Commonwealth of Nations

Japanese: 英連邦 - えいれんぽう（英語表記）the Commonwealth of Nations

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Commonwealth was a state that controlled an area of 30 million square kilometers, two-fifths of the world's land area, and a population of 400 to 500 million. It is an organization made up of countries that became independent after becoming part of the British Empire. At the time of its creation in 1949, there were only a few countries, but now it consists of 53 countries, and one in three of the world's total population is a citizen of a Commonwealth member state. Although they are diverse in terms of race, tradition, and economic background, they share the English language and cultural heritage, and have similar administrative, educational, judicial, and legal systems. The member states have no legal or constitutional responsibilities. Most of the activities of the Commonwealth are related to the transfer of technology and the sharing of experiences. The headquarters, the Commonwealth Secretariat, is located in London. The head of the Commonwealth is Queen Elizabeth II, but the Commonwealth does not bear any constitutional responsibilities.

(Watanabe Hirotaka, Minister of the Embassy of Japan in France / 2007)

Source : "Chiezo" published by Asahi Shimbun Publications Co., Ltd. About Chiezo

Japanese:

20世紀初め、世界の地上面積の5分の2にあたる3000万平方キロ、人口4〜5億を支配していた大英帝国に所属しており、その後独立した国々によって構成される機構。1949年の創設当時には数カ国だったが、現在は53カ国から構成されており、世界の総人口の3人に1人が英連邦加盟国の国民となる。人種、伝統、経済的背景など多種多様であるが、英語という言語や文化遺産を共有しており、似たような行政、教育、司法、法律のシステムを持っている。加盟国は何ら法的または立憲的な責任は負わない。英連邦としての活動は、その多くが技術供与や経験共有に関するものである。本部にあたる英連邦事務局の所在地はロンドン。英連邦の元首はエリザベス2世女王だが、立憲的な責任を負うものではない。

(渡邊啓貴駐仏日本大使館公使／ 2007年)

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