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Africa Guides

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Asia Guides

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The history of the Japanese capital is one of turmoil and repeated destruction that began back in the 7th century when modern-day Tokyo was part of a greater region called Musashi. It was during this period that the city’s oldest temple, Sensoji, was built.

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Following the Great Fire of Meiriki, further natural disasters compounded the misery in Edo: first in 1707 when Mount Fuji erupted, spilling ash onto the city, and then again in 1855 when a huge earthquake hit. Natural disaster was followed by political upheaval that spelled the end of the shoguns’ rule in Edo by 1868.

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Just over a decade later, Japan was fully embroiled in war in Asia as WWII broke out. After a daring raid on Pearl Harbour in 1941, Tokyo came under attack for the first time from the US Air Force early the following year. Just over 3 years later Tokyo was burning and almost totally destroyed as the Allies slowly ended the colonial ambitions of the Tokyo government.

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At the beginning of the 1990s the economic boom began to flag as land prices dropped steadily and the economy started to experience deflation. The most notable incident in the �90s, however, was the sarin gas attack instigated by a doomsday cult in the subway system.

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