The Japanese Empire



Name
Origin
Capital
From
To
Duration
Notes
Manchukuo
Manchuria
Hsinking
1932
1945
13
Created as a Puppet state of the Japanese Empire, with Emperor Puyi (the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty) installed as nominal regent and emperor.
Japanese Empire
Japan
Tokyo
1868
1947
79
Emperor's government took control of the country in 1868. Regional hegemony in East Asia ended in 1945. The new constitution of 1947 formally abolished the empire.



The Empire of Japan (大日本帝國) was an empire and world power that existed from the Meiji Restoration on Jan. 3, 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of Japan on May 3, 1947.

The Empire of Japan attained several large-scale military successes during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937 - 1945) and the Pacific War (1941 - 1945). However, after suffering many defeats and with the United States' atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Empire of Japan surrendered to the Allies on Sept. 2, 1945.

A period of occupation by the Allies followed the surrender, and a new constitution was created with American involvement. The constitution came into force on May 3, 1947, officially dissolving the Empire.

American occupation and reconstruction of the country continued to well into the 1950s, eventually forming the current nation-state whose title is simply "the nation of Japan" (Nippon-koku) or just "Japan".