Japan, which in the 19th century took on board western notions of the sovereign state, absorbed Ryukyu (now Okinawa) and went on forcibly to incorporate much of Asia into its short-lived empire.

19世纪，日本接受了西方的主权国家概念，占领了琉球国(现在的冲绳)，后来又凭借武力将亚洲许多地区并入其短命的帝国之中。

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Demand for porcelain made expressly for foreigners spread as far afield as the Netherlands, Germany, Persia, the Ottoman empire, Japan and the young United States.

特意为外国人制作的瓷器需求远及荷兰、德国、波斯、奥斯曼帝国、日本以及年轻的美国。

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China that had rich resources and importance of strategy was a poor and weak empire, and the western powers invaded chiefly China in East Asia, so their pressure on Japan had lessened.

由于中国作为一个资源丰富的贫弱帝国以及在战略地位上的重要性，对西方列强而言，它们对东亚侵略的矛头主要是针对中国，因而对日本的压力就相对减弱了。

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"Mr.Vice President, Mr.Speaker,members of the Senate, and of the House of Representatives: "Yesterday,December seventh,nineteen forty-one -- a date which will live in infamy -- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

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In World War II, victory came when the Empire of Japan surrendered on the deck of the USS Missouri.

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Toyota has 11% of our market, 34, 000 employees in the U.S. (the heart of the empire is still in Japan) and a grand total of 65 U.S. ex-workers on retirement.

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But there is, without question, some real value in this man's empire and it belies the notion that Japan's economy is stagnant and hostile to entrepreneurs.

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