Allied Powers

Kind of like the Transformers or the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, the Allied Powers (or Allies) are members of a rid-the-world-of-evil club that comes together in times of crisis to, you know, rid the world of evil. Noteworthy club members include Great Britain, France, the United States, and Russia/the Soviet Union.

Anti-Comintern Pact of 1936

Japan and Nazi Germany's solemn oath to never let communism, especially of the Soviet variety, worm its way into their countries or their countries' interests.

Axis Powers

Japan, Italy, and Germany made up the three legs of this fascist stool, whose primary goal was to take down the Allies.

Charter Oath of the Five Articles

The theme song of Japan's Meiji Restoration, complete with fun lofty remarks about democratization and solid use of the phrase, "evil customs of the past."

Dastardly

An old-school way of calling something or someone evil, wicked, diabolical, cruel, etc. Back in the day, this was quite the insult. Pro-tip: just think of the cartoon villain Dick Dastardly. That moustache tells you everything you need to know.

Five-Power Naval Limitation Treaty of 1922

A post-World-War-I "victors only" fiesta where France, Great Britain, the U.S., Japan, and Italy all agreed to limit naval construction in the name of world peace. It didn't last, but it was a nice thought.

French Indochina

Then: French colony in Southeast Asia that was very much an object of Japan's expansionist affection. Today: the countries of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.

Four-Power Treaty of 1921

The U.S., Japan, Great Britain, and France promise to work on their communication skills when it comes to Southeast Asia, and to just talk to each other when issues in the region come up instead of being all tense and war-ish about it.

Immigration Act of 1924

The U.S. Congressional equivalent of posting a huge "No Asians Allowed" sign at every entrance to the United States. The act restricted immigration from other countries too, but Asian countries were the most affected.

Infamy

Fame that comes as a result of bad, bad stuff, like (just as an example) sneak attacks on unsuspecting wannabe-friendly countries.

Jewel Voice Broadcast

The radio broadcast in which Emperor Hirohito announced Japan's surrender to the Allies and left his entire country in a state of confusion because barely anyone could understand what he was saying. (Source)

Lend-Lease Act of 1941

The United States' sneaky way of providing cash and supplies to the Allies during World War II without actually having to officially declare its involvement.

London Naval Treaty of 1930

A new and improved version of its 1922 predecessor, this little puppy put the "disarm" in "disarmament" in a continued attempt to thwart a worldwide naval arms race.

Manchukuo

The "independent state" created in place of Manchuria after Japan invaded it and killed off a bunch of its residents; it existed from 1942 until Japan's WWII surrender in 1945.

Manchuria

Officially known as "the Northeast," this amorphous region of mountains, forests, and fertile plains in the China-Mongolia-Russia area was once #1 on Japan's Most Coveted Expansion Areas list.

Meiji Restoration

A Japanese modernization and reform movement that began in 1868 and changed Japan's hobbies from agriculture and feudalism to open elections and economic and military growth.

Mukden Incident

A Japanese lieutenant blows up a railway in Manchuria and blames it on the Chinese, and before anyone could stop, collaborate, or listen, Japan uses it as an excuse to invade the region they'd always wanted as their own anyway.

Nanking Massacre

A brutal rape/murder situation that unfolded in China's capital city when Japanese troops invaded and decided to take some super uncool liberties with Chinese soldiers and civilians alike.

Operation Vengeance

The U.S.'s oh-so-successful mission aimed at killing Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the coordinator of the Pearl Harbor attack, as he flew over the recently re-Allied Solomon Islands.

Pacific Theater

It may sound like a cool name for a concert hall in California, but really, it's the area from China to the Midway Islands and from the bottom of the Soviet Union to the top of Australia that comprises where the Pacific War part of World War II happened.

Pearl Harbor

A gorgeous lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu in Hawaii that's home to a U.S. deep-water naval base, a sunken American battleship, and some of the best weather in the known universe.

Potsdam Declaration

A sternly-worded itemized listing of the terms of Japan's World War II surrender, courtesy of the Allies.

Premeditation

The opposite of doing something on a whim, "premeditation" implies that something was thought out and planned well in advance, and it's usually used to describe bad stuff like murder and surprise coordinated military strikes.

Shogun

A Japanese military dictator whose rule was all the rage until the Meiji Restoration got big and shoguns were deemed seriously uncool.

Tripartite Pact of 1940

Like Destiny's Child without the talent, good looks, or mass appeal, the Axis trio (Germany, Italy, and Japan) made history when they signed this pact and officially went into business together, promising to have each other's backs and protect each other from the evil Allies.

Treachery

A fancy-pants word for betrayal, deception, and other shady behaviors that can quickly turn friends into enemies and allies into bombing targets.

Twenty-One Demands

Guess how many demands Japan presented to China in 1915? China was forced to accept most (but not all) of them since Japan was being all invade-y, but the demands were forcefully rescinded—and China even got the land back that Japan had seized—in 1922.

USS Panay

An American gunboat that was just chilling near Nanking, trying to get some nearby Americans to safety since China and Japan had decided to go to war, when all of a sudden, it was fired upon by Japanese bombers. Japan said it was an accident; some maintain that it was an accident-on-purpose.