Japanese plans In early March 1942, the Japanese had debated what to do now that Japan had so easily gained her objectives. The Navy wanted to invade Australia and deny the country as a base to either America or Britain. The Army felt it did not have the strength to invade and fully occupy so vast a continent.
Japan's success in the early months of the Pacific War led elements of the Imperial Japanese Navy to propose invading Australia. In December 1941 the Navy proposed including an invasion of Northern Australia as one of Japan's "stage two" war objectives after South-East Asia was conquered.
About two thirds agreed that Japan had planned to invade Australia in 1942. Around three quarters tended to agree that the Kokoda campaign had saved Australia from invasion and that the Brisbane Line strategy actually entailed abandoning northern Australia to the Japanese.
Australia's declaration of war on Japan was a response to the coordinated attacks by the Japanese on United States and British territories across the Asia-Pacific region.
The US naval victory at the battle of Midway, in early June 1942, removed the Japan's capability to invade Australia by destroying its main aircraft carriers. This made it safe for Australia to begin to transfer military power to fight the Japanese in Australian Papua and New Guinea.
1957: Prime Minister Kishi Nobusuke said to the people of Australia: "It is my official duty, and my personal desire, to express to you and through you to the people of Australia, our heartfelt sorrow for what occurred in the war."
The Japanese had an invasion plan. The Japanese had the ability to invade. Kokoda, as part of the Battle for Australia, saved Australia from invasion. The Allied successes on the Kokoda Trail, at Milne Bay and on Guadalcanal ensured the security of Australia.
These stereotypes served to conflate Nikkei-Australians with the soldiers in the Japanese military that Australia witnessed during wartime, who were regarded as “subhuman beast[s]” and “vermin” (Saunders 1994, 325–27).
However, Axis surface raiders and submarines periodically attacked shipping in the Australian coastal waters from late 1940 to early 1945. Japanese aircraft bombed towns and airfields in Northern Australia on 97 occasions during 1942 and 1943.
Australia and Japan are close partners in regional forums such as Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the East Asia Summit (EAS). Australia supports Japan's aspiration to become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.
General Thomas Blamey, Commander-in-Chief of the Australian Military Forces and Commander of Allied Land Forces in the South West Pacific signed the Instrument on behalf of the Australian Government. Apart from General Blamey, few Australians witnessed the formal Japanese surrender.
Yet Australians have fought in ten wars. Some of these have been in distant lands, others much closer to home. All of them were begun by other nations and involved Australia because of its overseas ties; alliances formed through sentiment, loyalty or simply for reasons of security.
In February 1942, an invasion of the Australian continent appeared imminent. Just ten weeks after Japan's whirlwind invasion of South-East Asia, Australia itself became the target of air and sea attacks.
A city shaped by war
Often called 'Australia's Pearl Harbour', the bombing of Darwin by aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Navy began on 19 February 1942, killing more than 230 people and destroying ships, buildings and infrastructure.
At 8.44 am on 15 August 1945 the Australian Government received the news that Japan had surrendered and the Second World War was over.
The first recorded Japan-born settler arrived in Australia in 1871, Mr Sakuragawa Rikinosuke who was an acrobat who settled in Queensland. During the 1880s and 1890s some Japan-born migrants worked as crew for Australian pearlers in northern Australia.
Its casualties from enemy action during the war were 27,073 killed and 23,477 wounded. Many more suffered from tropical disease, hunger, and harsh conditions in captivity; of the 21,467 Australian prisoners taken by the Japanese, only 14,000 survived.
And the German learned to fear Australians, because they were reckless, ruthless - and revengeful. During the Third Battle of Ypres, autumn 1917, the ANZAC's (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) met the Germans on high ground, in front of Polygon Wood.
The Japanese first attacked the Australian mainland on 19 February 1942 when they launched a devastating air raid on Darwin in the Northern Territory. Two weeks later, more aircraft attacked Broome in Western Australia killing about 70 people.
The soldier-settlers found that rifles were far more effective deterrents, and 284,704 birds were killed in Western Australia between 1945 and 1960. Despite those casualties, it's safe to say that the Aussies lost the Great Emu War.
On January 26, 1788, Captain Arthur Phillip guides a fleet of 11 British ships carrying convicts to the colony of New South Wales, effectively founding Australia.
Since World War Two Australians have taken part in many other wars and conflicts, including Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, Afghanistan and the ongoing "War on Terror".
After 60 years there is still no prospect of a true reconciliation between China and Japan. The recent visit by Junichiro Koizumi, Japan's prime minister, to a war shrine in central Tokyo was condemned by the Chinese.
Japan's wartime actions and atrocities are historical facts and justly demand atonement and historical accountability. They cannot be denied or glamorized. They cannot be forgotten in the name of anti-communism as when Japanese war criminals were pardoned after show trials by the US.
However, any convictions for such crimes are not recognised by the Japanese government, as the Kellogg-Briand Pact did not have an enforcement clause, stipulating penalties in the event of violation. The Japanese government accepted the terms set by the Potsdam Declaration (1945) after the end of the war.