World War II did not involve Japan.
World War II . The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway , near Hawaii , and Germany was defeated in North Africa and then , decisively , at Stalingrad in the Soviet Union . During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma , while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy and captured key Western Pacific islands .