The Japanese Antarctic Expedition of 1910–12, in the ship Kainan Maru, was the first such expedition by a non-European nation. It was concurrent with two major Antarctic endeavours led respectively by Roald Amundsen and Robert Falcon Scott, and has been relatively overlooked in polar history. After failing to land in its first season, the Japanese expedition's original aim of reaching the South Pole was replaced by less ambitious objectives, and after a more successful second season it returned safely to Japan, without injury or loss of life.
The brainchild of an army reserve lieutenant, Nobu Shirase, the expedition was privately funded. It left Japan in November 1910, and after its first season's failure was forced to spend the winter of 1911 in Australia. In its second Antarctic season, 1911–12, it made no major scientific or geographical discoveries, but could claim some significant achievements. These included the first landing on the coast of King Edward VII Land, the fastest recorded sledging journey, and the most easterly point along the Antarctic coast, to that date, reached by a ship. It also became only the fourth team to travel beyond the 80°S mark.
On their return, Shirase and his team were greeted as heroes, but interest swiftly died, and Shirase was burdened with expedition debts that took years to clear. Outside Japan, the expedition was generally dismissed, or ignored altogether. Only many years after Shirase's death in obscurity, in 1946, did the Japanese begin to honour him and his achievements. The availability since 2011 of an English translation of Shirase's account has revealed the story of the expedition to a wider audience. The first Japanese expedition is further commemorated in the names of several geographical features in Antarctica.