Japan

Swathes of Tokyo lie in ruins after the Great Kantō Earthquake on 1 September 1923

The Great Kantō earthquake: a 1923 disaster that left Tokyo in ruins

A view of the devastation caused by the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima in Japan on 6 August 1945, a bombed-out building in the foreground

Second World War

What happened to Hiroshima after it was bombed in 1945? How many people died?

Firemen tackling a blitz fire at St Paul's Cathedral, London

Second World War

WW2 timeline: 20 important dates and milestones you need to know

Atomic bomb damage in the city of Hiroshima, 1945

Second World War

Was the US justified in dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the Second World War?

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Pod Pearl Harbor WL

Pearl Harbor Episode 3 . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Pod Pearl Harbor WL

Pearl Harbor Episode 2 . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The battleship USS California following the attack at Pearl Harbor

Second World War

Pearl Harbor: 12 facts about the surprise attack on the US Pacific Fleet

Crossing the line: Japanese soldiers seize a railway during the invasion of Manchuria in 1931 – prompted by a staged bombing near the city of Mukden. (Photo by adoc-photos/Corbis via Getty Images)

Second World War

A gathering storm: why did Japan attack Pearl Harbor in 1941?

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Pod Pearl Harbor WL

Pearl Harbor Episode 1 . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Workers package Chicken Ramen, the first mass-produced instant noodles, in a factory in Japan, c1960

The age of noodles: Momofuku Ando and the rise of ramen in post-war Japan

Japanese boats approaching a 'black ship' of US Commodore Matthew C Perry. His arrival in Japan in 1853 forcibly introduced the modern west to the semi-self-isolated island nation (Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

From Meiji to modernity: how Japan reinvented itself through the 20th century

Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival (far right) marches to the Japanese camp to surrender Singapore. (Photo by The Asahi Shimbun Premium via Getty Images)

Second World War

VJ Day: turning the tide in the east

Scientists Frederic Joliot-Curie and his wife, Irene, at work in their Paris laboratory in December 1932. The couple were among a wide-ranging group of scientists whose work paved the way for the atomic bomb. (Photo by Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)

Second World War

Hiroshima: the race to the atomic bomb

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With the Olympics underway in Tokyo, Chris Harding looks back at 1964 – the last time Japan hosted the competition. (Image by Getty Images)

How the 1964 Tokyo Olympics redefined Japan . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Medal winners on a podium

Q&A Who won the first Olympic medal? And what was the prize before that?