Shōwa era

The Showa era was the period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of Emperor Hirohito, which was the longest of any Japanese emperor. It was a time of extreme change. The 1920s saw a flowering of urban culture and party politics, followed by economic crisis and the rise of militarism, the invasion of Manchuria and China and entry into the Second World War. After defeat in 1945, Japan was occupied by the Allies, adopted a new pacifist constitution and the emperor renounced his claim to divinity. The decades afterward brought rapid economic growth, which turned Japan into one of the world's largest economies, with milestones such as the Tokyo Olympics in 1964. The era ended with Hirohito's death.

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