Was the UK the last nation to claim to be an empire?

Datsmeharse

Technically Japan is still an empire, because it has an emperor. Some believe the European Union is becoming an empire. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire#Empire_from_1945_to_the_present I couldn't find a reference to the government of the UK referring to itself as an "empire", nor do I find evidence that Japan refers to itself thusly. In 1976, the leader of the Central African Republic declared his country an empire and himself emperor; however the cost of the lavish coronation ceremony bankrupted the country, and he was overthrown a few years later. Nov 14 09, 2:56 PM

star_gazer

This site tells of the British empire. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Empire This site indicates that the Japanese empire ended with their surrender in WWII. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_of_Japan Nov 14 09, 3:24 PM

looney_tunes

"Contemporaneously, the concept of Empire is politically valid, yet is not always used in the traditional sense; for example Japan, the world’s sole empire, is an empire because there is a Japanese Emperor." It is a matter of semantics as to how an empire is defined. Some would argue that the United States is in fact an empire (based on its international behavior), others that the form of government is the determining factor (requiring a controlling central rules with an emperor-like title and role within the nation). The USSR was ruled by dictators, but they were not hereditary, so again some argue that it was a "Soviet Empire", others that it may have been imperial, but not an empire. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire Nov 14 09, 3:41 PM

Watchkeeper

No. In 1976 Jean-Bedel Bokassa proclaimed the Central African Republic to be the Central African Empire, with himself as Emperor. This Empire lasted until 1979. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_profiles/1067615.stm Nov 14 09, 3:43 PM