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
Aftermath of World War I the exception of Czechoslovakia, they reverted to some form of authoritarian rule. Many quarreled amongst themselves but were too weak to compete effectively. Later, when Germany rearmed, the nation states of south-central Europe were unable to resist its attacks, and fell under German domination to a much greater extent than had ever existed in Austria-Hungary. At the end of the war, the Allies occupied Constantinople (İstanbul) and the Ottoman government collapsed. The Treaty of Sèvres, a plan designed by the Allies to dismember the remaining Ottoman territories, was signed on 10 August 1920, although it was never ratified by the