Hakkō ichiu

Hakkō ichiu
Japanese name
Kanji八紘一宇
Kanaはっこういちう
Transcriptions
Revised HepburnHakkō ichiu
Hakkō iu
Japanese name
Kanaはっこういう
Kyūjitai八紘爲宇
Shinjitai八紘為宇
Transcriptions
Revised HepburnHakkō iu

Hakkō ichiu (八紘一宇, "eight crown cords, one roof", i.e. "all the world under one roof") or hakkō iu (Shinjitai: 八紘為宇, 八紘爲宇) was a Japanese political slogan meaning the divine right of the Empire of Japan to "unify the eight corners of the world." The slogan formed the basis of the empire's ideology. It was prominent from the Second Sino-Japanese War to World War II and was popularized in a speech by Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe on January 8, 1940.