Preface
In the 40s of the last century, Japan proposed to "build a new Greater East Asia order centered on Japan," and subsequently designated it as the so-called "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere."
However, if everyone thinks that the "Co-Prosperity Circle" is just a circle, then you are wrong, their ambitions at that time were actually beyond our imagination!
How big were Japan's ambitions at that time?
Once the so-called "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" is realized, how serious will the consequences be?
The content of this article is written with authoritative information combined with personal opinions, and the source of information has not been marked in the article, please be aware.
How big are Japan's ambitions?
Japan, referred to as Japan, is an arc-shaped island country located on the west coast of the Pacific Ocean extending from northeast to southwest, including Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu and nearly 7,000 small islands, with a total area of only about 380,000 square kilometers.
What is the concept of 380,000 square kilometers?
You must know that the Caspian Sea, the largest saltwater lake in the world, covers an area of about 380,000 square kilometers, and the total area of Yunnan Province on the mainland is about 390,000 square kilometers.
In other words, Japan is a country that is only as large as a province on the mainland.
However, although they are small in size, their ambitions are unusually large!
When did Japan's ambitions become apparent?
Specifically, during the Meiji Restoration.
In 1968, Emperor Meiji proclaimed in his "Proclaiming the Prestige of the Nation" (Imperial Letter) that "the Japanese would open up thousands of miles of waves and spread the prestige of the country in all directions."
During the Meiji Restoration, Japan implemented a series of modernization measures, mainly reflected in the economy, society, and other aspects of the full imitation of the West, and finally made its national strength gradually grow.
At the same time as their national strength was strong, they also began to expand their sphere of influence outward under the banner of "enriching the country and strengthening the army" and carried out military and economic aggression against neighboring countries.
Among them, we include China.
When Japan was not yet rising, they called it an "open mind"!
In 645, they learned from the Tang Dynasty and carried out the Taika Reform, which not only laid the direction of the development of the Japanese country, gradually stabilized their social environment and social and economic development, but also laid the foundation for their subsequent prosperity to a certain extent.
Who would have thought that a few centuries later, Japan would actually "turn its face and deny people" and turn its head to attack the mainland that had helped them, and this country simply embodied the other side of people to the fullest!
In the thirties of the last century, Japan directed and staged a good drama and tried to invade the mainland.
At that time, they knew very well that once they successfully invaded, the mainland would take action, so in order to achieve their goal, they openly supported the so-called "puppet Manchu Qing State".
Such a move by Japan seems to imply that "there is no aggression on our part" and that "they are only helping the Qing government", nothing more.
At that time, the relevant personnel of the Qing government seemed to really feel that the other party was helping, but as everyone knows, this is actually the first step of Japan's "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere".
So, what's next for them?
If Japan's so-called "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" succeeds, how serious will the consequences be?
Japan's Former "Rhapsody of Delusion"
According to Japan's fantasy at that time, after taking the northeast of the mainland, the next step was to occupy China, which has a vast area.
After that, it was to invade and expand China's neighboring countries, and in 1941, didn't Japan provoke the Pacific War?
The Japanese claimed at the time that it was a war to save many peoples in Asia from years of colonial rule by European and American powers, and they also called the Pacific War "Sheng War."
But a discerning person can see that their purpose is not simple.
You know, as early as the beginning of the 20th century, Japan colonized the Korean Peninsula, if it was really "liberating Asia", why didn't they liberate the Korean Peninsula first?
At that time, the Korean Peninsula was reduced to a Japanese colony, and once the mainland "fell into the hands of Japan" again, what would it mean?
This means that East Asia has basically become the "world" of Japan.
And that's not all, after East Asia completes the layout, the next step is Southeast Asia.
After "eating" Southeast Asia, the Japanese even fantasized about taking advantage of their geographical advantage to take down British India again.
At that time, Britain was almost too busy to take care of itself under the strong attack of Germany, and how could it manage the Indian colonies thousands of miles away?
As a result, Japan at that time "arrogantly" believed that it might only be a matter of time before Southeast Asia was taken.
After completing its control of Asia, Japan is likely to continue its journey to "take places like Australia and New Zealand into its hands."
Then there is the Far East of the former Soviet Union.
After invading the Far East of the former Soviet Union, Japan is likely to bring the entire region of Siberia "into their sphere of influence."
In this way, they may be able to carve up the former Soviet Union and Europe together with Lao Germany.
If Japan's "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" is successfully implemented, then, in this way, basically Asia, Oceania, and Europe will be occupied by Japan, and its area will reach an astonishing 4,000 square kilometers!
And this does not seem to be their ultimate goal, once the "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" is successfully realized, they may also occupy part of the Americas, so as to achieve a situation of "a few parts of the world" with Germany and other countries.
Japan's ambitions are unimaginable!
You may see this and say that this is an exaggeration and think that I am worrying about it, but in fact, Japan's plan at that time did succeed to a certain extent, so where does that start?
Choosing to invade the continent means defeat
At that time, Japan occupied many Southeast Asian countries at its peak, that is, in the 40s of the last century, and the south also hit the island of New Guinea, where is the island of New Guinea?
It is located north of Australia, bordering the Malay Archipelago in Southeast Asia to the west, and the northeast of mainland Australia across the Arafura Sea to the south.
Japan's occupation of the island of New Guinea was also a threat to the Australian mainland.
And that's not all, at one time Japan occupied the islands of Attu and Kisaka in the western part of the Aleutian Islands in the United States.
Looking at it this way, Japan has basically formed a so-called "co-prosperity zone" territory.
Fortunately, however, Japan's ambitions did not succeed.
Many people believe that Japan's initial defeat was due to contempt for the United States, and in 1941, the Japanese Navy suddenly attacked Pearl Harbor, the base of the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet, in Hawaii.
But in my opinion, Japan's defeat was inevitable, and the outcome was already doomed when they chose to invade the mainland, and their idea of a "co-prosperity sphere" was bold but difficult to realize.
The mainland has a huge land area and a strong cohesion of the people, and in the face of the invasion of other countries, the mainland will certainly do its best until the other side is defeated.
At that time, the "arrogant" Japan did not want to "take the mainland in just a few months"?
But what happened in the end? They miscalculated, and Japan's plans fell through.
The mainland's spirit of arduous struggle and tenacious struggle is unmatched by any nation in the world.
It's still the case now, if we don't make trouble, it's not a sign of weakness, and it doesn't mean that we're afraid of things, and as some official media said, China has the appearance of a big country!
If you have anything to say about this, you are welcome to express your opinions!
The sources in this article are from:
1. "Baidu Encyclopedia - Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, Pacific War, Meiji Restoration, Daika Reform, Aleutian Islands Campaign, Japan, Caspian Sea"
2. Baidu Encyclopedia cites the Japanese Encyclopedia (ニッポニカ) 「大東亜共栄圏」の意・わかりやすい解説; "Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Circle", Baidu Encyclopedia - Chinese Social Science Entry Database, released on April 4, 2024;
3. Bai Hong, ed. A Complete History of World War II. China Overseas Chinese Publishing House.2013.10.p.160
4. People's Daily: Diaoyu Islands are not Japanese territory, and Okinawa is not Okinawa, published on August 15, 2013;
5. "Guangming Daily Commentator: Don't Cause Trouble, Don't Be Afraid of Things, China Has the Appearance of a Big Country", Guangming Daily, May 19, 2019;
6. Zhang Shaosi, Tian Ziyu, Chen Jin'an, editors-in-chief. Dictionary of China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. Wuhan: Wuhan Publishing House, 1995, pp. 543-544, but in order to improve the readability of the article, the details may be polished, please read sensibly, for reference only!