History of Japan

This week: the Port Arthur campaign, from start to finish. Wasn't this supposed to be a cakewalk?

The war rages on as the Japanese land in Port Arthur and press the attack, and Oyama Iwao advances north. The Russians will attempt to make a stand as divisions open up in their leadership.

Today, we're starting a war! The battle for Manchuria begins as Japan and Russia confront each other on land and at sea for the first time. But will the daring Japanese plan to win the war quickly pay off?    Well....kind of. 

This week -- negotiations between the two sides begin in St. Petersburg, but neither Japan nor Russia is really committed to peacefully working things out. In Imperial Japanese Army HQ, the first steps towards an actual plan for war are formulated: but how to neutralize the many advantages Russia holds?

This week, we're going to cover the incompatible goals that led Japan and Russia towards war. Why did each side see the other as a threat? Why was war even on the table in the first place? Can't we all just get along?

This week, we're turning our attention to the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05. In our first episode, we'll introduce our stage -- Manchuria -- and our players -- Russia and Japan.

This week, we close out this series with a look at the relationship between South Korea and Japan. Also included; Isaac's patented speed run of South Korean history. Enjoy!

This week, we discuss Japan's relationship with the modern day Hermit Kingdom, and to explain North Korean policy and how those policies effect Japan. It's gonna be a long ride into the web of madness that is the world's only communist monarchy, so grab your Kim Il-sung pins and strap in!

This week, it's time to join the resistance. We'll trace the birth of the Korean resistance from protests in 1919 to its bifurcation into two rival movements. The first, the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, will be based in Shanghai and dominated by the charismatic American-educated Syngman Rhee. The second will be an armed anti-Japanese insurrection in Manchuria led by a man whose life is more myth than fact: Kim Il-sung.

This week -- what was colonial Korea like? We'll do a quick overview of 35 years of colonial economic, political, and social policy to give you a feel for what Japan's goals in Korea were and how those goals effected the lives of ordinary Koreans.