The first overseas test of the nation 's new military capabilities was the Taiwan Expedition of 1874 , which was in retaliation for the 1871 murder of shipwrecked Ryūkyūan sailors . It was followed by a series of victorious military ventures until World War II . Japan moved against Korea and China ( First Sino-Japanese War ) , and Russia ( Russo-Japanese War ) to secure the raw materials and strategic territories it believed necessary for the development and protection of the homeland . Territorial gains were achieved in Korea , the southern half of Sakhalin ( " Karafuto " in Japanese ) , and Manchuria . As an ally of Britain in World War I , Japan assumed control over Germany 's possessions in Asia in the Treaty of Versailles , notably in China 's Shandong Province , and the German-controlled Mariana , Caroline , and Marshall islands in the Pacific Ocean
1871 murder of shipwrecked Ryūkyūan sailors
Mudan incident
Japanese military modernization of 1868–1931