Imperial Japan's ambitious concept of a 'Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere'

In the early decades of the 20th century, Japan sought to establish itself as a dominant power in Asia.

It was motivated in this endeavour by a mix of nationalist fervor, economic self-interest, and a desire to counter Western imperialism.

To achieve this objective, Japan envisioned a pan-Asian alliance that would liberate Asian countries from Western colonial rule and create a new order.

However, the real motivation for the Co-Prosperity Sphere was Japan's imperialistic ambition to expand its own territory and secure important natural resources.

As Japan's military might grew, so did its confidence in leading Asia towards this new era.

Ultimately, the Co-Prosperity Sphere concept became a cornerstone of Japanese foreign policy, which set clear goals for its diplomatic and military strategies in the years leading up to and during World War II.

The first stages of the implementation of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere began in during the early years of the 1930s.

Japan quickly became quite aggressive in its pursuit of its imperialistic ambitions.

Many historians pinpoint the year of 1931, Japan's invasion of Manchuria, as the beginning of its territorial expansion in Asia.

This was then followed by the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, where Japan sought to subjugate China under its influence.

Soon after, the concept gained more prominence in 1940, when Japanese Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe officially proposed the idea as a framework for a new order in East Asia.

However, the real expansion of the Co-Prosperity Sphere, came after the outbreak of the Pacific War in 1941.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan rapidly advanced through Southeast Asia, capturing territories such as the Philippines, British Malaya, Singapore, and the Dutch East Indies.

So, by early 1942, Japan had established control over a vast expanse of territory, stretching from the Aleutian Islands in the north to the Solomon Islands in the south, and from Burma in the west to the Gilbert Islands in the east.

Japan's primary goal was to secure resources to sustain its military efforts and industrial growth.

The occupied territories were rich in natural resources such as oil, rubber, tin, and rice, which were crucial for Japan's war machine.

Soon after each stage of their expansion, Imperial Japan implemented new policies to extract these various resources, often at the expense of local economies and populations.

In a similar way, agricultural production was redirected to support Japanese troops, leading to food shortages and famine in some areas.

Industrial and infrastructure projects were also undertaken to facilitate resource extraction and transportation.

Obviously, all of these primarily served Japanese interests rather than fostering genuine economic development in the region.

To facilitate the clear exploitation of their conquered territories, Japan manipulated the various political structures of these regions. 

Japan subordinated their 'partners' and set up puppet governments and military administrations in occupied territories.

The primary purpose was to undermine local sovereignty and autonomy, which only fueled resentment and resistance among the local populations.

As a result, nationalist movements gained strength, and anti-Japanese sentiment became a unifying factor in many occupied countries.

In China, the ongoing resistance against Japanese aggression intensified with the formal establishment of the Co-Prosperity Sphere.

The Chinese Nationalist government, led by Chiang Kai-shek, continued its protracted struggle against Japanese forces, even receiving support from the United States and other Allied powers.

Also, communist guerrillas, led by Mao Zedong, also waged a relentless campaign of guerrilla warfare against the Japanese occupiers, laying the groundwork for their eventual rise to power in China.

In the Philippines, guerrilla groups such as the Hukbalahap fought against Japanese forces and their collaborators, conducting sabotage operations and ambushes.

Likewise, in Indonesia, nationalist leaders like Sukarno initially cooperated with the Japanese, hoping to gain independence from Dutch colonial rule.

However, as the tide of the war turned, they shifted their focus toward preparing for an eventual struggle for independence.

So too in Burma, the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League, led by Aung San, initially allied with the Japanese but later switched sides to join forces with the Allies as it became clear that Japan's promises of independence were hollow.

Similarly, in Vietnam, the Viet Minh, led by Ho Chi Minh, used the opportunity presented by the Japanese occupation to consolidate their power and lay the groundwork for their struggle against French colonialism.

By 1944, Allied forces had begun to turn the tide against Japan, recapturing territories in the Pacific and Southeast Asia.

Consequently, the sphere's economic and political structures started to crumble.

In the face of these setbacks, Japan struggled to maintain control over the territories it had occupied.

By the time of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, Japan's defeat was imminent.

The formal end of the Co-Prosperity Sphere came with Japan's surrender on September 2, 1945.

Following this, the territories that had been part of the sphere regained their independence or returned to their pre-war colonial rulers.

The final end of the Co-Prosperity Sphere also accelerated the decolonization process in Asia, as former colonies sought to establish their sovereignty in the post-war world.

In the aftermath, Japan underwent significant political and economic changes under Allied occupation.

The concept of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere was discredited, and Japan shifted its focus to peaceful development and cooperation with its neighbors.