Terminology
Although the empire is commonly referred to as "the Japanese Empire" or "Imperial Japan" in English, the literal translation from Kanji is Great Japanese Empire (Dai Nippon Teikoku), meaning in terms of geography: Japan and its surrounding areas. The nomenclature Empire of Japan had existed since the feudal anti-shogunate domains, Satsuma and Ch?sh?, which founded their new government during the Meiji Restoration, with the intention of forming a modern state to resist western domination.

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