s and
began to intensively modernize and industrialize. During the late
19th and early 20th centuries, Japan became a regional power that
was able to defeat the forces of both China and Russia. It occupied
Korea, Formosa (Taiwan), and southern Sakhalin Island. In 1931-32
Japan occupied Manchuria, and in 1937 it launched a full-scale
invasion of China. Japan attacked US forces in 1941 - triggering
America's entry into World War II - and soon occupied much of East
and Southeast Asia. After its defeat in World War II, Japan
recovered to become an economic power and a staunch ally of the US.
While the emperor retains his throne as a symbol of national unity,
actual power rests in networks of powerful politicians, bureaucrats,
and business executives. The economy experienced a major slowdown
starting in the 1990s following three decades of unprecedented
growth, but Japan still remains a major economic power, both in Asia
and globally.

Jarvis Island
First discovered by the British in 1821, the
uninhabited island was annexed by the US in 1858, but abandoned in
1879 after tons of guano had been removed. The UK annexed the island
in 1889, but never carried out plans for further exploitation. The
US occupied and reclaimed the island in 1935. Abandoned after World
War II, the island is currently a National Wildlife Refuge
administered by the US Department of the Interior.

Jersey
Jersey and the other Channel Islands represent the last
remnants of the medieval Dukedom of Normandy that held sway in both
France and England. These islands were the only British soil
occupied by German troops in World War II. Jersey is a British crown
dependency, but is not part of the UK. However, the UK Government is
constitutionally responsible for defense and international
representation.

Johnston Atoll
Both the US and the Kingdom of Hawaii annexed
Johnston Atoll in 1858, but it was the US that mined the guano
deposits until the late 1880s. Johnston and Sand Islands were
designated wildlife refuges in 1926. The US Navy took over the atoll
in 1934, and subsequently the US Air Force assumed control in 1948.
The site was used for high-altitude nuclear tests in the 1950s and
1960s, and until late in 2000 the atoll was maintained as a storage
and disposal site for chemical weapons. Munitions destruction is now
complete. Cleanup and closure of the facility was completed b