Should Imperial Japan of the WWII era be considered a fascist-type political system? I realize that the historical and cultural context of Japan is very different from Europe, but it seems that the ideology of the Japanese extreme right must have had much in common with European fascism(s). Could it be considered fascist? What are the similarities and differences?
I can't answer this thoroughly, but there were discussions on this which you might find interesting:
http://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/2bk7yd/to_what_extent_can_we_call_the_government_of/