Germany–Japan relations Germany–Japan relations The relations between Germany and Japan (, ) were officially established in 1861 with the first ambassadorial visit to Japan from Prussia (which predated the formation of the German Empire in 1866/1870). Japan modernized rapidly after the Meiji Restoration of 1867, often using German models through intense intellectual and cultural exchange. After 1900 Japan aligned itself with Britain, and Germany and Japan were enemies in World War I. Japan declared war on the German Empire in 1914 and seized key German possessions in China and the Pacific. In the 1930s, both countries adopted aggressive militaristic attitudes toward their
German occupation of Belgium during World War II of the country's pre-war GDP had been destroyed or removed to Germany. German occupation of Belgium during World War II The German occupation of Belgium (, ) during World War II began on 28 May 1940 when the Belgian army surrendered to German forces and lasted until Belgium's liberation by the Western Allies between September 1944 and February 1945. It was the second time that Germany had occupied Belgium in under thirty years. After the success of the invasion, a military administration was established in Belgium, bringing the territory under the direct rule of the . Thousands of Belgian soldiers