What did Japan want in WW2? | Japanese Empire, Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, Hirohito

In the span of 85 years Japan was able to modernize and industrialized to a point that rivaled Western countries. They had a standing army that was respected by Western armies which at this point was un heard of. That is impressive for a country that has little to no natural resources and for a mountainous island. Japan at the start of the 1800 compared to what is was at the end of 1800 has got to be the biggest country transformation ever lol

My grandmother told me that in her island before ww2, there was a well known small noodle place where one could get very tasty food in big portions for a small price, it was owned by a Japanese guy who was also the cook, when the war reached the Philippines, that guy broke cover and was actually a high ranking officer

18:12= Japan had spies in the Philippines for years. This actually happened to my granduncle who had a Japanese gardener in his plantation house. This gardener insisted to have Wednesdays off. Unusual request because hardly anyone wants a Wednesday off (except for physicians as Wednesdays are their golf days). When war broke out he turned out to be a captain in the Imperial Japanese Army. He summoned my granduncle to his HQ through a messenger, but my granduncle answered back by telling the messenger, "He left my employment without the courtesy of letting me know. If he wants to see me, he comes to me, not me go to him." Well that gardener turned captain paid a visit to my granduncle and my granduncle actually scolded him! My uncle claimed that since he didn't resign properly legally he was considered AWOL. The gardener apologized profusely and told his men that my granduncle's property was under his protection. I don't think my granduncle had spunk, I think he was more irritated that he lost a gardener.

I've read somewhere that the Japanese government were making attempts to buy the Philippines from Spain right before the American war, so that might be an interesting aspect to understand Japanese presence in the Pacific a bit better.

I love how the debate in Japan is never whether or not to invade people but who and when they're going to invade. It's like not having a war isn't an option from 1880 to 1945

Incredible how every nation with empire aspirations has no population large enough to control the territories they want

Japan wanted just one thing: an Asian Empire with itself the leader. Japan is quite similar to Germany by the fact it has little resources at home. It was fearful that any blockade by its Western or Chinese foes would hurt Japan, so Japan decided to take first strike. Japan didn't invade Korea or Manchuria by nonsense - these territories were abundant in resources. When Japan conquered most of China and Southeast Asia, it was with exact reason. If it had succeeded with India, Japan would have unlimited access to resources it was so hungry to have.

its funny that Germany and Japan would, if victorious, end up in another cold war scenario of ideological divergence, considering Germany wanted to united the white/aryan world and Japan seemingly wanted to united the colored/non white world, or at least the turanic/asiatic part, or wtv. very interesting as an alt-history aspect. I think the likelihood of becoming a hot war wouldve been almost 100%, considering the lack of nukes and the continental aspect

Japan wouldn't have invaded the USSR in WW2, in fact Germany requested another front be opened up by Japan in the east but the Japanese turned it down. The 2 Axis Powers didn't trust each other at all and were simply allies by circumstance. Germany even trained Chinese troops in the 2nd Sino-Japanese war in direct opposition to Japan. In short, none of the Axis allies were going to stick their necks out for the other

I wonder about early Chinese dynasties efforts to colonize Southeast Asia

The funny thing is, they claimed they were liberating Asia from the European powers, but when they took over, they were just as bad or worse then the people they replaced.

I've been loving these videos keep it up!

I LOVE your long and detailed videos. I wonder if you plan to do one about the portuguese colonial expansion and the decisive battles during this time

Hakko ichiu doesn't come from Buddhism, it comes from a quote by the first Japanese emperor Jimmu who said he would bring the "eight directions" under his rule. The Japanese in the 20th century misrepresented hakko ichiu as "universal brotherhood" and used it as the motto for the Greater East Asia Coprosperity Sphere

I just found your channel today and i just cant stop watching more of it, keep up the good work.

It really says a lot about people "being products of their time" when a Zen Bhuddist sees empire as a means to spread "peace and happiness to all humanity"

Your videos on Imperial Japan got me motivated to bulid my own Cold War alternate history saga.

Just a quick note, Tripartite Pact was sign in 1940. In 1936 there was signing of the Anti-Comintern Pact, which was some kind of prelude to the Tripartite Pact, beside that, a very interesting video

Good to see a focus on Imperial Japan.

Next up: German plans during WW2? 🤔 you have done Italy 🇮🇹 and Japan 🇯🇵 Great videos btw! I love them and always look forward to watching them! 👍