Motto | ||||||||||||
| Anthem | "Kimigayo" | |||||||||||
| Capital | Tokyo | |||||||||||
| Largest city | Tokyo | |||||||||||
| Language | Japanese | |||||||||||
| Religion | Shintoism | |||||||||||
| Ethnic Group | Japanese | |||||||||||
| Government | Single-Party State
Military Dictatorship | |||||||||||
The Empire of Japan was an empire and world power that existed from the Meji Restoration to its defeat in World War II.
Since its opening by the British Navy, Japan underwent rapid modernization and industrialization and became a world power, cementing itself with victories over Spain and Russia. In the 1930s Japan was nearing its height of being a militaristic and imperialist nation, showcased by its large-scale invasion of China. This alarmed European powers who were worried about their Pacific colonies, resulting in an embargo of Japan. Needing resources to continue their war, Japan elected to join the Axis Powers and invade Europe's colonies. At its height Japan possessed one of the large maritime empires in history.
Japan's initial attack failed, and the London Pact, led in the Pacific by Britain, Canada, and Alyeska, liberated their colonies during the Pacific Theater of World War II. The London Pact eventually encircled Japan, but Japan refused to surrender, resulting in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan surrendered shortly after, and was occupied by foreign powers for the only time in its history. A new constitution was written in 1947, and on 1952 Japan received its sovereignty as the State of Japan.
