Manchukuo was a puppet state set up by the Empire of Japan in Manchuria which existed from 1931 to 1945. The Manchukuo regime was established four months after the Japanese withdrawal from Shanghai with Puyi as the nominal but powerless head of state to add some semblance of legitimacy, as he was a former emperor and an ethnic Manchu. Government Manchukuo was proclaimed a monarchy on 1 March 1934, with former Qing dynasty emperor Puyi assuming the Manchukuo throne under the reign name of Emperor Kang-de. An imperial rescript issued the same day, promulgated the organic law of the new state, establishing a Privy Council, a Legislative Council and the General Affairs State Council to "advise and assist the emperor in the discharge of his duties". The Privy Council was an appointive body consisting of Puyi's closest friends and confidants, and the Legislative Council was largely an honorary body without authority. The State Council was therefore the center of political power in Manchukuo. The organic law was largely an abridged version of the Imperial Japanese Constitution, with an important difference being the lack of any mention of civil rights and the increased authority of the Privy Council. As with all other aspects of Manchukuo, the government was purely ceremonial and existed to authenticate the puppet state rather than to rule the people of Manchukuo. True authority remained in the hands of the Kwantung Army. Composition Political parties and movements During his administration, the Kangde Emperor, in an interview with foreign journalists, mentioned his interest in forming a political party with Confucian doctrines. The Japanese "native" establishment, however, organized some right-wing and nationalist parties, in the Shōwa militarist mould. Such movements, which had official status, were: Concordia Association (State-sponsored political party) Northeast Administrative Committee (Manchukuo nationalist local party) White Russian Fascist Party (later the Russian Fascist Party; White Russian anti-communist party in Manchukuo, used the swastika as the party symbol, and guided by a Russian fascist "Duce") Bureau for Russian Emigrants in Manchuria (BREM) led by General Vladimir Kislitsin Monarquic Party (White Russian Tsarist Monarchic party with Japanese approval) Betarim Jew Zionist Movement (Jewish rights movement in Manchukuo) Far Eastern Jewish Council (Jewish Zionist council in Harbin, Manchukuo led by Dr. Abraham Kaufman, with Japanese Army support) Notable people The Imperial Manchu Court Aisin Gioro Henry Puyi (Kangde Emperor and head of state) Madame Wanrong (Empress and first wife of the