IndonesiaHigashi Indo (東印度）January 18, 1942 - October 21, 194572,146,000As Dutch East Indies
SingaporeShōnan tou (昭南島)　March 29, 1942 - September 9, 1945822,000Singapore (UK)
MyanmarBiruma (ビルマ)1942–194516,800,000Burma (UK)
East TimorHigashi Chimoru (東チモール）February 19, 1942 - September 2, 1945450,000Portuguese Timor
:: Southeast Asia (subtotal)--155,452,000
New GuineaN/ADecember 27, 1941 - September 15, 19451,400,000As Papua and New Guinea (Australia)
GuamŌmiya Island (大宮島)January 6, 1942 - October 24, 1945from Guam (USA)
South Pacific MandateN/A1919-1945129,000from German Empire
NauruN/AAugust 26, 1942 - September 13, 19453,000from United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand
Wake Island, USŌtori Island (大鳥島)December 27, 1941 - September 4, 1945nilUSA
Attu and Kiska Islands (US)Atsuta Island (熱田島) Narukami Island (鳴神島)June 6, 1942 - September 27, 1943nilUSA
KiribatiN/ADecember 1941 - January 22, 194428,000from Gilbert Islands (UK)
:: Pacific Islands (subtotal)--1,433,000
:: Total Population--463,677,000

Disclaimer: Not all areas were considered part of Imperial Japan but rather part of puppet states, included separately for demographic purposes. Sources: POPULSTAT Asia[3] Oceania[4]

Other occupied World War 2 islands:

Areas attacked but not conquered

Raided without immediate intent of occupation

See also

References

  1. ↑ Gregory Smits (1999). Visions of Ryukyu: Early-Modern Thought and Politics. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 143–149·
  2. ↑ Leonard A. Humphreys (1995). 'The Way of the Heavenly Sword: The Japanese Army in the 1920s. Stanford University Press. p. 26.
  3. ↑ http://www.populstat.info/Asia/asia.html Populstat ASIA
  4. ↑ http://www.populstat.info/Oceania/oceania.html Populstat OCEANIA
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