八紘一宇 (Hakkō Ichiu) (Japanese) ("All Eight Corners of the World") | |||||
| Anthem | "君が代 (Kimigayo)" | ||||
| Capital (and largest city) |
Tokyo 
| ||||
| Other cities | Hiroshima, Osaka, Taihoku | ||||
| Language official |
Japanese | ||||
| others | Chinese (in Taiwan), Ainu (in Hokkaido), Okinawan (in the Ryukyu Islands), several local languages (in the South Sea Islands) | ||||
| Religion | Shintoism, Buddhism | ||||
| Demonym | Japanese | ||||
| Government | Unitary Constitutional Monarchy | ||||
| Emperor | HIM Hirohito | ||||
| Prime Minister | Fumimaro Konoe | ||||
| Established | 11 February 660 BCE | ||||
| Currency | Yen | ||||
| Organizations | Great East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere | ||||
The Empire of Japan (Japanese: 大日本帝國 Dai Nippon Teikoku), informally known as Japan (Japanese: 日本 Nippon), is an island country in Eastern Asia. It consists of a group of archipelagos, counting in total more than 7,000 islands: the most populated islands are located in the central archipelago, or Japan proper, which includes the main islands of (from north to south) Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu. Japan is the oldest continuously existing nation in the world, being established as an empire in the 7th century BCE, and with a single imperial dynasty on the throne for all of its history.
Japan's importance on the world stage began after a series of reforms and renovations which took place in the country during the 19th century, following the end of a long period of self-imposed isolation from the rest of the world: the country underwent a massive and fast process of industrialization and modernization, becoming the first non-European nation to militarily defeat a European superpower in the Russo-Japanese War, fought against Russia in the early years of the 20th century. Later, Japan entered the second stage of the Great War on the German side, and fought with Great Britain for superiority over eastern Asia.
Today, Japan is considered the hegemonic power of the Asian continent, and is the de facto head of the Great East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere, an international organization reuniting numerous Asian countries. It is also the nation with the largest navy in the world, since the British Navy was cut down to size after the Great War. Japan is also well known for its rich culture and history, which is rivaled by few other nations in Asia, and produced a large number of writers, artists, scientists and other men of importance. Japan's economy is the largest and most developed in all Asia, and the country is one of the three non-European members of the Concert of Europe.
Recent History[]
The 19th century profoundly changed the face of Japan: after the European powers (mainly France and Great Britain, the two empires most involved in eastern Asia, but also Germany to a lesser degree) forced the country to open up its markets to the world, Japan underwent a period of lightning-fast industrialization and modernization, which was also marked by widespread civil unrest as members of the samurai feudal class were eliminated (often physically) if they opposed the changes. As the country is relatively poor of natural resources, at the same time Japan needed to look outwards to find the necessary means to fuel its industrial explosion.
A quick colonialistic campaign, aimed at expanding Japan's borders, led to a resounding victory against Russia in the Russo-Japanese War, and in the annexation of southern Karafuto, the Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan and finally Korea, but it was not enough. The South Sea Islands were bought from Spain and Germany at the beginning of the Great War, as Japan remained neutral: it finally entered the second phase of the war directly attacking Great Britain and China in 1937, setting up the state of Manchuria and placing Yuan Keding on the throne of the recreated Chinese empire, while also annexing northern Karafuto from Russia. During the war, Japan became one of the founding members of the Great East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere, an intergovernmental organization which would expand to include ten Asian states; it also led the creation and set up of Mongolia and Tibet, which would later join the GEACPS. Today Japan has confirmed its position as the hegemonic power on the Asian continent.
Government and Politics[]
Constitution and Laws[]
Japan is a unitary constitutional monarchy: the head of state is the emperor, who has quite large powers and embodies the executive branch: he appoints the prime minister (内閣総理大臣 Naikaku-sōri-daijin) and his cabinet, who actually enforce laws and decrees. Since he is surrounded by a large number of advisors and representatives of major political parties, the emperor's power is actually largely ceremonial. The legislative branch is embodied by the Imperial Diet (Japanese: 帝国議会 Teikoku-gikai), a bicameral parliament made up of a upper house, the House of Peers (Japanese: 貴族院 Kizoku-in), whose members are chosen by imperial decree, and a lower house, the House of Representatives (Japanese: 衆議院 Shūgi-in), whose members are elected by the population.
Japan is subdivided into a large number of prefectures (Japanese: 都道府県 todōfuken), which form its first level administrative divisions: usually, they are grouped into 12 regions (Japanese: 地方 chihō), which form greater administrative units. Korea is a formally separate state, but shares its head of state with Japan and is largely governed by the Japanese administration, sometimes being referred to as the "13th region" of Japan itself.
Subdivisions[]
Japan is subdivided into numerous prefectures, which are grouped together into 12 regions:
