Empire of Vietnam The Empire of Vietnam ( ; ; ) was a short - lived puppet state of Imperial Japan governing the whole of Vietnam between March 11 and August 23 , 1945 . History . During World War II , after the fall of France and establishment of the French State , 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 . This changed on 9 March 1945 when Japan officially took over . To gain the support of the Vietnamese people , Imperial Japan declared it would return sovereignty to Vietnam . Emperor Bảo Đại declared the Treaty of Huế ( 1884 ) made with France in 1884 void . Trần Trọng Kim , a renowned historian and scholar , was chosen to lead the government as prime minister . Policies . Constitutional issues . 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 prior to the 15th century used 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 ) . Kim also renamed the three regions of the country - the northern ( former Tonkin or Bắc Kỳ ) became Bắc Bộ , the central region ( former Annam or Trung Kỳ ) became Trung Bộ , and the southern areas ( former Cochinchina or Nam Kỳ ) became Nam Bộ . Kim did this even though at the time the Japanese had only given him direct authority over the northern and central regions of Vietnam . When France had finished its conquest of Vietnam in 1885 , only southern Vietnam was made a direct colony under the name of Cochinchina , while the northern and central regions were designated as protectorates as Tonkin and Annam . When the Empire of Vietnam was proclaimed , the Japanese retained direct control of Cochinchina , in the same way as their French predecessors . Thuận Hóa , the pre - colonial name for Huế , was restored . Kim ' s officials also 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 to be 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 not only as symbolic but the end of generations of frustration among Vietnamese intelligentsia and revolutionaries . On 12 June 1945 , Kim selected a new national flag - a yellow , rectangular banner with three horizontal red stripes modeled after the " Li Kwai " in the " Book of Changes " - and a new national anthem , the old hymn " Dang Dan Cung " ( " The King Mounts His Throne " ) . This decision ended a three - month - long period of speculation concerning a new flag for Vietnam . Educational reform . Kim ' s government strongly emphasised educational reform , focusing on the development of technical training , particularly the use of romanised script ( quốc ngữ ) as the primary language of instruction . After less than two months in power , Kim organized the first primary examinations in Vietnamese and intended to use Vietnamese in the advanced tests . Education minister Hoang Xuan Han strove hard to Vietnamise public secondary education . The planned sweeping reforms required more than four months to achieve their full results , but were regarded as having been a major stepping stone which prepared the groundwork for the successor Vietminh government to launch its compulsory mass education program . In July , when the Japanese decided to grant Vietnam full independence and territorial unification , Kim ' s government was on the verge of a new round of reform , beginning with the creation of a national committee responsible for the creation of a new national education system . Judicial reform . The Justice minister Trịnh Dinh Thao 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 . Encouragement of mass political participation . One of the most notable changes implemented by Kim ' s government was the encouragement of mass political participation . In memorial ceremonies , Kim honoured all national heroes , ranging from the legendary national founders , the Hung kings to slain anti - French revolutionaries such as Nguyễn Thái Học , the leader of the Vietnamese Nationalist Party ( Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang ) who was executed with twelve comrades in 1930 in the aftermath of the Yen Bai mutiny . A committee was organised to select a list of national heroes for induction into the Temple of Martyrs ( " Nghia Liet Tu " ) . City streets were renamed . In Huế , Jules Ferry was replaced on the signboards of a main thoroughfare by Lê Lợi , the founder of the Lê Dynasty who expelled the Chinese in 1427 . General Tran Hung Dao , who twice repelled Mongol invasions in the 13th century , replaced Paul Bert . On August 1 , the new mayor of Hanoi , Tran Van Lai , ordered the demolition of French built statues in the city parks in his campaign to " Wipe Out Humiliating Remnants " . Similar campaigns were enacted in southern Vietnam in late August . Meanwhile , the freedom of the press was instituted , resulting in the publication of the pieces of anti - French movements and critical essays on French collaborators . Heavy criticism was even extended to Nguyen Huu Do , the great grandfather of Bảo Đại who was notable in assisting the French conquest of Dai Nam in the 1880s . Kim put particular emphasis on the mobilisation of youth . Youth Minster Phan Anh , attempted to centralise and heavily regulate all youth organizations , which had proliferated immediately after the Japanese coup . On May 25 , an imperial order decreed an inclusive , hierarchical structure for youth organizations . At the apex was the National Youth Council , a consultative body , which advised the minister . Similar councils were to be organised down to the district level . Meanwhile , young people were asked to join the local squads or groups , from provincial to communal levels . They were given physical training and were charged with maintaining security in their communes . Each provincial town had a training centre , where month - long paramilitary courses were on offer . The government also established a national center for the Advanced Front Youth ( " Thanh nien tien tuyen " ) in Huế . It was inaugurated on June 2 , with the intention of being the centrepiece for future officer training . In late July , regional social youth centers were established in Hanoi , Huế , and Saigon . In Hanoi , the General Association of Students and Youth ( " Tong Hoi Sinh vien va Thanh Nien " ) was animated by the fervor of independence . The City University in Hanoi became a focal point of political agitation . By May and June , there was evidence that communist Cadres of the Vietminh front , had infiltrated the university ' s youth and famine relief associations . In the face of the rising Vietminh front , the Japanese attempted to contact its leaders , but their messengers were killed by the Vietminh . The Kempeitai retaliated , arresting hundreds of pro - communist Vietnamese youths in late June . Territorial unification . 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 the coup which terminated 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 return what was then Tonkin and Annam to Kim ' s authority , although it retained control of the cities of Hanoi , Haiphong , and Da Nang . Meanwhile , southern Vietnam remained under direct Japanese control , just as Cochinchina had been under French rule . Beginning in May 1945 , Foreign Minister Tran Van Chuong entered into negotiations with the Japanese in Hanoi for the return of the three cities to Vietnamese rule , but the Japanese stalled because Hanoi and Haiphong were seen as strategic points in their war defense . It was only in June and July that the Japanese allow the process of national unification to take place . On June 16 , Bảo Đại issued a decree proclaiming the impending reunification of Vietnam . On June 29 , General Tsuchihashi signed a series of decrees transferring some of the duties of the government general - including customs , information , youth and sports - to the governments of Vietnam , Laos and Cambodia , effective July 1 . This was followed by Bảo Đại ' s issuing of four imperial orders : establishment of the National Consultative Committee ( Hoi dong Tu van Quoc Gia ) ; a committee of fifteen to work on the creation of a constitution ; a fifteen - member committee to examine administrative reform , legislation , and finance ; and a committee for educational reform . For the first time , leaders from southern regions were invited to join these committees . Other developments in southern Vietnam in early July were seen as preparatory Japanese steps towards granting territorial reunification to Vietnam . In early July , when southern Vietnam was abuzz with the spirit of independence and mass political participation due to the creation of the Vanguard Youth organizations in Saigon and other regional centres , Governor Minoda announced the organisation of the Hoi Nghi Nam ( Council of Nam Bo ) to facilitate his governance . This council was charged with advising the Japanese based on questions submitted to it by the Japanese and for overseeing provincial affairs . Minoda underlined that its primary aim was to make the Vietnamese population believe that they had to closely collaborate with the Japanese , because " if the Japanese lose the war , the independence of Indochina would not become complete . " At its inauguration of the Council of Nam Bo on July 21 , Minoda implicitly referred to the unification of Vietnam . Tran Van An was appointed as the president of the Council , and Kha Vang Can , a leader of the Vanguard Youth , was appointed to be his deputy . On July 13 , Kim arrived in Hanoi to directly conduct negotiations with Governor - General Tsuchihashi . Tsuchihashi assented to return control of Hanoi , Haiphong , and Da Nang to Kim ' s government , taking effect on July 20 . After protracted negotiation , it was also agreed that Nam Bo was to be reintegrated into Vietnam and that Kim would journey to Saigon to attend the reunification ceremonies on August 8 . Decline . 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 Bac Bo , Phan Ke Toai , accompanied by his son and other Vietminh sympathisers and secret communists such as Nguyen Manh Ha and Hoàng Minh Giám submitted his resignation . Nguyen Xuan Chu , a leader of the Vietnamese Patriotic Party ( Viet - Nam Ai Quoc Dang ) and one of the five members of Cường Để ' s National Reconstruction Committee refused the offer of replacing Toai . Returning to Thuận Hóa , Kim arrived to find increasing conflict among his ministers . Chuong 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 . Ho Ta Khanh , the economy minister , went further and demanded the resignation of the government . Khanh proposed that the Vietminh 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 . On August 8 , 1945 , the Soviet Union declared war on Japan and invaded Manchuria . The following day , a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki , and Japan ' s resistance to the Allies was quickly ended . Japan decided to give Kim and Vietnamese nationalists the full independence and territorial unification that they had sought for decades . Kim was urged many times to come to Saigon to officially accept control of Nam Bo . Multiple factors prevented Kim from leaving the capital . From August 8 onward , Pham Khac Hoe , Bảo Đại ' s office director , was instructed by Ton Quang Phiet ( the future chairman of the Vietminh ' s Revolutionary Committee in Huế ) to persuade the Emperor to abdicate voluntarily . In order to carry out his mission , Hoe 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 Quang Ngai in central Vietnam to discourage Kim from traveling to Saigon . The acceptance of the handover of Nam Bo was thus temporarily placed at the feet of the Council of Nam Bo . On August 14 , Bảo Đại appointed Nguyen Van Sam , former president of the Journalists ' Syndicate , to the post of Imperial Commissioner of Nam Bo . Sam left Thuận Hóa for Saigon . However , he was delayed ‘ ’ en route ’ ’ as the Vietminh 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 . Vietminh takeover . In August , Vietnam went through a period regarded as one of its most eventful phases , amidst the backdrop of rapid change in global politics . On the one hand , the Allies began to put into effect their postwar plans for Vietnam , which included the disarmament of Japanese troops and the division of Vietnam into spheres of influence . The Japanese military and civilian personnel in Vietnam were hamstrung by the unconditional surrender of their government and the possibility of Allied retribution . With respect to the Vietnamese , the Japanese were split psychologically and ideologically . Some Japanese favoured the Vietminh , releasing Communist political prisoners , arming the Vietminh front , and even volunteering their services . Others , including senior military officers , wanted to use their forces to support Kim ' s government and to crush the communists . Amid the political confusion and power vacuum engulfing the country , a race to power by diverse Vietnamese political groups took place . On the eve of Japan ' s surrender , Kim and his supporters tried to take control of the situation . On August 12 , Kim ' s outgoing government was retained as " Provisional Government " to oversee the day to day running of the country . Kim asked Bảo Đại to issue an imperial order on August 14 repealing the treaties of 1862 and 1874 , thus removing the last French claims to sovereign rights over Vietnam . Messengers were sent from the central capital to northern and southern Vietnam to reunify diverse groups under the central government in Thuận Hóa , but they were apprehended en route by the Vietminh . Even though Bảo Đại ' s messengers were cut off , non - communist leaders in northern and southern Vietnam attempted to challenge the Vietminh . In Bac Bo , Nguyen Xuan Chu obtained Kim ' s approval to form the Committee for National Salvation , and he was appointed by Kim as chairman of the Political Directorate of Bac Bo . In Nam Bo , on August 17 , it was announced that all non - Vietminh factions , including Trotskyite s and the southern religious sects of Cao Dai and Hoa Hao , had joined forces to create the Mat Tran Quoc Gia Thong Nhut ( National Unified Front ) . Tran Quang Vinh , the Cao Dai leader , and Huynh Phu So , the founder of the Hoa Hao , 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 , Ho Van Nga assumed the interim office of Imperial Commissioner and appointed Kha Vang Can , the Vanguard Youth leader , commander of Saigon and Cholon . Nguyen Van Sam ' s arrival in Saigon on August 22 provided the National Unified Front with the official declaration of national independence and territorial reunification . Nevertheless , the Vietminh prevailed in the power struggle with their August Revolution . On August 17 , Vietminh 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 , Nguyen Xuan Chu 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 Vietminh seized power in Huế . Two days later , Bảo Đại officially abdicated , and Nguyen Van Sam handed over power to the Vietminh in Saigon . The Empire of Viet - Nam had fallen along with Japan ' s Greater East Asia Co - Prosperity Sphere .