Japan started overseas fightings in 1900-1905. It defeated the Russian Baltic fleet in the Battle of Tsushima in the East China Sea in 1905. Russian fleet was the strongest in the then world. A few hundred Russian ships were destroyed by the Japanese Navy. Japan occupied Korea, Taiwan, Manchuria and many Pacific islands long before the starting of WWll. It fought against the then big powers like France, Holland, England, USA and China in the 2nd WW. It was in the SE and Pacific. Finally, they lost all the occupied and colonial territories.
All these wars were dictated by the rightist military people and were imposed on the common people. It caused millions of deaths in the SE and far east of Asia, but, it also caused the loss of more than 2,350,000 Japanese in the WWll alone. Japanese people do not want any pretext by the govt to initiate an warlike situation around the country any more, though the present govt is continually revising the Clauses in the Constitution that can be used to make not only a defensive, but also an offensive war.