Year in Japan

1945 in Japanese History

4 recorded entries for this year. It falls in the Shōwa period (昭和時代, 1926 – 1989).

Era name: Shōwa era 昭和 (year 20 of the era)

What happened 出来事

Jan 13 1945 Mikawa earthquake 三河地震 · Earthquake — earthquake offshore near Aichi prefecture, Japan
Sep 2 Japanese Instrument of Surrender 日本の降伏文書 · Peace treaty — 1945 agreement ending hostilities in WWII
Battle of Okinawa 沖縄戦 · Battle — 1945 major battle of the Pacific War
Battle of Iwo Jima 硫黄島の戦い · Battle — 1945 major battle in which US Forces captured the island of Iwo Jima from Japan during World War II

Reading the year 1945 in Japanese

Japanese sources from this period date events by era name, not by the Western calendar. 1945 corresponds to Shōwa era 昭和 (year 20 of the era). Years are written with 年 (ねん, nen) — so 1600 appears as 慶長5年, "the fifth year of Keichō".

The year itself is read 1945年 (1945ねん) in modern Japanese. Browse the full timeline to see where this year sits in the wider arc, or the 20th century for its neighbours.