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Great Empire of Japan
大日本帝国
1868–1943
Flag of Japan Imperial Seal of Japan
Flag Coat of arms
Motto
五箇条の御誓文
"Charter Oath"
(The Oath in Five Articles)
Anthem
Kimigayo
Capital Tokyo
Languages Japanese
Religion None (de jure)

Shintoism (de facto)

Government Daijō-kan (1868–1885)
Constitutional monarchy (1890–1943)
Single-party state (1940–1943)
Emperor
 -  1868 - 1912 Meiji (Mutsuhito)
 -  1912 - 26 Taishō (Yoshihito)
 -  1926 - 43 Shōwa (Hirohito)
Prime Minister
 -  1885 - 88 Itō Hirobumi (first)
 -  1941 - 43 Hideki Tōjō (last)
Legislature Imperial Diet
 -  Upper house House of Peers
 -  Lower house House of Representatives
Historical era Meiji, Taishō, Shōwa
 -  Meiji Restoration January 3rd, 1868
 -  Constitution adopted November 29th, 1890
 -  Russo-Japanese War February 10th, 1904
 -  Pacific War 1941 - 43
 -  Surrender of Japan May 17th, 1943
 -  Tokyo Conference May 20th - June 3rd, 1943
 -  Partition of Japan June 10th, 1943
Currency Japanese yen,
Korean yen,
Taiwanese yen,
Japanese military yen
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Tokugawa family crest Tokugawa Shogunate
Ryukyu Islands flag 1875-1879 cs Ryūkyū Kingdom
Flag of the Republic of Ezo Republic of Ezo
China Qing Dynasty Flag 1889 Qing Dynasty
Flag of Russia Russian Empire
Soviet Civil Authority Flag of the Soviet Union
United States Occupational Authority Flag of the United States
Commonwealth Administration Flag of Australia
Republic of China Flag of the Republic of China
Korea Flag of South Korea
Today part of Flag of the Soviet Union Yaponiya Oblast
Flag of the People's Republic of China China
Flag of South Korea Korea
Flag of the United States Honshu Territory
Flag of Australia Kyushu-Shikoku

The Empire of Japan (大日本帝国/大日本帝國 Dai Nippon Teikoku, literally "Great Japanese Empire") was a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, empire and world power that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868 to the enactment of the 1943 Tokyo Accords, which partitioned the Japanese home islands into 3 occupation zones, on June 10th, 1943.

Imperial Japan's rapid industrialisation and militarization under the slogan Fukoku Kyōhei (富国強兵, "Enrich the Country, Strengthen the Armed forces") led to its emergence as a world power, eventually culminating in its membership in the Axis alliance and the attempted conquest of a large part of the Asia-Pacific region.

Japan managed to annex large portions of China before its fortunes turned in the Philippines Campaign, when American forces decisively forced the Japanese out. Americans, Australians, British, French armies all battled the Japanese up the South-east Asian peninsula and back into China, whereupon the Chinese joined the fight. After liberating China from Japanese rule, the Americans and Australians entered Japan, competing with the Soviet Union to reach Tokyo. The Japanese surrendered to the Americans and Australians on 17th May 1943, but never formally surrendered to the Soviets. Japan was partitioned into three occupation zones administered by the United States, Australia and the Soviet Union.

The Emperors during this time, which spanned the entire Meiji and Taishō, and the lesser part of the Shōwa eras, are now known in Japan by their posthumous names, which coincide with those era names: Emperor Meiji (Mutsuhito), Emperor Taishō (Yoshihito), and Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito).

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