In 1947 , during the post-war Shōwa period , Japan adopted a new constitution emphasizing liberal democratic practices . The Allied occupation ended with the Treaty of San Francisco in 1952 and Japan was granted membership in the United Nations in 1956 . Japan later achieved rapid growth to become the second-largest economy in the world , until surpassed by China in 2010 . This ended in the mid-1990s when Japan suffered a major recession . In the beginning of the 21st century , positive growth has signaled a gradual economic recovery . On March 11 , 2011 , Japan suffered one of the largest earthquakes in its recorded history ; this triggered the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster , one of the worst disasters in the history of nuclear power . On May 1 , 2019 , after the historic abdication of Emperor Akihito on April 30 and the first since 1817 , his son Naruhito became the new Emperor . In addition to the new Emperor , Japan changed its Imperial Era from Heisei to Reiwa
largest earthquakes in its recorded history
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
Japan