Empire of Japan
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1868–1947 | |||||||||||||
Motto: (1868–1912) 五箇条の御誓文 Gokajō no Goseimon "The Oath in Five Articles" | |||||||||||||
Anthem: (1869–1945) 君が代 Kimigayo "His Imperial Majesty's Reign" [1][2][a] | |||||||||||||
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Status | Sovereign state (1868−1945) Military occupation (1945–1947) | ||||||||||||
Capital |
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Largest city |
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Official languages | Japanese | ||||||||||||
Recognised regional languages | |||||||||||||
Religion | |||||||||||||
Government | Unitary absolute monarchy (1868–1889)[7] Unitary parliamentary semi-constitutional monarchy (1945–1947) | ||||||||||||
Emperor | |||||||||||||
• 1868–1912 | Meiji | ||||||||||||
• 1912–1926 | Taishō | ||||||||||||
• 1926–1947 | Shōwa | ||||||||||||
Prime Minister | |||||||||||||
• 1885–1888 (first) | Itō Hirobumi | ||||||||||||
• 1946–1947 (last) | Shigeru Yoshida | ||||||||||||
Legislature | None (rule by decree) (1868–1871) House of Peers (1871–1889) Imperial Diet (since 1889) | ||||||||||||
House of Peers (1889–1947) | |||||||||||||
House of Representatives (from 1890) | |||||||||||||
Historical era | Meiji • Taishō • Shōwa | ||||||||||||
3 January 1868[9] | |||||||||||||
11 February 1889 | |||||||||||||
25 July 1894 | |||||||||||||
8 February 1904 | |||||||||||||
23 August 1914 | |||||||||||||
18 September 1931 | |||||||||||||
7 July 1937 | |||||||||||||
12 October 1940 | |||||||||||||
27 September 1940 | |||||||||||||
2 September 1945 | |||||||||||||
3 May 1947[8] | |||||||||||||
Area | |||||||||||||
1938[10] | 1,984,000 km2 (766,000 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
1942[11] | 7,400,000 km2 (2,900,000 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
Population | |||||||||||||
• 1920 | 77,700,000[12]a | ||||||||||||
• 1940 | 105,200,000[12]b | ||||||||||||
Currency | |||||||||||||
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The Empire of Japan,[c] also referred to as the Japanese Empire, Imperial Japan, or simply Japan, was a Japanese nation-state[d] and empire that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the reformed Constitution of Japan in 1947.[8] From 29 August 1910 to 2 September 1945, the Empire of Japan included present-day Japan, South Sakhalin, Korea, Taiwan, and Kuril. The empire also used to rule colonies such as South Seas as well as Kwantung, Kiautschou Bay, Mantetsu, and other concessions; they were not its parts legally. During its existence, the empire established puppet countries and occupied territories; however, they were not its parts or colonies. In the closing stages of World War II, with Japan defeated alongside the rest of the Axis, on 2 September 1945 the formalized Japanese Instrument of Surrender was issued in compliance with the Potsdam Declaration of the victorious Allies; and Japanese territory was immediately much reduced when lost Taiwan, Korea, South Sakhlin, and Karafuto as it is today.
Under the slogans of fukoku kyōhei[e] and shokusan kōgyō,[f] which followed the Boshin War and the restoration of power to the Emperor from the Shogun, Japan underwent a period of large-scale industrialization and militarization, often regarded as the fastest modernization of any country to date. All of these aspects contributed to Japan's emergence as a great power following their victory in the First Sino-Japanese War. Their position was further strengthened following their victories in the Boxer Rebellion, the Russo-Japanese War, and World War I. The fact that the Japanese Racial Equality Proposal was rejected by the winners of World War I plus economic, diplomatic, and political turmoil in the 1920s and 1930s, including the Great Depression, led to the rise of fascism here and this ideological shift eventually culminated in Japan joining the fascist Axis alliance with two other main powers such as Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy in 1940. This led to the Japanese army invading China and conquering a large part of the Asia-Pacific as Japan wanted to expel Western influence and found a Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere including different countries under Tokyo's de facto colonial rule in Asia-Pacific.[15] During this period, the Japanese army committed many atrocities, including the Nanjing Massacre. However, there has been a debate over defining the political system of Japan as a dictatorship.[16]
The Imperial Japanese Armed Forces initially achieved large-scale military successes during the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific War. However, after decisive Allied advance at the Guadalcanal campaign on 9 February 1943, Japan was forced to adopt a defensive stance against the Allies. The United States-led island-hopping campaign led to the eventual loss of many of Japan's Oceanian island possessions in the following three years. Eventually, the American military captured Iwo Jima and Okinawa Island, leaving the Japanese mainland unprotected and without a significant naval defense force. Meanwhile, a large part of the Japanese army was bogged down in China and some of their occupied areas in Southeast Asia were recaptured by the Allies. By August 1945, plans had been made for an Allied invasion of mainland Japan, but were shelved after Japan unofficially surrendered to the Allies on 15 August 1945 because of the Soviet invasion of Manchuria on 9 August 1945. Japanese air force and navy already suffered serious losses by Western Allies before and the Japan realized that a large and the most elite part of the Japanese land army would be destroyed in Manchuria by the Soviet army while Japan had to fight on both fronts against the Soviet Union and the Western Allies invading Japan and the diplomatic option through Moscow collapsed, the surrender was inevitable. The Pacific War officially came to an end on 2 September 1945, leading to the beginning of the Allied occupation of Japan (2/9/1945-28/4/1952) via the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, during which American military leaders Douglas MacArthur and later Matthew Ridgway administered the country. During the occupation, the Allies strongly did democratization in the country. In 1947, through Allied efforts, a new Japanese constitution took effect, officially ending the Japanese Empire and forming present-day Japan. In November 1945, the Japanese army was dissolved; Japan did not have its own army until a new army was formed on 1 July 1954 and the army has existed until now. Reconstruction under the Allied occupation continued until 1952, consolidating the modern Japanese constitutional monarchy.
In total, the Empire of Japan had three emperors: Meiji, Taishō, and Shōwa. The Imperial era came to an end partway through Shōwa's reign, and he remained emperor until 1989.
In 1942, at the moment of its greatest extension, the empire encompassed territories spanning over 7,400,000 square kilometers.
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