A Quiet Anniversary

This week marks the centenary of one of the most significant events in Japan's modern history, but you wouldn't know it walking Tokyo's streets. On May 27-28, 1905, Japan's fledgling navy soundly defeated Russia's Baltic Fleet, sinking 21 ships in two days and ending the bloody Russo-Japanese War. The Battle of Tsushima exploded the idea of European military superiority and established Japan as an Asian world power for the next four decades, until the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasakijust 200 km south of Tsushimaput an end to the Japanese Empire.

Although the anniversary comes amid recent surges...