Russo-Japanese War to Modern Day
In 1904 the Japanese attacked the Russian fleet and this action began the Russo-Japanese War. This would be one of the first modern military encounters Japan would have. Over the course of the next year, Japan won battles against Russia at a high cost, but eventually Russia was defeated because all of its navy was destroyed. This military victory for Japan was a very large step into the global picture for them. Western countries such as England and the United States now saw Japan as an equal. Over the next century Japan would even be at war with countries that were once much superior to Japan. The same country that once had the United States force into a trade agreement would grow to become the equal of the greatest Western powers.