Japanese Formosa

Japanese Taiwan
臺灣日治時期 Dai-Nippon Teikoku Taiwan 大日本帝國臺灣
Colony of Japan
1895–1945
Flag of the Empire of Japan Coat of arms
1901 map of Formosa (Taiwan)
Capital		Taihoku
Languages		Taiwanese Hokkien Chinese, Japanese, Hakka Chinese, Formosan languages
Government		Empire of Japan
Governor-General
•	1895–96	Kabayama Sukenori (first)
•	1944–45	Rikichi Andō (last)
Historical era		Empire of Japan
•	Treaty of Shimonoseki	April 17, 1895
•	Surrender of Japan	August 15, 1945
•	Hand over to Republic of China	October 25, 1945
•	Japanese relinquishment of Taiwan	April 28, 1952
Currency		Taiwanese yen
Preceded by Succeeded by Taiwan under Qing rule Republic of China Taiwan Province
Today part of		Republic of China (Taiwan Province)  ∟ Taiwan  ∟ Penghu

Taiwan under Japanese rule is the period between 1895 and 1945 in which the island of Taiwan (including the Penghu Islands) was a dependency of the Empire of Japan, after Qing China lost the First Sino-Japanese War to Japan and ceded Taiwan Province in the Treaty of Shimonoseki. The short-lived Republic of Formosa resistance movement ended to no avail when it was suppressed by Japanese troops. The fall of Tainan ended organized resistance to Japanese occupation, and inaugurated five decades of Japanese rule.

The annexation of Taiwan into the Japanese Empire can be viewed as Japan's first steps in implementing their "Southern Expansion Doctrine" of the late 19th century. Taiwan was Japan's first overseas colony. Japanese intentions were to turn the island into a showpiece "model colony". As a result, much effort was made to improve the island's economy, industry and public works, and to change its culture. These efforts also served to support the necessities of the war machine of Japanese military aggression in the Asia-Pacific.

After the defeat and surrender of Japan at the end of World War II, Taiwan was placed under the control of the Republic of China (ROC) with the signing of the Instrument of Surrender as a part of ceremonies throughout the Asia-Pacific theater. Japan formally renounced rights to Taiwan in April 1952. The experience of Japanese rule, ROC rule and the February 28 massacre of 1947 continues to affect issues such as Taiwan Retrocession Day, national identity, ethnic identity, and the formal Taiwan independence movement.