Japan established continental colonies prior to the modern era.
the verdict
REFUTED
the evidence says no
refutedsupported
the weight of evidence
0 sources for · 1 against
AS REPORTEDno primary record reached; this is what the reporting says
Historical references indicate that Japan did not establish permanent continental colonies prior to the modern era, with overseas presences before that period limited to mercantile and expatriate communities rather than formal colonies.
# Did Japan have any continental colonies before modern times?
Tags: japan, colonization, asia, colony
- Score: 13
- Views: 2561
- Answers: 2
- Answered: yes
- Asked by: congusbongus (14567 rep)
- Asked: 2014-09-01
- Edited: 2014-09-01
- Site: history
## Question
Imperial Japan built up an impressive collection of colonies on the Asian mainland due to their uncontested navy and comparatively modern army. Did Japan ever hold any colonies on the mainland before this?
Throughout history, Japan has been a seafaring civilization, and such peoples have sometimes held overseas colonies: ancient Greeks in Asia minor, Vikings in Northern Europe and so on. Are there any records of permanent colonies on continental Asia settled by Japanese in the past?
## Answers
### Answer by Semaphore (score: 16 [ACCEPTED])
Kind of, but not as such. The closest to what you're probably thinking of is the nihonjin-machi that began to form in the Pacific around the same time as Europe's Renaissance. These were primarily mercantile communities, but later also housed significant numbers of samurais, Christians and other exiles from Japan. None of them survived after the early modern era.
The earliest of