Empire of Vietnam

Short lived puppet state of Imperial Japan, c. 1945

The Empire of Vietnam (; Literary Chinese and Contemporary Japanese: 越南帝國; Modern Japanese: ベトナム帝国) was a short lived puppet state of Imperial Japan governing the former French protectorates of Annam and Tonkin between March 11 and August 25, 1945. At the end of its rule, the empire also successfully reclaimed Cochinchina as part of Vietnam.

During World War II, after the fall of France and establishment of Vichy France, the French had lost practical control in French Indochina to the Japanese, but Japan stayed in the background while giving the Vichy French administrators nominal control. Following the Liberation of France, Japan openly took over on 9 March 1945. To gain the support of the Vietnamese people, Imperial Japan declared that it would return sovereignty to Vietnam. On 11 March 1945, Emperor Bảo Đại was permitted to announce the Vietnamese "independence", this declaration had been prepared by Seiko Yokoyama, Minister for Economic Affairs of the Japanese diplomatic mission in Indochina and later advisor to Bả⁹⁹o Đại.

Kim and his ministers spent a substantial amount of time on constitutional matters at their first meeting in Huế on 4 May 1945. One of their first resolutions was to alter the national name to Việt Nam. This was seen as a significant and urgent task. It implied territorial unity; "Việt Nam" had been Emperor Gia Long's choice for the name of the country since he unified the modern territory of Việt Nam in 1802. Furthermore, this was the first time that Vietnamese nationalists in the northern, central and southern regions of the country officially recognized this name. In March, activists in the North always mentioned Đại Việt (Great Việt), the name used before the 15th century by the Lê dynasty and its predecessors, while those in the South used Vietnam, and the central leaders used An Nam (Peaceful South) or Đại Nam (Great South, which was used by the Nguyễn Lords, precursor of Nguyễn dynasty). Thuận Hóa, the pre colonial name for Huế, was restored. Kim's officials worked to find a French substitute for the word "Annamite", which was used to denote Vietnamese people and their characteristics as described in French literature and official use. "Annamite" was considered derogatory, and it was replaced with "Vietnamien" (Vietnamese). Apart from Thuận Hóa, these terms have been internationally accepted since Kim ordered the changes. Given that the French colonial authorities emphatically distinguished the three regions of "Tonkin", "Annam", and "Cochinchina" as separate entities, implying a lack of national culture or political integration, Kim's first acts were seen as symbolic and the end of generations of frustration among Vietnamese intelligentsia and revolutionaries.

The Justice minister Trịnh Đình Thảo launched an attempt at judicial reform. In May 1945, he created the Committee for the Reform and Unification of Laws in Huế, which he headed. His ministry reevaluated the sentences of political prisoners, releasing a number of anti French activists and restoring the civil rights of others. This led to the release of a number of Communist cadres who returned to their former cells, and actively participated in the destruction of Kim's government.

The most notable achievement of Kim's Empire of Vietnam was the successful negotiation with Japan for the territorial unification of the nation. The French had subdivided Vietnam into three separate regions: Cochinchina (in 1862), and Annam and Tonkin (both in 1884). Cochinchina was placed under direct rule while the latter two were officially designated as protectorates. Immediately after terminating French rule, the Japanese authorities were not enthusiastic about the territorial unification of Vietnam. However, after the formation of Kim's cabinet in April, Japan quickly agreed to transfer what was then Tonkin and Annam to Kim's authority, although it retained control of the cities of Hanoi, Hải Phòng, and Đà Nẵng. Meanwhile, southern Vietnam remained under direct Japanese control, just as Cochinchina had been under French rule. On July 13, Kim arrived in Hanoi to negotiate directly with Governor General Tsuchihashi. Tsuchihashi agreed to transfer control of Hanoi, Hải Phòng, and Đà Nẵng to Kim's government, taking effect on July 20. After protracted negotiation, Tsuchihashi agreed that the south (Cochinchina) would be united with the Empire of Vietnam and that Kim would attend the unification ceremonies on August 8 in Saigon.

After the creation of the puppet Empire of Vietnam, the Japanese began raising an army to help police the local population. The Vietnamese Imperial Army was officially established by the IJA 38th Army to maintain order in the new country. The Vietnamese Imperial Army was under the control of Japanese lieutenant general Yuitsu Tsuchihashi, who served as adviser to the Empire of Vietnam.

Kim's historic achievement was immediately overshadowed by external pressure and domestic infighting. On July 26, the leaders of the Allies issued a declaration demanding the unconditional surrender of Japan. Japan was on the defensive and quickly losing ground, and its aim was no longer to win the war, but simply to find an honorable ceasefire. On the Vietnamese front, the possibility of future punishment by the Allied forces for collaboration with the Japanese discouraged many possible supporters of Kim. His ministers and public servant corps began to dwindle in number. The Imperial Commissioner of the North (Tonkin), Phan Kế Toại, accompanied by his son and other Viet Minh sympathisers and secret communists such as Nguyễn Mạnh Hà and Hoàng Minh Giám, submitted his resignation. Nguyễn Xuân Chữ, a leader of the Vietnamese Patriotic Party (Viet Nam Ái quốc Đảng) and one of the five members of Cường Để's National Reconstruction Committee, refused the offer of replacing Toại. Returning to Thuận Hóa, Kim arrived to find increasing conflict among his ministers. Chương wanted credit for arranging the integration of the three ceded cities and southern Vietnam to Kim's government and was regarded as having Prime Ministerial designs himself. The government meetings of August 5 and 6 were headlined by personal disputes and the resignation of the ministers of interior, economy, and supplies. Hồ Tá Khanh, the economic minister, went further and demanded the resignation of the government. Khanh proposed that the Viet Minh be given a chance to govern because of its strength. The government resigned on August 7. Bảo Đại asked Kim to form a new government, but the end of the war made this impossible. In order to carry out his mission, Hòe persistently disrupted Kim's activities, particularly by citing Kim's failure to call the most influential figures to Thuận Hóa to form a new government. Meanwhile, Interior Minister Nam, cited the communist uprisings in Thanh Hóa and Quảng Ngãi in central Vietnam to discourage Kim from traveling to Saigon. The acceptance of the handover of the South (Cochinchina) was thus temporarily placed at the feet of the Council of the South. On August 14, Bảo Đại appointed Nguyễn Văn Sâm, former president of the Journalists' Syndicate, to the post of Imperial Commissioner of the South. Sâm left Thuận Hóa for Saigon. However, he was delayed en route as the Viet Minh had taken advantage of the military power vacuum caused by the Japanese surrender to launch a general insurrection with the aim of seizing control of the country. Trần Quang Vinh, the Cao Đài leader, and Huỳnh Phú Sổ, the founder of the Hòa Hảo, also issued a communique proclaiming an alliance. On August 19 in Saigon, the Vanguard Youth organised their second official oath taking ceremony, vowing to defend Vietnamese independence at all costs. The next day, Hồ Vân Nga assumed the interim office of Imperial Commissioner and appointed Kha Vạn Cân, the Vanguard Youth leader, commander of Saigon and Chợ Lớn. Nguyễn Văn Sâm's arrival in Saigon on August 22 provided the National Unified Front with the official declaration of national independence and territorial reunification. Nevertheless, the Viet Minh prevailed in the power struggle with their August Revolution. On August 17, Viet Minh cadres in Hanoi took control of a mass demonstration organised by the General Association of Civil Servants. The rally was originally aimed at celebrating independence and territorial reunification and supporting Kim's government. Two days later, Nguyễn Xuân Chữ was forced to hand over authority to the Viet Minh. Combined with the official cease fire of the Japanese army on August 21, this threw Kim's government into disarray and it collapsed. On August 23, the Viet Minh seized power in Huế. Two days later, Bảo Đại officially abdicated, and Nguyễn Văn Sâm handed over power to the Viet Minh in Saigon. The Empire of Vietnam had fallen along with Japan's Greater East Asia Co Prosperity Sphere.