Tradition long held that the Japanese Empire was founded in 660 B.C. by the emperor Jimmu, a descendent of the sun goddess. But no reliable records exist for ancient Japanese history before 400 A.D, and historians today usually begin Japan's history with the story of the Yamato clan, which settled near modern Kyoto during the fifth century and established limited control over the clans of central and western Japan. From the 6th to the 8th century, Japan grew, stimulated by the success of the T'ang dynasty in China. Japanese people studied Chinese ways and ideas and even adopted Buddhism. In 710 A.D., the Yamato's built their capital at Nara, and later moved it to Kyoto. During the ninth century, the Yamatos removed themselves from the business of governing their country. In their place came the Fujiwara family, who governed Japan for over three centuries. 

In 1185, the leader of a strong estate won the control of Japan. Through his actions, Yoritomo introduced a military dictatorship, which would be known as the Shogun Dynasty, that would rule Japan for seven centuries. From there appeared the words Shogun and Samurai. The Shogun dynasty was a military dictatorship, tracing his role to Yoritomo, a warrior who prevailed in the civil wars of the 12th century and won control over Japan. His capital was at Kamakura. The shogun's power as military leader of Japan was usually greater than that of the Emperor, and he in turn, presided over a society in which much of the real power lay in the hands of aristocratic swordsman known as Samurai, who were often at war with each other. The division of power in feudal Japan was further complicated by the power of Buddhist monks.

The last of the warrior dynasties was the Tokugawa shogunate, which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1867. The Tokugawas withdrew their nation from the world. In 1542, Portuguese traders had come to Japan and 7 years later, the Jesuit St-Francis Xavier brought Christianity to Japan. By 1600, most Japanese had become Roman Catholics, and traders regularly visited Japan. Within a few years of the rise of the Tokugawas, Christians were persecuted and the traders were bared from Japan. The Japanese were forbidden to travel in, or build, large ships. 

During the 18th century, these policies softened. European books were aloud in Japan and a few traders and adventurers were aloud to visit. As late as 1853, however, when Commodore Matthew Perry visited Japan, American Whalers were being detained. In 1854, Perry negotiated a commercial treaty between Japan and the US. The last Shogun resigned his position in 1867, and after a hiatus of roughly seven centuries, actual power in Japan returned to the Emperor. The new government was efficient and encouraged modernization..

At a time when European powers were establishing their influence over China, Japan avoided colonization and made itself a world power. Seeking political reform, the Japanese studied the American and European constitutions. The reform measures strengthened Japan, as the world discovered in 1904 and 1905 during the Russo-Japanese war. In 1910, Japan annexed Korea, and in 1932 created a puppet state in Manchuria. Five years later Japan invaded northern China, beginning the Sino-Japanese war. Germany and Italy offered their support, encouraging Japan to join the Axis powers and to continue into China. The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour in Hawaii in 1941. This event brought the United-States into W.W.II. Four years later, the US ended the war by destroying Nagasaki and Hiroshima with atomic bombs. 

General McArthur was the effective leader of Japan during the occupation that followed. In 1952, full sovereignty was returned to the Japanese, and in 1956, Japan joined the United Nations. By the early sixties, Japan had become an advanced industrial nation and was third largest exporter in the world. In the eighties, Japan had the highest rate of economic growth coupled with the lowest inflation. Today, although prohibited by its constitution from becoming a world military leader (article 9), Japan used its economic strength to pursue a more active foreign policy. In addition to being the world's largest aid donor, Japan provided economic support for the U.N.'s peacekeeping efforts in the Persian Gulf and Somalia.