Empire of Japan

Empire of Japan 大日本帝國 Dai Nippon Teikoku or Dai Nihon Teikoku
1868–1947
Flag Imperial Seal
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]
The Empire of Japan at its peak in 1942:   Japan   Colonies (Korea, Taiwan, Karafuto) / Mandates   Puppet states / Protectorates / Occupied territories
Status	Sovereign state (1868−1945) Military occupation (1945–1947)
Capital	Kyoto (1868–1869)[3] Tokyo City (1869–1943) Tokyo (1943–1947)
Largest city	Tokyo City (1868–1943) Tokyo (1943–1947)
Official languages	Japanese
Recognised regional languages	Hokkien Mandarin Hakka Korean
Religion	De jure: Secular state De facto: State Shinto (state ideology)[b]
Government	Unitary absolute monarchy (1868–1889)[7] under Daijō-kan[7] (1868–1885) Unitary parliamentary semi-constitutional monarchy (1889–1947)[8] under military occupation (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)
• Upper house	House of Peers (1889–1947)
• Lower house	House of Representatives (from 1890)
Historical era	Meiji • Taishō • Shōwa
• Meiji Restoration	3 January 1868[9]
• Meiji Constitution	11 February 1889
• First Sino-Japanese War	25 July 1894
• Russo-Japanese War	8 February 1904
• World War I	23 August 1914
• Mukden Incident	18 September 1931
• Second Sino-Japanese War	7 July 1937
• Founding of the IRAA	12 October 1940
• World War II	7 December 1941
• Surrender of Japan	2 September 1945
• Reconstituted	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	Japanese yen Korean yen Taiwanese yen
Preceded by Succeeded by Tokugawa shogunate Republic of Ezo Occupied Japan Japan
56.0 million lived in the naichi.[12] 73.1 million lived in the naichi.[12]

Part of a series on the
History of Japan
Tokyo Industrial Exhibition, 1907
Periods Paleolithic before 14,000 BC Jōmon 14,000–1000 BC Yayoi 1000 BC – 300 AD Kofun 300–538 AD Asuka 538–710 Nara 710–794 Heian Former Nine Years' War Later Three-Year War Genpei War 794–1185 Kamakura Jōkyū War Mongol invasions Genkō War Kenmu Restoration 1185–1333 Muromachi Nanboku-chō period Sengoku period 1336–1573 Azuchi–Momoyama Nanban trade Imjin War Battle of Sekigahara 1573–1603 Edo (Tokugawa) Tokugawa shogunate Invasion of Ryukyu Siege of Osaka Sakoku Perry Expedition Convention of Kanagawa Bakumatsu Meiji Restoration Boshin War 1603–1868 Meiji Ryūkyū Disposition Invasion of Taiwan (1874) Satsuma Rebellion First Sino-Japanese War Treaty of Shimonoseki Triple Intervention Invasion of Taiwan (1895) Colonization of Taiwan Boxer Rebellion Russo-Japanese War Treaty of Portsmouth Japan–Korea Treaty Colonization of Korea 1868–1912 Taishō World War I Intervention in Siberia Great Kantō earthquake 1912–1926 Shōwa Militarism Financial crisis Nanking incident Mukden Incident Invasion of Manchuria May 15 incident February 26 incident Anti-Comintern Pact Tripartite Pact Second Sino-Japanese War World War II Attack on Pearl Harbor Pacific War Atomic bombings Soviet–Japanese War Surrender of Japan Occupation of Japan Postwar Japan Anpo protests Economic miracle Asset price bubble 1926–1989 Heisei Lost Decades Great Hanshin earthquake Cool Japan Tōhoku earthquake Imperial transition 1989–2019 Reiwa COVID-19 pandemic Abe assassination Noto earthquake 2019–present
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The Empire of Japan,^[c] also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation-state^[d] that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 until the Constitution of Japan took effect on 3 May 1947.^[8] From 1910 to 1945, it included the Japanese archipelago, the Kurils, Karafuto, Korea, and Taiwan. Concessions such as the Kwantung Leased Territory were de jure not parts of the empire but dependent territories. In the closing stages of World War II, with Japan defeated alongside the rest of the Axis powers, the formalized Japanese Instrument of Surrender was issued on 2 September 1945 in compliance with the Potsdam Declaration of the Allies, and the empire's territory subsequently shrunk to cover only the Japanese archipelago resembling modern Japan.

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 the First Sino-Japanese War, the Boxer Rebellion, the Russo-Japanese War, and World War I. Economic and political turmoil in the 1920s, including the Great Depression, led to the rise of militarism, nationalism, statism and authoritarianism, and this ideological shift eventually culminated in Japan joining the Axis alliance with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, and also conquering a large part of the 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, from 1942 onwards, and particularly after decisive Allied advances at Midway Atoll and Guadalcanal, Japan was forced to adopt a defensive stance against the United States. The American-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. By August 1945, plans had been made for an Allied invasion of mainland Japan, but were shelved after Japan surrendered in the face of a major breakthrough by the Western Allies and the Soviet Union, with the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet invasion of Manchuria. The Pacific War officially came to an end on 2 September 1945, leading to the beginning of the Allied occupation of Japan, during which United States military leader Douglas MacArthur administered the country. In 1947, through Allied efforts, a new Japan's constitution was enacted, officially ending the Japanese Empire and forming modern Japan. During this time, the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces were dissolved. It was later replaced by the current Japan Self-Defense Forces in 1954. 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.

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