Empire of japan

The term Great Empire of Japan (大日本帝国, Dai-Nippon/-Nihon Teikoku^?) (also, Empire of Japan) commonly refers to Japan since the Meiji Restoration in 1868, although it was not official until 1895, when the Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese wars began, until the end of World War II, in 1945, and the new Constitution of Japan, of 1947.

The rapid industrialization and militarization of Imperial Japan led to its emergence as a world power and the establishment of a colonial empire. In 1938, before the conflict, the empire reached 1,984,000 km², but at the height of its power, in 1942, the Empire of Japan ruled over an area that covered 7.4 million square kilometers, making it one of the largest. great maritime empires in history. A situation that contrasts with the current area of the country of about 377,975 km².

Scheme

Politically, it covers the ancient period from the Order of the Restoration (Meiji Restoration) on January 3, 1868, through Japan's expansion into the Pacific and Indian Oceans, to the formal surrender on September 2, 1945, when the Instrument of Surrender was signed. During this period of 77 years it was ruled by the Emperor of Japan (Tennō), who followed an imperialist policy. Constitutionally, it refers to the period from November 29, 1890 to May 3, 1947.

The country was renamed the Empire of Japan, as the anti-Tokugawa, Satsuma, and Chōshū clans formed the basis of its new government, after the Meiji Restoration, with their intention of leaving it as an empire.

Although "the Empire of Greater Japan" is the literal translation of the title in Japanese, according to the Constitution of the Empire of Japan (大日本帝国憲法; Dai-Nippon/-Nihon Teikoku Kenpō), the names "Empire of Japan" and "Imperial Japan" are commonly known and used, referring to the same entity.

In Japan, abbreviated as the "Empire" (帝国; teikoku) was used frequently. The names "Nippon" (日本; Japan), "Dai-Nippon" (大日本; Greater Japan), "Dai-Nippon/-Nihon Koku" (大日本国; Nation of Greater Japan), "Nihon Teikoku" (日本帝国; Empire of Japan) were all used and it was not until 1936 that the proper country title was standardized.

On February 13, 1946, a year after the end of the war, Japan restructured itself as part of its defeat, and the country's name was changed to “State of Japan” (日本 国; Nihon Koku) in the State Constitution of Japan.

History

Emperor Mutsuhito was the symbolic leader of the Meiji Restoration (1867-1912).

The Meiji Restoration established practical skills and consolidated the political system under the emperor of Japan, which was previously in the hands of the Tokugawa shogunate. The goals of the restored government were expressed by the new emperor in the Oath Letter. The Restoration led to enormous changes in the political and social structure of Japan, and spanned both the late Edo period (often called the late Tokugawa shogunate) and the beginning of the Meiji era. The period spanned from 1868 to 1912 and was responsible for Japan's emergence as a modernized nation in the early 20th century.

In the early years of the constitutional monarchy, established in 1890, the state was structured on the Prussian model, retaining the authority of the emperor but empowering the imperial Diet and other bodies. It was at this time that military expansionism and wars with China and Russia began.

With the Great Depression, Japan, like other countries, became what has been described as a fascist system. Although this unique system of government was very similar to fascism, probably due to cultural differences, there were also many differences between the two systems and that is why the ideology itself has been called Japanese nationalism. Unlike Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, however, Japan had two economic goals in developing an empire in Asia.

First, like its European counterparts, a tightly controlled domestic military industry is born. Secondly, due to the lack of resources on the islands of Japan, in order to maintain a strong and rapidly growing industrial sector, raw materials such as iron, oil and coal had to be imported to a large extent despite the fact that the country had a small part of these. Much of this material came from the United States. Thus, due to the scheme of industrial military development and industrial growth, the prevailing mercantilist theories, made the colonies essential. These were necessary to compete with the European powers. Korea (1910) and Formosa (Taiwan, 1895) were annexed very early as agricultural colonies. In addition, Manchurian iron and coal, Indochina rubber, and China's vast resources were prime targets for Japanese industry.

With little trouble, Japan invades and conquers all of Manchuria (referred to as Manchukuo) in 1931. Japan ostensibly justifies this to liberate the Manchus from the Chinese, just like the annexation of Korea, which was supposedly an act of protection. As in Korea, a puppet government (Manchukuo) is founded. Jehol, the Chinese territory that borders Manchuria, was controlled in 1933. A puppet emperor was later appointed for the state and mostly controlled by the Japanese imperial state is the last emperor to come to power of the Chinese Empire, Emperor Pu yi.

Japan invades China in 1937, creating what was essentially a three-pronged war between Japan, Mao Zedong's communists, and Chiang Kai-shek's nationalists. Japan seizes control of many of China's coastlines and port cities, but prudently avoided European colonies and their spheres of influence. In 1936, before the invasion of China, Japan signed an anti-communist treaty with Germany and another with Italy in 1937.

By that time, the military had taken de facto control of the country, even eliminating political parties in 1940

Japanese expansionism

First Sino-Japanese War

Major battles and movements of troops in the first but-Japanese war.

Admiral and Marquis Tōgō Heihachirō, commander during the first but-Japanese war.

Prior to its involvement in World War I, the Empire of Japan fought two major wars after its establishment during the Meiji Restoration. The first was the First Sino-Japanese War, fought between 1894 and 1895. The war revolved around the question of control and influence over Korea under the empire of the Chosŏn Dynasty. A peasant rebellion had led to a request by the Korean government of China to send troops to stabilize the region. The Empire of Japan responded by sending its troops into Korea to establish a puppet government in Seoul. China objected and ensuing war ensued, resulting in a brief adventure with Japanese troops defeating Chinese forces on the Liaodong Peninsula, and the near destruction of the Chinese navy in the Battle of the Yalu River. China was forced to sign the Treaty of Shimonoseki, in which it ceded part of Manchuria and the Island of Formosa to Japan. After this war, dominance in the region passed from China to Japan.

Russian-Japanese War

The Russo-Japanese War (Русско-японская война in Russian, 日露戦争, Nichirosensō in Japanese) (February 8, 1904 – September 5, 1905) was a conflict arising from the rival imperialist ambitions of Imperial Russia and Japan in Manchuria and Korea. The main arenas of the conflict were the area around the Liaodong Peninsula and Mukden, the Sea of Japan, and the Yellow Sea.

The Russians were looking for a warm-water port on the Pacific Ocean for use by their Navy and for maritime trade. The port of Vladivostok could only work during the summer, but Port Arthur (China) would be able to keep running all year.

After the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895), the Treaty of Shimonoseki granted Japan the island of Taiwan, as well as protectorate over Korea and the Liaodong Peninsula. Subsequently Japan was forced to hand over Port Arthur to Russia. In 1903, negotiations between Russia and Japan turned out to be futile, so Japan decided to go to war to maintain its exclusive rule of Korea.

The resulting campaigns, in which the Imperial Japanese Army managed to win several consistent victories over their Russian opponents, were unexpected by many around the world, as it was the first time that a non-Caucasian people had met and won. to a European imperialist power. These victories would drastically transform the balance of power in East Asia, resulting in the consolidation of Japan as a major country on the world stage. The embarrassing defeats generated Russian dissatisfaction with their corrupt and inefficient Tsarist rule, and were a major cause of the 1917 Russian Revolution.

Treaty of Portsmouth

The Russian command in the Far East, made up of Admiral Yevgeni Alekseyev and General Aleksei Kuropatkin, was incompetent and its troops insufficient. Reinforcements arrived from European Russia on the single-track Trans-Siberian railway, very slow and interrupted at the height of Lake Baikal. These and other reasons, such as Japan's surprise attack, meant that the war resulted in a stunning Japanese victory, making it a world power to reckon with.

Russia is forced to negotiate. The result: the humiliation of a Western nation. An armistice was concluded between the two governments: although the Russians are greatly weakened by the 1905 Revolution, Japanese finances are totally depleted and the Japanese Empire no longer has the means to completely destroy the bulk of the Russian troops in the Far East. A peace conference is organized in Portsmouth (USA) on September 5, 1905, thanks to the mediation of US President Theodore Roosevelt. The clauses contain the following stipulations: Russia must recognize the preeminence of Japan's interests in Korea; he ceded to the victor his lease on the Liaodong Peninsula, his Port Arthur base, the Manchurian Southern Railway, and the southern half of Sakhalin Island. Both countries, by mutual agreement, agree to restore Manchuria to China. Despite Japan's insistence, no compensation is provided.

World War I

Battle of Tsingtao.

Japan entered World War I in 1914, taking advantage of Germany's war in Europe and wanting to expand its sphere of influence in China. Japan declared war on Germany on August 23, 1914 and quickly occupied Germany's territories: occupied Shandong Province in China and the Mariana Islands, Caroline Islands, Marshall Islands, and the Belau/Palau/Palau Islands and the remaining from the former Spanish Micronesia that passed sovereignty to Germany and later to the United States of America in the Pacific, which are part of German New Guinea. Siege of Tsingtao, a quick invasion of the German colony of Jiaozhou (Kiautschou) paid off and the colonial German troops surrendered on November 7, 1914.

Alongside Japan were the Western allies, particularly the United Kingdom, heavily involved in the war in Europe, which requested more territory to consolidate its position in China in January 1915. In addition to expanding its control over the holdings from Germany, Manchuria and Inner Mongolia, Japan also requested joint ownership of a major mining and metallurgical complex in central China, prohibiting China from any ceding or leasing of coastal areas to a third power. Japan's demands on various political, economic, and military issues were intended to reduce China to a simple Japanese protectorate. In view of the slow pace of negotiations with the Chinese government, widespread anti-Japanese sentiment at home, and international condemnation, Japan withdrew the last set of demands, and the treaties were signed in May 1915.

Manchuria

Great Manchuria, Russian Manchuria (or outside) is the region of the top right coloured in pink; next to this is the peninsula of Liaodong, extending inside the Yellow Sea.

Japan in 1930

With little resistance, Japan invaded and conquered the entire Manchurian peninsula in 1931. Japan claimed this invasion was a liberation of the Manchus from Chinese rule, even though the majority of the population consisted of Han Chinese. Japan then established a puppet regime called Manchukuo installed and the former Emperor of China Puyi as the chief state official. Jehol, a Chinese territory bordering Manchuria, was also taken in 1933. This puppet regime was devised to carry out a pacification propaganda campaign against the anti-Japanese Volunteer armies in Manchuria. In 1936, Japan created a Mongolian puppet state in Inner Mongolia, Mengjiang (Chinese: 蒙疆), which was again predominantly Chinese.

Second Sino-Japanese War

The Second Sino-Japanese War saw tensions rise between Imperial Japan and the United States; events such as the USS Panay Incident and the Nanking Massacre biased American public opinion against Japan. With the occupation of French Indochina in the years 1940-1941 and the continuation of the war in China, the United States embargoed Japan from strategic materials, such as scrap metal and oil, that were badly needed for its war effort. The Japanese are faced with the choice of either withdrawing from China, thus losing their influence and further suffering international humiliation, or capturing and obtaining new sources of raw materials in the resource-rich colonies of Southeast Asia controlled by the European powers., specifically British Malaya and the Dutch East Indies.

Tripartite Pact

On September 27, 1940, the Japanese Empire (represented by Saburo Kuruzu) signed the Tripartite Pact with Nazi Germany (represented by Adolf Hitler) and the Kingdom of Italy (represented by Galeazzo Ciano), their goals being &# 34;establish and maintain a new order of things" in their respective world regions and spheres of influence, with Nazi Germany in Europe, Imperial Japan in Asia, and the Kingdom of Italy in North Africa. The signatories to this alliance are known as the Axis Powers. The pact also calls for mutual assistance if either power is attacked by a country not yet involved in the war, with the exception of the Soviet Union, and for technology and economic cooperation between the signatories.

On December 31, 1940, Yosuke Matsuoka told a group of Jewish businessmen that he was "the man responsible for the alliance with Adolf Hitler, but I have nowhere promised that he would carry out his anti-Semitic policies in the japan. "This is not just my personal opinion, it is the opinion of Japan, and I have no qualms about announcing it to the world."

World War II

The start of World War II, in September 1939, gave Japan a new opportunity to expand into Southeast Asia, after having reached various diplomatic agreements. In September 1940, Japan established a tripartite alliance with Germany and Italy, the so-called Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis, which ensured mutual and total aid for a period of ten years. However, Japan considered that the pact signed in 1939 between Germany and the USSR had released the Empire from any obligations incurred in the anti-communist alliance of 1936. Therefore, in April 1941, Japan signed a neutrality pact with the USSR, which guaranteed the protection of the north of Dongbei-Pingyuan.

At the same time, Japan attempted to obtain economic and political settlements in the Dutch East Indies while also occupying French Indochina. These actions led to the US oil embargo and increased hostility between the two countries, quite strong since the Japanese invasion of China in 1937. In October 1941, General Hideki Tōjō, leader of the Tōseiha military faction, He became the Japanese Prime Minister and Minister of War, which did not favor the normalization of relations.

On December 7, 1941 (Sunday), without warning and while negotiations were still taking place between American and Japanese diplomats, waves of Japanese planes bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, the main American naval base in the Pacific (see Attack on Pearl Harbor); soon after, simultaneous attacks were launched against the Philippines, the island of Guam, Wake Island and Midway Islands, Hong Kong, British Malaya, and Thailand. On December 8 (Monday), the United States declared war on Japan after President Franklin D. Roosevelt's declaration in the senate, as did the rest of the allied powers, except the USSR.

Soryū carriers.

One year after the success of these surprise attacks, Japan continued the offensive in Southeast Asia and the islands of the South Pacific. The Empire designated East Asia and its environs as the 'Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere' and put into effect the propaganda slogan 'Asia for Asians'. Furthermore, nationalist elements in most East Asian countries gave tacit, and in some cases real, support to the Japanese, because they saw an apparent path to liberation from Western imperialism.

In December 1941, Japan invaded Thailand, forcing the government to sign an alliance treaty. Japanese troops occupied Burma, British Malaya, Borneo, Hong Kong, and the Dutch East Indies. In May 1942, the Philippines fell into Japanese hands. Turning towards Australia and New Zealand, Japanese forces landed in New Guinea, New England (now part of Papua New Guinea), and the Solomon Islands. A Japanese task force also invaded and occupied Attu, Agattu, and Kiska in the Aleutian Islands off the Alaskan coast of North America (cf. Battle of the Aleutian Islands). In the end, the war turned into a naval struggle for control of the vast expanses of the Pacific Ocean.

Japanese colonies and territories (1875-1952)

Here is a list of all Japanese territories and colonies from 1875 to 1952, the year the Treaty of San Francisco was signed that formally ended the state of war between Japan and the Allied Powers. In blue are the puppet states that Japan established in subject territories and defended by Japanese forces.

The dates correspond to the total or partial control of the territory, not the beginning of the military campaign, and the final date corresponds to the surrender of the Japanese forces.

Territory	Home	Prior sovereignty	Fin	Outcome	Current State
Annexed to the national territory (1875-1905)
Kurile Islands	07-05-1875	Russia (Treaty of St. Petersburg)	28-04-1952	San Francisco Treaty becomes part of the Soviet Union.	Russia
Bonin Islands	1875	None, annexation of the islands	-	It's still Japanese territory.	Japan
Okinawa	11-03-1879	Kingdom of Ryūkyū (Annexion of the Kingdom)	-
Islands of the Volcanoes	1891	None, annexation of the islands	-
Minami Torishima	24-07-1898	None, annexation of the islands	-	Turns to the United States in 1952. Back to Japan in 1968
Karafuto	05-09-1905	Russia (Treaty of Portsmouth)	28-04-1952	The San Francisco Treaty is intergrating in the Soviet Union.	Russia
Pre-World War Colonies (1895-1914)
Taiwan	17-04-1895	Qing Dynasty (Treaty of Shimonoseki)	25-10-1945	Japanese troop surrender on the island.	Republic of China
Kwantung	05-09-1905	Russia (Treaty of Portsmouth)	14-08-1945	Japanese troop surrender	China
Korea	29-08-1910	Korea (Japan-Corea annexation deal).	02-09-1945	Allied occupation (Soviet Union and United States)	North Korea South Korea
First World War and Between Wars (1914-1939)
German Concession of Kiau Chau	07-11-1914	Germany (military occupation)	06-02-1922	Treaty of the Nine Powers	China
South Pacific Mandate	28-06-1919	Germany (Treaty of Versailles)	18-07-1947	Pacific Islands Trust Territory	Federated States of Micronesia Palaes Marshall Islands Northern Mariana Islands
East Siberia	09-01-1918	/Russia (military occupation)	24-06-1922	Evacuation of troops by pressure from the United States.	Russia
Northern Sakhalin			15-05-1925	Soviet-Japanese Basic Convention
Manchukuo	18-02-1932	Republic of China (military invasion)	20-08-1945	Soviet invasion of Manchukuo.	China
Second but-Japanese war and Second World War (1937-1945)
Occupied Chinese Territory	07-07-1937	Republic of China (military invasion)	02-09-1945	Allied victory over Japanese forces.	China
	Eastern Hebei Autonomous Council (1935-1938)
	Provisional Government of the Republic of China (1937-1940)
	Reformed Government of the Republic of China (1938-1940)
	Nationalist Government of Nanking (1940-1945)
	Mengjiang (1939-1945)
French Indochina (Tonkín)	22-09-1940	France (military invasion)	02-09-1945	August Revolution. Independence of Vietnam	Vietnam
French Indochina (Cochinchina)	29-07-1941		18-09-1945	Allied victory over Japanese forces.
French Indochina (Annam, Laos and Cambodia)	15-05-1945				Vietnam
	Empire of Vietnam (1945)
	Laos (1945)
	Cambodia (1945)
Gilbert and Ellice Islands	10-12-1941	United Kingdom (military invasion)	23-11-1943	Allied victory over Japanese forces.	Kiribati
Guam	10-12-1941	United States (military invasion)	10-08-1944		United States
Wake Island	23-12-1941	United States (military invasion)	04-09-1945		United States
Hong Kong	25-12-1941	United Kingdom (military invasion)	30-08-1945		Hong Kong
British Malaysia	15-01-1942	United Kingdom (military invasion)	06-09-1945		Malaysia
Solomon Islands	23-01-1942	United Kingdom (military invasion)	21-08-1945		Solomon Islands
Netherlands East India	15-02-1942	Netherlands (military invasion)	21-10-1945		Indonesia
Colonia de Singapore	15-02-1942	United Kingdom (military invasion)	12-09-1945		Singapore
Andaman Islands and Nicobar	23-03-1942	United Kingdom (military invasion)	07-10-1945		India
British Born	29-03-1942	United Kingdom (military invasion)	09-09-1945		Malaysia Brunéi
Philippines	08-05-1942	United States (military invasion)	02-09-1945		Philippines
	Second Philippine Republic (1943-1945)
British Burma	20-05-1942	United Kingdom (military invasion)	23-04-1945	Allied victory over Japanese forces.	Burma
	State of Burma (1943-1945)
Kiska and Attu Islands	06-06-1942	United States (military invasion)	28-07-1943	Evacuation of Japanese troops	United States
Territory of New Guinea	23-07-1942	Australia (military invasion)	08-1945	Allied victory over Japanese forces.	Papua New Guinea
Papua Territory	21-07-1942	Australia (military invasion)	08-1945
Nauru	26-08-1942	United Kingdom (military invasion)	13-09-1945		Nauru
Portuguese	10-02-1943	Portugal (military invasion)	05-09-1945		East Timor

Economy

The economy of the Empire of Japan began with the politics of a wealthy state and strong military. Through this policy, the European-style economy was imported and adapted to Japan. Railways and telephones in Japan began during the imperial period. The modernization process was closely watched and heavily subsidized by the Meiji Government, enhancing the power of the large zaibatsu. Japan gradually took control of much of the Asian market for manufactured goods, starting with textiles. The economic structure became very mercantilist, importing raw materials and exporting finished products.

From 1894, Japan built a sprawling empire that included Taiwan, Korea, Manchuria, and parts of northern China. The Japanese viewed this sphere of influence as a political and economic necessity, which prevented foreign states from strangling Japan by blocking its access to raw materials and crucial shipping routes. Japan's great military strength was seen as essential to the empire's defense and prosperity by gaining natural resources that the Japanese islands lacked. A strongly interventionist state in the economy began to be created.

The economic indicator was the number of warship ownership, which extended to foreign affairs as well.

In the rural area, silk milling and mining were the main industry.

Culture

The culture of the Empire of Japan was characterized by differences between urban and rural areas: pseudo-Europeanism in urban areas and paper culture in rural areas.

In other words, the culture of the Empire of Japan corresponded to the transition of the Tokugawa dynasty and the State of Japan.

Pseudo-Europeanism

• Red brick buildings
• Public gas lighting

Cultural Expressions

• Kamishibai
• Menko

From the beginning of the Restoration, Shintoism became the ideological agent catalyzing political reforms, which aimed at the reestablishment of the Japanese Empire, making reference to the direct descent of the Tennō from the legendary Emperor Jinmu, mythical founder of Japan. State Shinto was the denomination of the ideology promoted by the Government of Japan from the beginning of the Meiji era until its defeat in World War II, and which was initially based on the sustained practice of Shinto, with the fusion of the rites performed in the Imperial Court and rites performed at shrines, and which became the state religion of the Empire of Japan.

Politics

A strong cult of the emperor had developed thanks to the Shinto religion, which greatly influenced the political, cultural and private life of citizens. Anything that went against "Shinto and national morality" was generally punished.

In 1928 there was a violent repression against communists and socialists, excluding them from power and handing over education and other state services to the hands of the most nationalist sectors. It was the beginning of authoritarianism in Japan.

Education

Education in the Japanese Empire was a high-priority issue for the government, when the leadership of the young Meiji government realized the need for universal public education in pursuit of a modern, westernized Japan. Foreign missions, such as the Iwakura Mission, were a measure to study the educational systems of the leading Western countries.

The education of the Japanese Empire was also installed in tennoism (cult of the divinity of the emperor). The Ministry of Education of the Japanese Empire issued the Imperial Edict of Education (1890) and the Kokutai Principle (1937), which praised giving one's life for the Tennō (emperor). Textbooks were monopolized by the Ministry of Education, especially Japanese history textbooks were written under the myth of Jimmu (The Divine Warrior), all people were esteemed for the loyalty shown to Tennō (historical source of Tennoism)., the periodization depended on the life or death of Tennō, emperor (gengō or eras). As a whole in elementary schools, schoolchildren were forced to greet pictures of Tennō (jp: 御真影 goshin'ei).

Flag

Flag of the Empire of Japan.

Flag of the Japanese Imperial Navy.

During the Japanese Empire two flags were used, both based on the symbol of the sun. The official flag was called the "Red Sun" and was promulgated in 1870. The other flag was called the "Rising Sun" and was the flag of the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was a sign of the expansion of the empire; although specific to the Navy this flag was considered more relevant to militarism.

Despite the fall of the Empire of Japan in 1945, the official flag of the former empire "red sun" it is still used in today's "State of Japan".

There is currently controversy over the use of the "Rising Sun" and the Kimigayo Imperial Hymn. Those who are in favor of its use argue that the Japanese Empire (until 1945) and the current State of Japan (after 1945) are a continuity of the same state. Detractors argue that they are different states and therefore the flag and the official song of the old empire should be abolished. However Japanese historians argue that Japan was never two different states.