Mainland Japan - Historical Usage

Historical Usage

In the Japanese Empire of the pre-war period, naichi referred to the mainland of the empire. The other territories of the empire was called gaichi (外地, lit. "outer lands").

1 of the Common Law (共通法) enumerates the territories with legal jursidictions, namely,

  • Naichi (Mainland Japan),
  • Chōsen (Korea),
  • Taiwan,
  • Kwantung Province, and
  • Nan'yō Islands.

In other words, Naichi consisted of the following:

  • South Sakhalin
  • Kuril Islands
  • Hokkaidō
  • Honshū
  • Shikoku
  • Kyūshū
  • Izu Islands
  • Ogasawara Islands
  • Okinawa
  • Minor outlying islands around them

Although it has never been abolished, the Common Law lost effect from enforcement after Japan lost all the former colonies, or gaichi as a result of World War II.

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