Australians had feared Japan as a potential invader from the time of the Russo–Japanese War of 1904–5, and in 1942 that fear seemed to be about to come to fruition. Although Britain was an ally of Japan between 1902 and 1923, its government was suspicious of Japan's intentions in the Pacific.
Japan wanted to destroy our country's northern defenses, so it could invade Timor and in the process send Australia a warning. Just before 10 a.m., Japanese forces launched 188 fighter planes from ships in the Timor Sea and headed for Darwin.
After the fall of Singapore in February 1942, the Australian government, the military and the people were deeply alarmed by the possibility of a Japanese invasion. Widespread fear led to an expansion of Australia's military and war economy, as well as closer links with the United States.
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.
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.
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 ties between the US and Japan go far beyond both the cultural bonds and the shared cultural values that have emerged between us. The United States is an invaluable and irreplaceable partner to Japan and, indeed, our closest ally.
The two Japanese air raids were the first, and largest, of more than 100 air raids against Australia during 1942–1943. The event happened just four days after the Fall of Singapore, when a combined Commonwealth force surrendered to the Japanese, leading to the largest surrender in British history.
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.
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 Australia–Japan partnership is Australia's closest and most mature in Asia and is fundamental to both countries' strategic and economic interests. The relationship is underpinned by a shared commitment to democracy, human rights and the rule of law, as well as common approaches to international security.
Today, Japan is Australia's closest partner in Asia, and Japan describes Australia as its most important security partner after the US, a common ally of both countries. The Ninth Japan- Australia 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial Consultations were held in June 2021.
Australian troops were still fighting in Borneo when the war ended in August 1945. While Australia's major effort from 1942 onwards was directed at defeating Japan, thousands of Australians continued to serve with the RAAF in Europe and the Middle East.
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.
The Japanese used many types of physical punishment. Some prisoners were made to hold a heavy stone above their heads for many hours. Others might be forced into small cells with little food or water. Tom Uren described how a young Aboriginal soldier was made to kneel on a piece of bamboo for a number of days.
In August 1942 the Japanese landed a force at Milne Bay, at the eastern tip of New Guinea, but were speedily defeated by Australian forces. This operation also was seen as part of the Japanese "invasion" preliminaries.
One million Australians, both men and women, served in the Second World War – 500,000 overseas. They fought in campaigns against Germany and Italy in Europe, the Mediterranean and North Africa, as well as against Japan in south-east Asia and the Pacific.
Air attacks
The first air raid on Australia occurred on 19 February 1942 when Darwin was attacked by 242 Japanese aircraft. At least 235 people were killed in the raid. Occasional attacks on northern Australian towns and airfields continued until November 1943.
Britain conducted 12 nuclear test explosions in Australia between 1952 and 1957, and hundreds of minor trials of radioactive and toxic materials for bomb development up to 1963. These caused untold health problems for local Aboriginal people who were at the highest risk of radiation.
Twenty military aircraft were destroyed; eight ships at anchor in the harbour were sunk. The air attacks on Darwin continued until November 1943, by which time the Japanese had bombed Darwin 64 times.
Japan-South Korea
It is debated just how big this rivalry is at the moment, as South Korea is currently leading the series 42-23-16. Japan and South Korea didn't actually come up against each other until 1954, when South Korea won in a World Cup qualifier.
China and Japan may not have fought militarily since the 1940s, but they've never stopped battling over the past. In the latest scuffle, protests directed at Japan's revisionist textbooks are roiling Beijing and other Chinese cities.
Similarly, a 2017 opinion poll by the Moscow-based non-governmental think tank Levada-Center states that Russians identified India as one of their top five "friends", with the others being Belarus, China, Kazakhstan and Syria.
But is ignorance the solution? The Ministry of Education's guidelines for junior high schools state that all children must be taught about Japan's "historical relations with its Asian neighbours and the catastrophic damage caused by the World War II to humanity at large".