Japan's Co-Prosperity Sphere

THE TERM, GREATER EAST ASIA Co-prosperity Sphere, appeared in Japanese publications during the third or fourth year of the undeclared Sino-Japanese War. It was an expression of hope for the Japanese people who had no clear idea of the purposes of the war and who were only gradually given to understand that the aims of the war are far beyond the immediate objective of the chastisement of Chiang Kaishek. It was also a slogan to combat the enmity of the Chinese and other peoples who, by force of arms or by threat of force, were included in this sphere. These peoples were to be convinced that their inclusion in this co-prosperity sphere was in their own interest; that not only Japan but also the population of the occupied regions would derive advantages from the occupation. The term, Greater East Asia, lacks precision. For the time being it covers the Japanese Empire, Manchuria, China Proper, the Philippines, the Netherland Indies, French Indo-China, Thailand, British Malaya, and Burma. Moreover, the Soviet Far East be included. Writings of the Japanese militarists leave no doubt that, at the first possibility, the experiment of 1919-21, when the Japanese stood guard on Lake Baikal, will be repeated. In respect to other regions, we have more recent pronouncements: India, Australia, and New Zealand were to be included in the sphere. In May 1942 the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry was not yet certain whether Australian wheat would be available in Greater East Asia during the war, but the Traffic Committee believed that large numbers of automobiles in use in Australia, New Zealand, and India (808,500, 276,000 and 123,000, respectively) may be mobilized for the smooth transportation of materials in the Co-prosperity Sphere. Among others, the Vice President of the Nippon Yusen Kaisha wrote in the Oriental Economist (February 1942) that India should be included in Greater East Asia, which will then be self-sufficient and more complete and powerful than any of the other economic blocs which were to be formed after the restoration of peace

Political science · Prosperity · Japanese History and Culture · Law

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