Empire of Japan
From Metapedia
The Empire of Japan (officially Empire of Greater Japan or Greater Japanese Empire; also known as Imperial Japan or the Japanese Empire) was a government under the Constitution of the Empire of Japan and Japan and the areas it ruled during the period from the Meiji Restoration to its defeat in World War II. The Emperors during this time, which spanned the Meiji, Taishō and Shōwa eras, are now known by their posthumous names which coincide with those era names: Emperor Meiji (Mutsuhito), Emperor Taishō (Yoshihito) and Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito).
Notable events during this period were the return of power to the Emperor on 9 November 1867, the Abolition of the Han system on July 14, 1871, the country's rapid industrialization and militarization under the slogan Fukoku Kyohei(Enrich the Country, Strengthen the Military), leading to its emergence as a world power eventually culminating with its membership in the Axis alliance and the conquest of a large part of the Asia-Pacific region.
The Empire of Japan surrendered to the Allies on September 2, 1945 after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, following a Pacific War and Second Sino-Japanese War among others against the Allied nations of World War II.
A period of occupation by the Allies followed the surrender and dissolution of the Empire and a new constitution was created with American involvement. American occupation and reconstruction of the country continued well into the 1950s eventually forming the modern current Japan.
