The Empire of Japan (Ky?jitai: ?????; Shinjitai: ?????; pronounced Dai Nippon Teikoku; literally Great Imperial Japan or Great Imperial Japanese Nation, officially Great Japan, Empire of Greater Japan or Great Japanese Empire; more widely known as Imperial Japan or the Japanese Empire) was a Japanese political entity that existed during the period from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until its defeat in World War II in 1945.

The country's rapid industrialization and militarization under the slogan Fukoku Ky?hei (?????, "Enrich the Country, Strengthen the Army"), led 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.

After several large scale military successes during the first half of the Pacific War, the Empire of Japan also gained enormous notoriety for its war crimes against the conquered inhabitants of people within their Empire. After suffering numerous defeats and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Empire of Japan surrendered to the Allies on September 2, 1945. 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 current modern Japan.

The Emperors during this time, which spanned the Meiji, Taish? and Sh?wa eras, are now known in Japan by their posthumous names which coincide with those era names: Emperor Meiji (Mutsuhito), Emperor Taish? (Yoshihito), and Emperor Sh?wa (Hirohito).

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