noun
fate of a nation; national crisis; life-or-death for a nation
A formal, weighty term used in political or historical contexts to describe a nation's survival or existential crisis.
この戦争は国家存亡の危機だ。
This war is a crisis of national survival.
国家存亡をかけた決断が求められている。
A decision that will determine the fate of the nation is required.
Compound of 国家 (nation) and 存亡 (existence or extinction). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the term is conventionally associated with grave national circumstances.