independent mini-nation

Calque of Japanese ミニ独立国 (mini dokuritsu koku, “mini-independent country”).

Transposed from alternative form mini-independent country to add emphasis on "mini-nation".

independent mini-nation (plural independent mini-nations)

1. Alternative form of mini-independent country.
   • 1998, Stephen Vlastos, Mirror of Modernity: Invented Traditions of Modern Japan, University of California Press, →ISBN, page 121:

     These republics are among the "independent mini-nations" (mini dokuritsu koku) that have been founded throughout Japan since the late 1970s for a variety of overlapping objectives, including attracting tourists both to increase revenues and to counter the adverse effects of the out-migration of young adults.

• micronation