During World War II, Japan was officially known as the Empire of Japan, reflecting its imperial ambitions, and was a primary member of the Axis Powers, alongside Germany and Italy, fighting against the Allies. In Japanese internal discourse, the conflict with China (1937-1945) was termed the "Greater East Asia War" (大東亜戦争) by the government, a name later banned by the U.S. occupation, with the Pacific War (太平洋戦争) becoming the common term for the war against the Allies.
Japan's old names include Wa (倭), used by the Chinese, and Yamato (大和), an endonym meaning "Great Wa" or "Mountain Place," before the adoption of Nihon/Nippon (日本) meaning "Sun Origin" in the 8th century, with the English name "Japan" derived from early Chinese pronunciations reaching Europe via trade routes like Marco Polo's "Cipangu".
Okinawa was so bloody due to Japan's fanatical, entrenched defense using tunnels and caves, a "fight to the death" strategy to inflict maximum casualties before a mainland invasion, massive kamikaze attacks, brutal close-quarters combat, and high civilian involvement, resulting in staggering losses for both sides and signaling the horrific cost of invading Japan itself, as noted in The National WWII Museum and Wikipedia.
Japan used the name Greater East Asia War (大東亜戦争, Dai Tō-A Sensō), as chosen by a cabinet decision on 10 December 1941, to refer to both the war with the Western Allies and the ongoing war in China.
The Tripartite Pact, also known as the Berlin Pact, was an agreement between Germany, Italy, and Japan signed in Berlin on 27 September 1940 by, respectively, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Galeazzo Ciano, and Saburō Kurusu (in that order) and in the presence of Adolf Hitler.
The 'D' in D-Day simply stands for "Day," used as a military placeholder for the start date of a major operation, with "D-Day" meaning "the day" an attack begins, and "D-2" meaning two days before. While many theories exist (like "Deliverance" or "Doom"), the term is a generic code, and the Normandy invasion on June 6, 1944, became the most famous event known as D-Day.
At the US-Japan Kyoto Conference, Japan argued that keeping nuclear weapons in Okinawa would be redundant and that there were more suitable areas for military presence. Support from American specialists helped to persuade Americans the benefits of reversion.
The most catastrophic battle was Stalingrad (August 1942 - February 1943). By comparison, estimates for Leningrad generally accumulate around 1 million with about 650,000 civilian deaths according to Soviet registration records.
Okinawans have a complex relationship with Japanese identity; many are Japanese citizens but maintain a strong distinct Okinawan (Uchinaanchu) identity, often feeling culturally separate due to their history as the independent Ryukyu Kingdom, unique languages (Uchinaguchi), and different cultural practices, with surveys showing a significant portion identifying as primarily Okinawan rather than Japanese, though younger generations are more assimilated, and a general sense of being treated differently by mainland Japan.
While both pronunciations are correct, Nippon is frequently preferred for official purposes, including money, stamps, and international sporting events, as well as the Nippon-koku, literally the "State of Japan" (日本国).
Japanese people say "草" (kusa, meaning grass) as slang for "LOL" or "hahaha" because a string of repeated "w"s (wwww) used to express laughter looks like blades of grass, evolving from the kanji 笑 (wara) for laugh, shortened to 'w'. It signifies amusement, similar to typing "lol" in English, but context matters, and it's generally used in informal online settings.
While all forms of the word mean 'foreigner' or 'outsider', in practice gaijin and gaikokujin are commonly used to refer to foreigners of non-East Asian ethnicities. For example, other East Asians such as ethnic Chinese and Koreans residing in Japan are not referred to as gaijin, but by their nationality directly.
The Japanese, naturally, were disappointed to hear of Hitler's death. They were more concerned, however, over how Germany would react. After the collapse of the fascist regime in Italy, Italian fascists formed a rump state and continued to fight on, and the Japanese hoped that Germany would do the same.
Denmark and Norway
Denmark surrendered on the day it was invaded. British and French troops fought briefly in Norway, but engaged too late.
Although many Britons continued calling it The Great War, the US term was used by Winston Churchill in his 1927 memoir of the events. Before the Second World War actually happened, the use of “World War II” was already common in the same way we currently speak about “World War III”.
WW2 soldiers carried condoms primarily for disease prevention (STDs like syphilis and gonorrhea) and for practical combat uses, such as keeping sand and mud out of their rifle barrels, protecting small items, or even as makeshift waterproof bags, although the weapon-protection use is sometimes exaggerated in popular culture. The military distributed them widely (often in "prophylactic kits") to maintain troop strength, recognizing the significant manpower lost to venereal diseases in past conflicts.
Although he said that the loss of Stalingrad turned his stomach,3 Hitler gave no indication that he recognised his role in the disaster. Others were not so sure. Erwin Rommel said he (Hitler) seemed depressed and upset about the Stalingrad disaster. Stalingrad was the eastern limit of the German's advance.
The Amami Islands were returned to Japanese control in 1953. The remaining Ryukyu Islands were returned to Japan on 17 June 1971. America kept numerous U.S. military bases on the islands. There are 32 United States military bases on Okinawa Island by the U.S.-Japan alliance since 1951.
80% Rule. Hara hachi bu—the Okinawan 2500-year old Confucian mantra said before meals reminds them to stop eating when their stomachs are 80% full. The 20% gap between not being hungry and feeling full could be the difference between losing weight or gaining it.
On average, the Okinawans were found to share 80.8% (±11.2 SD) admixture with Japanese and 19.2% (±11.2 SD) admixture with Chinese suggesting that the Okinawans and the Japanese share substantial common ancestry.
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Some German Generals were slow to respond, refusing to believe that the main invasion had really begun. There still remained a huge amount of fighting to be done following D-Day, and many challenges to be overcome before the Normandy campaign came to a close.
All the careful planning, specially designed vehicles, and months of training couldn't save the thousands of men who lost their lives that morning. Planes dropped 13,000 bombs before the landing: they completely missed their targets; intense naval bombardment still failed to destroy German emplacements.