Polity · 1868 CE – 1945 CE
Empire of Japan
大日本帝国 · 大日本帝国
- Peak recorded area
- 7,045,320 km²
- 1943 CE
- Rulers on record
- 3
- from 1867 CE
- Data series
- 115
- 1868 CE–1945 CE
Overview
The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the period of Japanese history spanning 81 years, starting from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From August 1910 to September 1945, it included the Japanese archipelago, the Kurils, Karafuto, Korea, and Taiwan.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
26 dated territorial extents on record from Cliopatria. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated. CShapes 2.0 holds 1 further extent, measured on a different basis and deliberately not merged into this series.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before 1945 CE, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 64 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Population131 obs · 1 CE–1945 CE | 76.2Mpersons1945 CE · Maddison Project Database 2023 |
| Urban Population86 obs · 1860 CE–1945 CE | 22Mpersons1945 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Life Expectancy16 obs · 1865 CE–1945 CE | 30.54years1945 CE · Clio-Infra |
| City Pop Tokyo15 obs · 1700 CE–1925 CE | 5.3Mpersons1925 CE · Chandler/Modelski Historical Urban Population |
| City Pop Hiroshima13 obs · 1677 CE–1900 CE | 118Kpersons1900 CE · Chandler/Modelski Historical Urban Population |
| City Pop Nagoya13 obs · 1694 CE–1925 CE | 768Kpersons1925 CE · Chandler/Modelski Historical Urban Population |
Economy
6 of 15 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita PPP1216 obs · 730 CE–1945 CE | 1,765int'l $ (inflation adj.)1945 CE · Gapminder |
| Real Wage103 obs · 1820 CE–1945 CE | 4.26index (1500=1)1945 CE · Clio-Infra |
| GDP per capita80 obs · 1700 CE–1945 CE | 1,3461990 int. GK$1945 CE · Clio-Infra |
| Total Exports76 obs · 1870 CE–1945 CE | 0million USD (current)1945 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Total Imports76 obs · 1870 CE–1945 CE | 0million USD (current)1945 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Trade Balance76 obs · 1870 CE–1945 CE | 0million USD (current)1945 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
Military
6 of 9 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| CINC Score86 obs · 1860 CE–1945 CE | 0.0529CINC (share of world capability)1945 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption86 obs · 1860 CE–1945 CE | 34.3Mcoal-ton equivalents1945 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production86 obs · 1860 CE–1945 CE | 2.1Mtons1945 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Personnel86 obs · 1860 CE–1945 CE | 6.1Mpersons1945 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Expenditure GBP46 obs · 1868 CE–1913 CE | 19.2Mcurrent GBP1913 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Expenditure32 obs · 1914 CE–1945 CE | 4Bcurrent USD1945 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
Territory & resources
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Coal Production46 obs · 1900 CE–1945 CE | 233.68TWh1945 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Gas Production46 obs · 1900 CE–1945 CE | 0.421TWh1945 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Oil Production46 obs · 1900 CE–1945 CE | 2.57TWh1945 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
Governance
6 of 8 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index157 obs · 1789 CE–1945 CE | 0.183index (0-1)1945 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index157 obs · 1789 CE–1945 CE | 0.201index (0-1)1945 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index157 obs · 1789 CE–1945 CE | 0.068index (0-1)1945 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index157 obs · 1789 CE–1945 CE | 0.851index (0-1)1945 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Polity2145 obs · 1800 CE–1944 CE | 1index (-10 to 10)1944 CE · Clio-Infra |
| Regime Type46 obs · 1900 CE–1945 CE | 1RoW index (0-3)1945 CE · V-Dem v15 |
Development
6 of 16 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Freedom Of Expression Index157 obs · 1789 CE–1945 CE | 0.12index (0-1)1945 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Tech Radios101 obs · 1815 CE–1939 CE | 4,953count1939 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Railway Line Km93 obs · 1853 CE–1945 CE | 19Kkm1945 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Merchant Shipping Tonnage76 obs · 1870 CE–1945 CE | 1,285gross tons1945 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Telegraph76 obs · 1869 CE–1945 CE | 45.31count1945 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Railway Passenger Km74 obs · 1854 CE–1945 CE | 130.9Kpassenger-km1945 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
Rulers
3 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Emperor MeijiEmperor of Japan1867 CE – 1912 CE
- Emperor TaishōEmperor of Japan1912 CE – 1926 CE
- HirohitoEmperor of Japan1926 CE – 1989 CE
Language & currency
- Official & national languages
- Japanese
- Currency
- yen (JPY)
Memberships
- Korea–Japan Defense Pact (1894)Military alliance · member1894 CE – 1895 CE
- United Kingdom–Japan Defense Pact (1902)Military alliance · member1902 CE – 1921 CE
- United States of America–Japan Entente (1908)Historical alliance · member1908 CE – 1910 CE
- Russia–Japan Entente (1910)Historical alliance · member1910 CE – 1916 CE
- Russia–Japan Defense Pact (1916)Military alliance · member1916 CE – 1917 CE
- 4-member Entente (1921)Historical alliance · member1921 CE – 1931 CE
- 5-member Non-Aggression Pact (1936)Historical alliance · member1936 CE – 1939 CE
- 6-member Defense Pact (1940)Military alliance · member1940 CE – 1941 CE
- Japan–Thailand Non-Aggression Pact (1940)Historical alliance · member1940 CE – 1941 CE
- Axis PowersHistorical alliance · founding member1940 CE – 1945 CE
- Russia–Japan Non-Aggression Pact (1941)Historical alliance · member1941 CE – 1945 CE
- Japan–Thailand Defense Pact (1941)Military alliance · member1941 CE – 1945 CE
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
Chandler/Modelski Historical Urban PopulationChandler 1987 / Modelski 2003
Chandler, T. (1987). Four Thousand Years of Urban Growth; Modelski, G. (2003). World Cities: -3000 to 2000.
Compiled from published works (Chandler 1987; Modelski 2003)
CHAT (Comin-Hobijn)2009 (FinalCHAT_72909)
Comin, D. & Hobijn, B. (2009). The CHAT Dataset. NBER Working Paper 15319.
NBER research data, freely downloadable
Clio-Infra2017 datasets
Clio-Infra project (2017). Reconstructions of global inequality and well-being. International Institute of Social History.
Academic use, attribution
Seshat Global History Databank. Cliopatria: a historical basemap of polity borders (cliopatria.geojson).
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
Barbieri, K. & Keshk, O. (2016). Correlates of War Project Trade Data Set, v4.0.
Free academic use, citation
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
Maddison Project Database 20232023
Bolt, J. & van Zanden, J.L. (2024). Maddison Project Database 2023. University of Groningen GGDC.
CC BY 4.0
Our World in Data (2024). Energy dataset. Based on Energy Institute & Ember.
CC BY 4.0
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Empire of Japan is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.