The history of Japan, as detailed in "History of Japan" on English Wikipedia

The history of Japan, as detailed in "History of Japan" on Wikipedia, spans from prehistoric times to classical history. The earliest known habitation in the Japanese archipelago dates back to around 30,000 BC with the Old Stone Age culture, followed by a semi-sedentary hunter-gatherer culture of the Middle to Neolithic Age around 14,500 BC, marked by pit dwellings and rudimentary agriculture, known as the Jōmon period. This era's pottery is among the oldest surviving in the world. Around 700 BC, Yayoi people, speakers of a proto-Japanese language, began migrating from the Korean Peninsula, blending with the Jōmon people. The Yayoi period introduced practices like wet-rice farming, new pottery styles, and metallurgy from China and Korea. According to legend, Emperor Jimmu, a descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu, established a kingdom in central Japan around 660 BC, marking the beginning of an unbroken line of imperial succession. For a chronological guide, refer to "Timeline of Japanese history.