decisive battle in which soldiers and civilians on the Japanese home islands will fight to the death to resist an American invasion. U.S. Marines land on Iwo Jima, beginning five weeks of terrible ...

Operation Downfall, the Allied plan for the invasion of the Japanese home islands is set in motion. Start with Operation Olympic to capture Kyushu, and move on with Coronet, the landing near Tokyo.

The final year of the war would bring bloodshed and hardship to the U.S. soldiers, sailors and Marines who liberated territory closer and closer to Japan's home island, and take a tremendous toll ...

Nara's Horyuji Temple is another World Heritage Site. Its central gate, main hall, and five-story pagoda were built around ...

Thanks to digital mapping technology, Japanese geographers have identified more than 7,000 islands previously unrecognized in the country’s waters. The first such survey in 35 years revealed ...