Japanese colonial empire 日本植民地帝國 | |
|---|---|
| 1895–1945 | |
.svg) | |
| Anthem: 君が代 ("Kimigayo") "His Imperial Majesty's Reign" | |
.svg) | |
| Status | Colonial empire |
| Capital | Tokyo City (1895–1943) Tokyo (1943) |
| Common languages | Japanese Local: |
| History | |
• Established | 1895 |
• Disestablished | 1945[1] |
| Currency | Japanese yen, Japanese military yen, Korean yen, Taiwanese yen |
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Thecolonial expansion of the Empire of Japan in the WesternPacific Ocean andEast Asia began in 1895 with Japan's victory over the ChineseQing dynasty in theFirst Sino-Japanese War.[1] Subsequent victories over theRussian Empire (Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905) and theGerman Empire (World War I) expanded Japanese rule.Taiwan came under Japanese control from 1895,Korea in 1905,Micronesia in 1914,Southern Sakhalin in 1905, severalconcessions in China from 1903 onwards, and theSouth Manchuria Railway from 1905. In 1931,Japan invaded Manchuria, resulting in the establishment of thepuppet state ofManchukuo the following year; thereafter,Japan adopted a policy of founding and supporting puppet states in conquered regions. These conquered territories became the basis for what became known as theGreater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere from 1940. (The Co-Prosperity Sphere expanded to include much of China, Indo-China, Malaya, the Philippines, the East Indies, Burma and New Guinea by 1942.)
IncludingMainland Japan, colonies, occupied territories, and puppet states, theEmpire of Japan at its apex wasone of the largest empires in history. The total amount of land under Japanese sovereignty reached 8,510,000 km2 (3,300,000 sq mi) in 1942.[2] By 1943, it accounted for more than 20% of the world's population at the time, with 463 million people in its occupied regions and territories.[3][4]
After theAllies defeated Japan in 1945, colonial control from Tokyo over the far-flung territories ended. The extent of Japanese governance was restricted to the core Japanese lands (Japanese:naichi) (exceptingKarafuto Prefecture, whichthe Soviet Union occupied in 1945 and annexed as South Sakhalin Oblast); theNanpō andRyūkyū Islands were returned to Japan by the United States in 1968 and 1972 respectively.
The territorial expansion of the Japanese colonial empire was marked by aggression towards other nations, with the Japanese committingnumerous atrocities and war crimes, killing millions.[5]
The first overseas territories that Japan acquired were the islands of its surrounding seas. During the earlyMeiji era, the Japanese Empire established control overHokkaido,Bonin Islands,Ryukyu, andKuril Islands; it also strengthened control of thenaichi.[6]
At the start of the twentieth century the rate of population increase in Japan was seen as a potential problem for the Japanese government, and colonial expansion into Korea and Manchuria was seen as a possible solution.[7]
Between 1895 and 1945,Taiwan, including thePenghu Islands, was acolony of theEmpire of Japan; following the defeat ofQing China in theFirst Sino-Japanese War, it ceded Taiwan to Japan under the terms of theTreaty of Shimonoseki. The short-livedRepublic of Formosa resistance movement was quickly suppressed by the Japanese military. Thefall of Tainan ended organized resistance to Japanese occupation and inaugurated five decades of Japanese rule.
Since Taiwan was Japan's first overseas colony, the central and colonial governments turned their efforts into making the island a "model colony".[8] These resulted in the modernization of the island's economy, infrastructure, industry, public works, andforced assimilation.
In 1945, after the defeat of theEmpire of Japan inWorld War II, Taiwan placed under the control of theRepublic of China with the signing of theJapanese Instrument of Surrender.[9] The experience of Japanese rule,Kuomintang rule, and theFebruary 28 Incident of 1947 continues to affect issues such asRetrocession Day, national and ethnic identity, and theTaiwan independence movement.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, various Western countries competed for influence, trade, and territory inEast Asia, and Japan sought to join these modern colonial powers. The newly modernizedMeiji government of Japan turned to Korea, then in thesphere of influence of China'sQing dynasty. The Japanese government initially sought to separate Korea from Qing and make Korea aJapanese satellite to further their security and national interests.[10]
In January 1876, Japan employedgunboat diplomacy to pressureKorea, under theJoseon dynasty, to sign theJapan–Korea Treaty of 1876, which grantedextraterritorial rights to Japanese citizens and opened three Korean ports to Japanese trade. The rights granted to Japan under thisunequal treaty,[11] were similar to those granted to western powers in Japan following the visit ofCommodore Perry.[11] Japanese involvement in Korea increased during the 1890s, a period of political upheaval.
Korea was occupied and declared a Japaneseprotectorate following theJapan–Korea Treaty of 1905; it was annexed in 1910 through theannexation treaty.Korea was renamed Chōsen and remained a part of the Empire of Japan for 35 years; from August 22, 1910, until August 15, 1945, upon thesurrender of Japan in thePacific War. The 1905 and 1910 treaties were officially declared "null and void" by both Japan and South Korea in 1965.
During the 19th century, Russia and Japan vied for control ofSakhalin Island. Following theMeiji Restoration in 1868, Japanese settlers were sent to southern Sakhalin to exploit its resources.[12] Japan ceded southern Sakhalin to Russia in 1875 in exchange for theKuril Islands under theTreaty of Saint Petersburg. After achieving victory in theRusso-Japanese War, Japan was ceded southern Sakhalin under the terms of theTreaty of Portsmouth. Japan established its colonial government in 1907, whereupon South Sakhalin was renamedKarafuto Prefecture.
Japanese and Korean migrants to the colony developed the fishing, forestry and mining industries. Taking advantage of theRussian Civil War, theImperial Japanese Armyoccupied northern Sakhalin between 1920 and 1925;[13] afterwards Japan retained favorable coal and oil concessions therein until 1944. In 1943, Karafuto was elevated tonaichi status.
The Soviet Unioninvaded and annexed Karafuto at the end ofWorld War II.[14]
Following the outbreak ofWorld War I in 1914, theEmpire of Japan declared war on theGerman Empire and quickly seized the possessions of theGerman colonial empire in thePacific Ocean (the NorthernMariana Islands, theCaroline Islands and theMarshall Islands) with virtually no resistance. After the end of the war theTreaty of Versailles formally recognized the Japanese occupation of former German colonies inMicronesia north of theequator. ALeague of Nations mandate put them under the Japanese administration known as the Nan'yō Agency or South Seas Agency (南洋廳,Nan'yō Chō) and the post ofGovernor of the South Seas Mandate was created.[15]
The main significance of the South Seas Mandate to Japan was its strategic location, which dominated the sea lanes across the Pacific Ocean and provided convenient provisioning locations for ships. During the 1930s, theImperial Japanese Navy began construction of airfields, fortifications, ports, and other military projects on the South Seas Mandate islands, viewing them as "unsinkable aircraft carriers" with a critical role to play in the defense of the Japanese home islands against potential invasion by the United States. The islands became important staging grounds for Japanese air and naval offensives during thePacific War but were lost to American military action between 1943 and 1945. The League of Nations mandate was formally revoked by theUnited Nations on July 18, 1947, according toSecurity Council Resolution 21, making the United States responsible for administration of the islands under the terms of a United Nations trusteeship agreement which established theTrust Territory of the Pacific Islands.
After emerging victorious againstQing China in theFirst Sino-Japanese War, Japan was ceded the southern part of theLiaodong Peninsula under the terms of theTreaty of Shimonoseki.Diplomatic pressure from Russia, Germany, and France forced Japan to quickly relinquish the territory, which allowed Russia to lease it from China in 1898. In 1905, Russia was defeated in theRusso-Japanese War; under the terms of theTreaty of Portsmouth, Russia returned the Liaodong Peninsula to Japan, whereupon it was renamed theKwantung Leased Territory. A governor and anImperial Japanese Army garrison were established, the latter becoming theKwantung Army in 1919.
As a result of Russia's defeat, it also lost influence inManchuria, which allowed Japan to take its place. In 1906, Japan laid theSouth Manchuria Railway toRyojun.Japan temporarily occupied Outer Manchuria in 1918, but returned it to theSoviet Union in 1922. Manchuria came under the control of the Chinese warlordZhang Zuolin during thewarlord period in China. He initially had Japanese backing, but the Kwantung Army found him too independent; he was assassinated in 1928.
TheJapanese invasion of Manchuria took place in 1931 following theMukden Incident, a staged event engineered by Japanese military personnel from the Kwantung Army as a pretext for invasion.[16][17][18] The region was subsequently separated from Chinese control and the Japanese-aligned puppet state ofManchukuo was created.[19] The last Emperor of China,Puyi, was installed as head of state in 1932, and two years later he was declared Emperor of Manchukuo. The city ofChangchun was renamed Xinjing and became the capital of Manchukuo. Animperial palace was specially built for the emperor. He was, however, nothing more than a figurehead and real authority rested in the hands of the Japanese military officials. The Manchu ministers all served as front-men for their Japanese vice-ministers, who made all decisions.Anti-Japanese Volunteer Armies were organized by the Chinese in Manchuria and thepacification of Manchukuo required a war lasting several years.
During the 1930s the Japanese colonized Manchukuo. With Japanese investment and rich natural resources, theeconomy of Manchukuo experienced rapid economic growth. Manchukuo's industrial system became one of the most advanced, making it one of the industrial powerhouses in the region.[20] Manchukuo's steel production exceeded Japan's in the late 1930s. The Japanese Army initially sponsored a policy of forced industrialization modeled after the Five Year Plan in the Soviet Union[21] but subsequently private capital was used in a very strongly state-directed economy. There was progress in the area's social systems and many Manchurian cities were modernized. Manchukuo issued banknotes and postal stamps, and several independent banks were founded. TheChinese Eastern Railway was bought from the Soviet Union in 1935. Traditional lands were taken and redistributed to Japanese farmers with local farmers relocated and forced intocollective farming units over smaller areas of land.
During this period Manchukuo was used as a base from which to invade China. In the summer of 1939, a border dispute between Manchukuo and theMongolian People's Republic resulted in theBattle of Khalkhin Gol. During this battle, a combinedSoviet Army and Mongolian force defeated the JapaneseKwantung Army (Kantōgun) supported by limited Manchukuoan forces. TheSoviet Union declared war on Japan on 8 August 1945 under the agreement at theYalta Conference and invaded Manchukuo from the north through Outer Manchuria and Mongolia. This was called theManchurian Strategic Offensive Operation. The Army of Manchukuo was defeated and the Emperor was captured by Soviet forces. Most of the 1.5 million Japanese who had been left in Manchukuo at the end of World War II were ultimately sent back to their homeland in 1946–1948 by U.S. Navy ships in theJapanese repatriation from Huludao.
| Territory | Japanese name | Date | Population est.(1943) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | Naichi (內地) | 1868-1945 | 72,000,000 | Present-day Japan, South Sakhalin, Kuril, and Ryukyu Islands |
| Karafuto/South Sakhalin | Karafuto-chō (樺太廳) | 1905-1943 | 406,000 | Ceded by the Russian Empire to Japan |
| Korea | Chōsen (朝鮮) | 1910-1945 | 25,500,000 | |
| Taiwan | Taiwan (臺灣) | 1895-1945 | 6,586,000 | Ceded by Qing China to Japan |
| Mainland China | Shina (支那) | 1931–1945 | 200,000,000 (est.) | Manchukuo 50 million (1940),Rehe,Kwantung Leased Territory, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Shandong, Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin, plus parts of : Guangdong, Guangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Fujian, Guizhou, Inner Mongolia |
| Hong Kong | Honkon (香港) | December 25, 1941 – August 15, 1945 | 1,400,000 | Hong Kong |
| East Asia (subtotal) | Higashi ajia (東亞細亞) orTō-a (東亞) | – | 306,792,000 | |
| Vietnam | An'nan (安南) | September 1940 – August 1945 | 22,122,000 | AsFrench Indochina |
| Cambodia | Kambojia (カンボジア) | August 1941 – August 1945 | 3,100,000 | AsFrench Indochina,Japanese occupation of Cambodia |
| Laos | Raosu (ラオス) | September 1940 – August 1945 | 1,400,000 | AsFrench Indochina,Japanese occupation of Laos |
| Thailand | Tai (泰/タイ) | December 8, 1941 – August 15, 1945 | 16,216,000 | Independent state, but allied with Japan |
| Malaysia | Maraya (マラヤ) or Marē (マレー), Kita Boruneo (北ボルネオ) | December 8, 1941 – September 2, 1945 (Malaya), December 1941 – September 1945 (Sarawak, Brunei, Labuan, North Borneo) | 4,938,000 plus 39,000 (Brunei) | AsMalaya,British Borneo,Brunei |
| Philippines | Firipin (比律賓/フィリピン) or Hitō (比島) | 1942 - 1945 | 17,419,000 | Philippines |
| Dutch East Indies | Higashi indo (東印度) | 1942 –1945 | 72,146,000 | AsDutch East Indies andWest Sumatra |
| Singapore | Shōnan-tō (昭南島) | February 15, 1942 – September 12, 1945 | 795,000 | Singapore |
| Burma | Biruma (ビルマ) | 1942–1945 | 16,800,000 | Burma |
| East Timor | Higashi chimōru (東チモール) | February 19, 1942 – September 11, 1945 | 450,000 | Portuguese Timor |
| Southeast Asia (subtotal) | Tō-nan ajia (東南亞細亞) | – | 155,452,000 | |
| Manipur[22][23] | Manipurū (マニプール) | October 21, 1943 – August 18, 1945 | 525,000[24] | Azad Hind[25][26][27] (also independent but Japanese-allied) |
| South Asia (subtotal) | Minami ajia (南亞細亞) | - | 525,000 | |
| New Guinea | Nyūginea (ニューギニア) | December 1941 – 1945 | 1,400,000 | AsPapua andNew Guinea |
| Guam | Ōmiya Island (大宮島) | December 10, 1941 – August 10, 1944 | fromGuam | |
| South Seas Mandate | Nan'yō guntō (南洋群島) | 1919–1945 | 129,000 | fromGerman Empire |
| Nauru | Nauru (ナウル) | August 26, 1942 – September 13, 1945 | 3,000 | from United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand |
| Wake Island | Ōtori Island (大鳥島) | December 23, 1941 – September 4, 1945 | nil | United States |
| Kiribati | Kiribasu (キリバス) | December 1941 – January 22, 1944 | 28,000 | from theGilbert Islands |
| Pacific Islands (subtotal) | – | – | 1,433,000 | |
| Total population | – | – | 464,202,000 |
Disclaimer: Not all areas were considered part of the Empire of Japan, but within its sphere of influence, included separately for demographic purposes. Sources: POPULSTAT Asia[3] Oceania[4]
Other islands occupied by Japan during World War II:
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(March 2010) |
A shortage of Japanese administrators led to the establishment of colonial puppet states and the promotion of indigenous elites in the territories which came under Japanese control in the 1940s.[28]
| This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(August 2012) |
According toAtul Kohli, the David K.E. Bruce Professor of International Affairs and Professor of Politics and International Affairs atPrinceton, "the Japanese made extensive use of state power for their own economic development and then used the same state power to pry open and transform Korea in a relatively short period of time".[29] Japan was "decisive in altering both the nature of the Korean state and the relationship of this state to various social classes."[30] How the Japanese centralized bureaucratic style of government was transferred to Korea; how they developed Korean human capital by a considerable expansion of education; how the Japanese invested heavily in infrastructure. Kohli concludes that:
"the highly cohesive and disciplining state that the Japanese helped to construct in colonial Korea turned out to be an efficacious economic actor. The state utilized its bureaucratic capacities to undertake numerous economic tasks: collecting more taxes, building infrastructure, and undertaking production directly. More important, this highly purposive state made increasing production one of its priorities and incorporated property-owning classes into production-oriented alliances".[31]
This sprawling bureaucratic state continued in Korea's postcolonial era — post-World War II and after theKorean War of 1950 to 1953. Japan's early colonial industrialisation of Korea also made it easier for Koreans to rebuild after the Korean War, because there was no need to begin industrialisationab initio. Examining Korea's policies and achievements in the 1960s and 1970s, Kohli states that during this period the country was firmly heading towards "cohesive-capitalist development, mainly by re-creating an efficacious but brutal state that intervened extensively in the economy".[32] South Korean economic development was not market-driven — rather the "state intervened heavily to promote exports, using both market and non-market tools to achieve its goals".[33]
by 1942, this 'Empire' covered about 3,285,000 square miles
In all the ameliorating conditions every one must rejoice; but when these are coupled with the old-time lack of self-control leading to universal early marriages, a problem is rolling up before which Japanese statesmen are appalled. At the present rate of increase, there will, before the middle of this century, be a hundred million people to provide for. It is this prospect that is leading Japanese statesmen to make such frantic efforts to secure opportunity for colonization. Being practically shut off from going to other foreign countries, and Formosa being already largely occupied, Japan would naturally look to Korea and Manchuria; but of these places, Korea would afford only partial relief, both because of its limited area and of its present population. The northern region of Manchuria, however, is still almost as much in a state of nature as were the prairies of the Mississippi valley when the Indians roamed freely over them.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)Japanese postal authorities prepared stamps for use in the foreshadowed puppet state of Azad Hind
Imperial Japan in 1943 had established a puppet state known as the Provisional Government of Free India
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)The success of the Japanese had other consequences for Britain's—and others'—former colonies. Lacking sufficient numbers of skilled personnel to administer their newly conquered lands, they sometimes either set up puppet governments or entrusted relatively high administrative responsibilities to the local nativeélites whom the former colonial powers had hitherto systematically kept in lower grade jobs[...]
