Park, Obama, Abe Photo-Op

Many people have been talking about the recent meeting of President Park of South Korea, President Obama of the United States and Prime Minister Abe of Japan in the Kingdom of the Netherlands recently. It was the first time that President Park has agreed to meet and speak with Prime Minister Abe basically because of the irrational anger of those in the Republic of Korea who think they should shun Japan until absolutely everyone in the entire country agrees completely with them on their own national view of Japanese history. Which is rather ridiculous to say the least. However, the meeting did happen and there is probably some symbolic good to that, at least the 'ice' was broken and perhaps there can be other meetings in the future that will actually produce some good results. However, I am not optimistic and this meeting certainly produced nothing substantial, it was really just a photo-opportunity and one arranged by and for the benefit of President Barack Obama. True, the three countries did express their unity in opposing the nuclear program and aggression of communist North Korea but neither South Korea or Japan had ever expressed any change in that long-standing policy anyway. Nothing was said about why the Republic of Korea has refused to meet with the political leader of Japan and so nothing was really resolved.

This was really all about making President Obama look good. True, there was probably also a consideration of presenting the image of a "united front" to communist China and North Korea but even then, President Park did herself no favor by only agreeing to meet with Prime Minister Abe (as any mature government leader should have long ago) which President Obama arranged it. It made President Park look week by appearing as though President Obama was the "adult" who had to persuade the childish Korean president to come and sit down with Mr. Abe like a reasonable, mature person. It did not really change any perception for Prime Minister Abe who had always expressed his willingness and desire to meet with President Park, it was Park who was refusing all along to meet or speak with him. People have to understand that Obama had his own public image in mind all along. In the United States he has been seen increasingly as weak and ineffectual due to his own domestic policies and his failure to persuade anyone to go along with his efforts to punish Syria or Russia. So, he needed something that would make him look like a strong leader and this was his opportunity, by getting this meeting to happen and sitting in the middle between President Park and Prime Minister Abe, he could appear to the American public as the "grown up" who brought the two bickering children together. President Park and Prime Minister Abe were both basically used as background decorations in a photo-op to make Barack Obama look like a great statesman -which he clearly is not.

Vietnamese Visit to Japan

Last week was a busy week for Vietnamese-Japanese relations. On Monday Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress received the Vietnamese President (dictator) Truong Tan Sang and First Lady Mai Thi Hanh at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. This is part of the on-going campaign to strengthen ties between Japan and the countries of Southeast Asia, all of which are threatened by the aggression of Communist China. A banquet was held later that evening for the guests with an address by HM the Emperor, thanking the President of Vietnam for his concern for the earthquake and tsunami victims (who was in Japan prior to his being chosen dictator) and highlighting the long history of friendly relations between Vietnam and Japan (though I will point out here that was mostly between the Nguyen Lords of the south whose descendants later founded the imperial dynasty this communist president’s predecessor drove from power and tried to destroy entirely -ahem). It is also worth pointing out that Japan has given Vietnam considerable assistance in the preservation of their legacy of monarchy by sending funds to help in the restoration and preservation of landmarks such as the Ngo Mon gate, the main entrance to the Imperial City in the former capital of the Nguyen dynasty emperors in the city of Hue.

Congratulations to Princess Aiko!

Happy news for the Imperial Crown Princely Family! HIH Princess Aiko, the only child of TIH Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako, graduated from Gakushuin Primary School last Tuesday. The 12-year old princess attended the ceremony with both of her parents and is set to enroll at Gakushuin Girls’ Junior High School in April. They grow up so fast. The Princess has studied English and enjoyed playing basketball and the cello in the school orchestra. Congratulations to Her Imperial Highness on this milestone!

HIH Prince Yasuhiko Asaka of Japan (朝香宮鳩彦王)

One of the more interesting but also controversial members of the Imperial Family in the latter days of the Empire of Japan was HIH Prince Yasuhiko Asaka. He was born on October 20, 1887 in Kyoto, the eighth son (out of roughly eighteen children) of Prince Kuni Asahiko (a former Buddhist priest). His mother was the lady Tsunoda Sugako and his father was the adopted son HM Emperor Ninko, father of HM Emperor Komei and grandfather of HM Emperor Meiji. This made Prince Yasuhiko a member of one of the four main collateral branches of the Japanese Imperial Family, eligible for a place in the imperial succession. One of his nieces, a daughter of one of his half-brothers, was Princess Nagako who would eventually become Empress Kojun as consort to HM the Showa Emperor. As a prince of the Imperial Family, during the Meiji era, he was always expected to be a soldier. He went to school at Gakushuin Peers’ School, where the Japanese nobility and Imperial Family were educated before going on to the Central Military Preparatory School to begin the foundational training for a military career.

On March 10, 1906 HM Emperor Meiji granted him the title of Prince Asaka and gave him permission to start his own branch of the Imperial Family as had been done by his father before him. Still, for Prince Yasuhiko, responsibility came first and he carried on with his education, attending the Imperial Japanese Army Academy, graduating on May 27, 1908, receiving his commission as a second lieutenant on December 25. With his education completed, the following year he married HIH Nobuko, Princess Fumi, the eighth daughter of Emperor Meiji, on May 6, 1909. Eventually the couple would have four children; two girls (the eldest and youngest) and two boys. Outside of the domestic setting, Prince Yasuhiko continued with his military career, proving himself an intelligent and determined officer and he was promoted to full lieutenant by the end of 1910. In 1913 he earned promotion to captain, in 1918 to major and in 1922 to lieutenant colonel. Part of that time was spent far away from his home and family as from 1920 to 1923 the Prince, along with a brother and cousin, went to study at the famous French military academy at Saint-Cyr, a school founded by Napoleon and which is still the preeminent French military academy.

Prince Asaka studied tactics and did quite well but had a brush with death, being severely injured in a car accident while traveling in Normandy in which his cousin, Prince Kitashirakawa, was sadly killed. Princess Asaka rushed to France to be at his side and care for her husband herself and while he did recover the Prince would walk with a limp for the rest of his life. After leaving France, the Prince and Princess Asaka traveled to the United States. He was greatly impressed by the industry and technology of America, as well as the architecture as, upon returning to Japan, he had a new home built for his family in Tokyo in the Art Deco style that was all the rage in America (this home later became the official residence of the prime minister and today houses the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum) in 1925. Sadly, not long after his grand, new home was finished in 1933 Princess Asaka died at only 42-years old. A devoted and compassionate woman, not a few have wondered if the life of the Prince would have unfolded the same way had her presence not been deprived from him and her family.

Grieved, Prince Asaka threw himself totally into his military career. A colonel in 1925, by 1929 he was a major general and the following year became an instructor at the Army Staff College. In 1931 he was promoted to lieutenant general and given command of the prestigious First Imperial Guards Division. In 1935, in recognition of his achievements and how much his advice was valued, he was given a seat on the Supreme War Council by HM the Showa Emperor. However, the trust the Emperor had in him was shaken by the events of the February 26 Incident. This was an attempted coup led by a faction of young officers called the “Righteous Army” whose stated goal was to get rid of the politics and corruption they felt was restricting the government, purge all western influences and have the Emperor take personal control of things in a “Showa Restoration” (assuming of course the Emperor would pursue the course they thought best). However, the coup attempt did not go totally as planned, the Prime Minister survived the assassination attempt and when HM the Emperor was presented with the demands of the plotters, all that mattered was that discipline and order had been violated and His Majesty ordered the uprising suppressed firmly and swiftly. When Prince Asaka showed some support for the young officers by advising the Emperor to accede to their wishes and form a new government, this attitude was noted.

Because he was seen as being partial to the politics of the right-wing, which the Emperor viewed as somewhat improper for a member of the Imperial Family, the trust that had existed between the two was somewhat diminished. Yet, while some factions, like those involved in the February 26 Incident, did have some radical ideas included in their manifesto, few could doubt that had the best interests of their country and people at heart. In any event, because of his perceived political ties, Prince Asaka was ordered out of Tokyo and transferred to the Japanese Central China Area Army in 1937. It is important to remember, in light of later events, that most viewed this as something of a ‘step down’ and was therefore, a sort of disciplinary action for straying into the political realm. Fortunately for Japan, Prince Asaka was a skilled soldier, unfortunately, his greatest success would be followed by a scandal that has haunted his country ever since. The army was, at that time, engaged in a fierce battle against the nationalists of the Republic of China who were fighting in front of their capital city, the city of Nanking. The commander of the army, General Matsui Iwane, was old and in poor health and relinquished command to his deputy, Prince Asaka who directed the final attack that saw the Chinese forces broken and the Japanese conquest of Nanking.

Everyone is probably familiar with at least some version of the story about what happened next. To this day the “Rape of Nanking” is a cornerstone of anti-Japanese sentiment in Communist China, however, their claims are undoubtedly immensely exaggerated. It seems clear that some terrible atrocity did happen in Nanking but the accounts vary wildly and in subsequent studies a great deal of the supposed “evidence” has been found to have been fabricated or tampered with. In the end, General Matsui was executed for the crime by the Allies after the war, however, in spite of, or perhaps even because of that, some have since argued that Prince Asaka was the one responsible for what did (or did not) happen when the Japanese occupied Nanking. This is not the place to go into the details of that whole controversy, however, as it concerns Prince Asaka himself, it must seem extremely improbably to any dispassionate observer that the Prince would actually order any such act of brutality. People have pointed to his far-right political ties (real or perceived) as evidence to condemn him but, actually, this shows how unlikely it is that the Prince would commit such a crime. After all, he was in China in the first place because he was, effectively, being punished and pushed out of the imperial inner-circle because of those right-wing ties. For someone who was, effectively, “on probation” one might say, ordering such an atrocity, especially at that particular time, would seem impossible to believe. Setting morality aside for the moment, simple self-interest would suggest that the Prince had the most reason to deplore such a violation of discipline and the code of military justice.

In any event, both General Matsui and Prince Asaka were recalled to Japan in the aftermath of the incident and while he remained on the Supreme War Council and was promoted to full general in 1939, he never held an active military command again. Still, his devotion to the august Emperor and Empire of Japan never wavered and as the war dragged on Prince Asaka showed himself willing to cross into the political realm if he felt the survival of the country depended on it. This happened in 1944 when Prince Asaka, along with three others, worked together to bring down the war-time government of Prime Minister and former General Hideki Tojo on the basis that Japan was clearly losing the war. Nonetheless, after the war Prince Asaka was interrogated by the American forces, mostly regarding the events at Nanking, but he was not brought to trial, General Matsui instead being tried and executed. Some have since accused General MacArthur of covering up for the Prince because he was a member of the Imperial Family but, in fact, it would have been very difficult to hold Prince Asaka to blame in any event based on the precedent already set by the Allied forces in the immediate post-war military trial of General Yamashita who was held to blame for crimes committed without his orders and without his knowledge by troops under his command (as ridiculous as that still sounds). So, General Matsui, even if he was absent during the event, would still have had to be executed or else it would have highlighted what a gross injustice the execution of General Yamashita had been. These arguments also take for granted the guilt of Prince Asaka when, in fact, there is no evidence that he ordered any acts of brutality and he had absolutely no motive to do so, in fact, he had every motivation to avoid such a thing.

However, Prince Asaka was punished anyway in a manner of speaking. According to new rules handed down by the American occupation regime, all collateral branches of the Imperial Family were stripped of their status and HIH Prince Yasuhiko Asaka became, legally, a simple commoner. He was banned from holding any public office or taking part in politics, all of his property was confiscated and of course he no longer had a career in the army as the Imperial Japanese Army was totally disbanded and remains so to this day. Yet, in spite of all this, Prince Asaka did not resort to bitterness or xenophobic hatred. On the contrary, he turned his thoughts to more spiritual matters and, undoubtedly to the surprise of a great many people, converted to Christianity and became the first member of the Japanese Imperial Family to be baptized into the Roman Catholic Church on December 18, 1951. When not attending mass his leisure time was spent focused on a new hobby. He became an avid golfer and dabbled in designing golf courses, one of his designs being the Plateau Golf Course in the beautiful Hakone area. For a man who had survived a tumultuous political climate, a deadly car accident and the battlefields of China, he lived a long life in his retirement. He died at home of natural causes at the age of 93 on April 13, 1981. Unfortunately, he remains a controversial figure but I have no doubt that his soul was in better standing that those who would be his judges in the end.

ベトナム帝国 - A Lost Opportunity

It was on this day, March 11, 1945, that the last Emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty, His Majesty Bao Dai, announced the cancellation of all past treaties and agreements with the French Republican and proclaimed the independence of the Empire of Vietnam. This was made possible by the occupying forces of the Imperial Japanese Army and was the last, best hope for all of Indochina to have avoided the years of horror, war and atrocities that followed in the wake of World War II. This was not a mission that the Empire of Japan had planned for or sought. In September of 1940 the French government had granted Japan the right to occupy certain parts of French Indochina (what is today Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam) which Japan wanted in order to cut off the supplies and war materials being sent through the area to support the armed forces of the Republic of China. After war broke out with the United States, Great Britain and the Netherlands, Japan occupied all of Vietnam as part of the wider Japanese military operations in Southeast Asia. However, it was all done in cooperation with the colonial authorities of France. The State of France and the Empire of Japan were not at war after all and the French population in Indochina was not interned or molested in any way. Life went on as before, though the Vietnamese were certainly impressed by the sight of the Japanese being in a position stronger than the French. Many hoped that independence would come from this but that was not an immediate goal. Japan was focused on fighting a war against almost insurmountable odds and did not want to be distracted by political issues.

Prince Cuong De

However, there was opposition as well as support for Japan in Vietnam. The Nguyen dynasty prince, Marquis Cuong De, had been in exile in Japan for a long time promoting the cause of Vietnamese independence and he had the support of many groups, particularly in the Nguyen heartland of southern Vietnam. Foolishly, the United States was also sending support to the VietMinh to fight against the Japanese and rescue American pilots shot down over the area. This was foolish because the VietMinh was really a communist organization, led by a man later known as Ho Chi Minh. With the war situation deteriorating, on March 9, the Japanese forces took control of Vietnam from the French in a surprise move. Many expected the Japanese to install Prince Cuong De, their ally, as the new leader of Vietnam but Japan did not do this. Instead, they contacted the reigning monarch Emperor Bao Dai and gave him their support in declaring independence. Prince Cuong De himself said that he had no desire for power but only for the liberation of his country and was happy to see Emperor Bao Dai restored fully to power. He had wanted it all to have happened sooner, but Japan was anxious to avoid widening the war and did not want to add France to the list of enemies if it could be avoided. By 1945, the Empire of Japan had little more to lose and so finally ousted the French and backed independence for Vietnam. Emperor Bao Dai was not aware the coup had happened, only finding out when his car was stopped by Japanese troops as he returned home from a hunting trip. He had not been involved in the French overthrow.

Emperor Bao Dai

At the formal declaration of independence, Emperor Bao Dai thanked Japan and pledged support for the Greater East-Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. A new flag was raised and for the first time since the start of the Nguyen Dynasty reign, the name of "Viet-Nam" was restored to the country which was also reunified at last as it had previously been broken up into three regions (north, central and south). A new government was established as the Vietnamese began to reassert themselves in their own country. Vietnamese was made the official language in all schools, streets with French names were replaced with Vietnamese names and, after first favoring the nationalist mandarin Ngo Dinh Diem, the choice for Prime Minister fell to the scholarly historian Tran Trong Kim. The framework was planned out for a country that would be both modern and traditional, a constitutional monarchy that retained the classic elements of Vietnamese culture and values. The Japanese maintained military rule in the far south, in Cochinchine, which had been the French colony, but this was considered only a measure taken because of the on-going war. In the same way, many have been critical of Japan for exporting rice from Vietnam when a famine struck and many people were suffering. However, while it is of course unfortunate, many fail to appreciate that Japan was fighting a life-or-death struggle and people in Japan were starving as well because of the devastatingly effective Allied blockade.

Japanese surrender in Saigon

However, the communist insurgents of the VietMinh were quick to use the famine to their advantage. They stole food from those who had it and redistributed it to the hungry masses, increasing their own popularity. As the war situation grew worse and worse for Japan, the VietMinh became more bold in their actions. Soon the Empire of Vietnam was unable to function and in the "August Revolution" of 1945 the VietMinh seized power and issued their own declaration of independence, proclaiming Vietnam a communist republic. The commander of the Japanese forces in the Imperial City of Hue offered his soldiers to Emperor Bao Dai, promising to defend the Forbidden City from the revolutionaries if he wished. However, Emperor Bao Dai refused the offer, saying that he could not use foreign troops to shed the blood of his own people. Despite the efforts of the Emperor, the Allied leaders would not recognize the Empire of Vietnam because of its association with Japan.

Golden Throne of Vietnam

It is painfully unfortunate for everyone involved because the Empire of Vietnam was the last best hope for the Vietnamese to have avoided the decades of bloodshed and the communist dictatorships that remain to this day. If everyone had only rallied to support the Empire of Vietnam and remained faithfully loyal, there would have been no communist takeover, no French war and no civil war between north and south (the country was first divided by the Allies to accept the Japanese surrender -China in the north and Britain in the south). In fact, it was only because the British re-armed the Japanese troops who had surrendered that they were able to prevent the communists from taking over in the south as well (though sadly some Japanese did join the VietMinh simply out of racism to fight White people but these were a very small number). Vietnam could have avoided the division and bloodshed and the country today could be a free, prosperous constitutional monarchy in harmony with Vietnamese values and traditions if only everyone, the Allied nations included, has set aside their prejudices and embraced the Empire of Vietnam -the first Vietnamese to declare independence and the only one, by the authority of the legitimate emperor, to be completely valid and in accordance with ancient practice. It is a shame this was not done but Japan can be proud of having at least helped to provide the opportunity for legitimate traditional authority to flourish again in the "Land of the Soaring Dragon"

Japan and the Ukraine Crisis

Recently, the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced that it supported the position of the United States and other countries opposed to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the occupation of Crimea but that (like Germany, Britain and other countries in Europe) Japan would not go along with the United States in any harsh sanctions against Russia. This is significant because of the extensive investment by Japanese companies in the Russian Far East/Siberia. However, what is problematic is that the reason given for Japan not supporting any sanctions regime was not the (reasonable) possibility that such sanctions could hurt the Japanese economy more than the Russian economy, partly because of the energy Japan obtains from Russia which is another reason why the blanket shut-down of nuclear power was a mistake. Rather, the reason most often put out in the media for Japan refusing to agree to sanctions was the raised hopes that Russia and Japan will be able to reach an agreement for the return of the Northern Territories to Japanese control since these islands were stolen from Japan by the Soviet Union after World War II, in violation of numerous Russo-Japanese treaties. This may prove to be faulty reasoning on the part of the Japanese government, particularly if the hope of a return of the Northern Territories leads instead to the loss of the Senkaku Islands to Communist China.

To be blunt, it should be obvious that Russia has no intention of doing the right thing and returning the Northern Territories to Japan. Russia has resolved territorial disputes in the past with China and it was mostly in favor of the Chinese, they could have done the same with Japan but chose not to. On the contrary, since Putin came to power the Russians have militarized the Northern Territories and stepped up their rhetoric over keeping the stolen islands forever. China and Russia have drawn closer together in recent years and that means an increasingly unfriendly Russian attitude toward Japan. As concerns Ukraine, Japan really has no interest in the region and no immediate reason to be favorable to the new Ukrainian regime, however, Communist China is watching the situation closely and it could have a long-term impact on Japan if the Chinese decide to imitate the actions of Russia, seeing that there are no consequences for Russia seizing Ukrainian territory they may decide to do the same and seize the Senkaku Islands thinking there will be no retaliation from the international community. They may even play it safer and wait until Abe is out of office and a new Japanese government takes over that is less likely to use force to defend Japanese territory. It is a serious situation that should be considered carefully. One thing that should be clear though is that hoping Russia will do the right thing and return the Northern Territories if Japan is cooperative is hope that is misplaced. Russia has, very foolishly, allowed themselves to become more beholden to China and it is extremely unlikely that they will do the right thing in relation to Japan.

The Colonial Empire of Japan

It seems strange that the Empire of Japan, despite being only a minor colonial power and that only for a few decades, is often more controversial and generates more bitterness than European colonial empires that spanned the globe and lasted for hundreds of years. Japan only ever had two major holdings that could be regarded as colonies; Formosa (Taiwan) and Korea. Relations today between Taiwan and Japan are not terrible but a great deal of animosity certainly remains on the part of Korea. In fact, setting aside North Korea which is more like a vast slave labor camp than a country, the Republic of Korea has displayed a level of antagonism toward Japan after only a few decades of colonial rule that makes the Republic of Ireland, after centuries of English and British rule, seem positively mature and forgiving. As with all colonial empires or any time a more advanced civilization comes into close contact with a less developed civilization, there will be unfortunate events, sometimes intentional and sometimes not but regrettable in any event. However, a dispassionate look at the rather brief history of Japanese colonialism will show that, for reasons of simple efficiency, being a colony of Japan was quite beneficial when viewed in the long-term. Even today when so much has changed since the fall of the Empire of Japan in 1945, former Japanese colonies tend to be better off than other former colonies in Asia.

Throughout most of Japanese history there was never any desire for colonial expansion. However, when Japan was last unified, in the campaign started by Oda Nobunaga, the famous warrior did envision Japan conquering on the Asian mainland once his mission of unification was complete. He did not live to see that unification but his work was completed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and consolidated by Tokugawa Ieyasu. It was Toyotomi Hideyoshi who attempted to make good on the aspirations of his late lord and conquer the Ming Empire (and perhaps more while in the neighborhood) and seize control of the lucrative silk road trade route. The Kingdom of Korea refused to let Japan march through to get at China so there was a Japanese invasion of Korea and war between Japan on one side and Korea and Ming China on the other. The Japanese managed to conquer most of Korea, occupying Seoul and Pyongyang but attrition began to take a heavy toll and after the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and some considerable military setbacks the Japanese called off the war and returned home. Not long after Tokugawa Ieyasu formalized the last unification of Japan, became Shogun, establishing the Tokugawa dynasty as the holders of power in the name of the Emperor and in time Japan became isolated.

As most know, that isolation lasted until 1854 when a U.S. fleet under Commodore Matthew Perry sailed to Japan, pointed guns at them and forced them to join the rest of the international community. After some internal turmoil the Emperor was restored to power and Japan began to modernize, industrializing rapidly and learning from the countries of Europe and America. The Japanese method was to identify which country was the best in a particular field, study them and then adapt their methods to Japan, always endeavoring to do things better and more efficiently. So, in naval matters Great Britain was looked to, in army matters Prussia was looked to, for high fashion France was the example and for business it was the United States. Naturally, colonialism was not ignored either. In looking at the rest of the world, Japan saw that there were two kinds of countries; those which had colonies and those which were colonies and, naturally, Japan was determined to be one of the former. There was never any decision to “become” a colonial empire but it grew out of the rapid industrialization of Japan. This brought about a greatly increased need for resources Japan had never needed before and the prosperity that came with modernization also meant a rapidly growing population that had to be fed. One of the primary sources for raw materials and food stuffs for Japan was the Kingdom of Korea, at the time, a vassal of Imperial China.

Japan became increasingly concerned about securing this lifeline (think of the situation between Egypt and Rome in the old days) and so, to make a long story short, Japan fought a war with China to secure the independence of Korea and then, when Russia started stepping into the peninsula, fought the Russo-Japanese War to keep Korea firmly within the Japanese sphere of influence. After the victory over China; France, Germany and Russia stepped in to force Japan to give up some of the concessions won from China (which Japan naturally did not appreciate, especially when Russia subsequently took the territory rather than returning it to China) but one concession Japan did keep was the island of Formosa. That, was not as easy as a simple territorial hand-over though. The Chinese on Taiwan decided that the Qing Emperor could not give up territory he did not possess so they declared themselves an independent republic (the Republic of Formosa) and vowed to maintain Chinese rule over Taiwan in this new way. However, it did not work and Japanese forces soon arrived and conquered Taiwan, annexing it to the Empire of Japan in 1895. Some Chinese and native forces continued to resist and the campaign to suppress them was no different than similar campaigns by other colonial powers, often quite brutal. However, Taiwan also saw immense benefits in the period of Japanese rule.

Japanese arrive in Taipei

The Japanese authorities cleaned up Taiwan and modernized it; quite literally. There was a massive sanitation campaign and a rapid development of infrastructure which had previously not existed. Roads and railways were built, ports were constructed, modern farming techniques were introduced and a health system based on widespread rural clinics was established that was so successful it remains in effect even today. Barbaric native practices were suppressed, mandatory universal education was introduced and agricultural production increased dramatically. The island became extremely prosperous and, in time, Taiwan became the seventh largest sugar producer in the world. Some animosity did arise, however, as time went on and Japan took steps to enforce a greater cultural uniformity on Taiwan as part of the effort to maintain the utmost in national social unity across the Empire of Japan. This meant a greater emphasis on the Japanese language and customs as well as a greater promotion of the Shinto religion. In this regard, as it concerns modern-day observers, Japan was in a no-win situation. Colonial powers which excluded subject peoples from their own customs and institutions, which endeavored to keep them strictly separate are condemned for being exclusionists, segregationists and holding themselves aloof from other people not deemed “worthy”. On the other hand, as is seen with Japan, colonial powers which do the opposite are condemned as well for forcing their ways and customs on others, destroying the uniqueness of the natives.

That was the situation in Taiwan but, of course, Korea remained an area of concern after removing it from the control of China and preventing it from coming under the control of Russia. Talk turned to uniting the laws and economies of Korea and Japan. Some in Korea wanted to unite with Japan, others wanted no part of it and much the same division existed in Japan itself. Some wanted to annex Korea while others feared Korea would be too big a burden on the still growing Japanese economy. This changed when anti-Japanese forces in Korea started to make trouble and so those opposed to uniting the two countries in Tokyo were sidelined and in 1910 Korea was incorporated into the Empire of Japan. The local monarchy was retained and, along with the aristocracy, granted sufficient funds to maintain the standard of living they had become accustomed to. There was a massive Japanese investment in Korea and, of course, the influx of Japanese nationals and Japanese influence caused a backlash in Korea that was responded to with military force. There were many regrettable episodes but, also as in Taiwan, a massive change in the standard of living for Korea as well. Cities were modernized, hospitals were established, schools were built and illiteracy, which had previously been widespread in the lower classes, was virtually eradicated.

One of the reasons Japanese colonies have tended to do better even after gaining their independence can be traced back to a simple exercise in efficiency on the part of the Empire of Japan. Again, the Japanese saw how other countries ran their colonial empires and sought to improve on their methods. They saw European countries using their colonies as sources of raw materials, shipping those raw materials to the homeland for refinement and then transformation into manufactured goods (providing employment at home) and then shipped back for sale to the colonial populations (providing profit). Japan could also see that transportation costs for raw materials was enormous so Japan decided it would be smarter to establish at least low levels of industry in the colonies themselves so that raw materials could be refined before being shipped to Japan to be finished up and turned into manufactured goods. This step was taken in order to cut down on the cost of shipping but it had the result of giving former Japanese colonies a considerable advantage with a “head start” in industrialization when compared to the colonies of other empires.

A brief mention should be made of Manchuria which was never actually a Japanese colony but which is often classified as one (when not called a “puppet state” rather like the Mexican Empire). Regardless of how or why it came about the simple fact is that the Republic of China had no right whatsoever to Manchuria and the support provided by Japan in Manchuria declaring independence in 1932 and restoring the last Manchu Emperor to the throne was an action which corrected a gross historical injustice. Manchuria too benefited immensely from its restoration aided by Japan. There was rapid industrial growth so that, prior to the outbreak of World War II, the Empire of Manchuria was one of the most advanced and productive regions of Asia, eventually surpassing Japan in steel production. Coal mining, oil drilling and agriculture were major industries, ports and cities were modernized, trade and business boomed but, unfortunately, all of this infrastructure which was built up from 1932 to 1945 was stripped clean by the invading communist forces at the time of Japan’s defeat.

Like most colonial empires (and sometimes to an even greater extent) it is hard to find many today who would speak up in defense of or say anything at all positive about the former Empire of Japan. However, the success of former Japanese colonies should speak for itself. Manchuria was absorbed by Red China, Taiwan became the last bastion of the Kuomintang and Korea was split into two diametrically opposed republics, sparking another major war. However, for years both Taiwan and Korea (and more so South Korea) have had far greater economic success than other former colonies because of the huge investments Japan made toward education, infrastructure and building up at least the foundations of industrial development. It may not be popular to point out such positive aspects but, nonetheless, they should not be forgotten.