Hakkō ichiu

Hakkō ichiu is a phrase that means "Eight Crowned Continents, United as One." A continent is a really big piece of land with many different countries on it.

A long time ago, some people in Japan believed that their country was very special and that all other countries in the world should be united as one big family with Japan as the leader. This idea is called hakkō ichiu.

But, we don't think that way anymore because we now understand that all countries are important and that each one has its own unique culture and ways of doing things. We should respect and appreciate each other's differences instead of trying to make everyone the same.