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 military administration in occupied France during World War II Vichy France. While the Vichy government was nominally in charge of all of France, the military administration in the occupied zone was a ' Nazi dictatorship. Its rule was extended to the free zone when it was invaded by Germany and Italy during ' on 11 November 1942 in response to Operation Torch, the Allied landings in French North Africa on 8 November 1942. The Vichy government remained in existence, even though its authority was now severely curtailed. The military administration in France ended with the Liberation of France after the Normandy and Provence landings. It formally existed from May