Continental Policy (Japan)

Japan's Continental Policy refers to a Pan-Asian strategy pursued by

There were already thoughts about expansion in Japan before the Meiji Restoration. Emperor Jimmu, the first Emperor of Japan, had thoughts of ruling the world. Also, Empress Jingū mentioned conquering Samhan.^[5]

In the late 16th century, Toyotomi Hideyoshi finished unifying Japan and he invaded Korea twice. The aim of the attack was to prepare for conquering China in the future. Although he failed in the end, this action symbolized the starting of Japan's expansion.

In the late

Tanaka Giichi is alleged to have presented the so-called Tanaka Memorial, a plan outlining the procedures of Continental Policy in 1927. According to the presented text, "If we want to conquer the World, we need to conquer China first. If we want to conquer China, we need to conquer Mongolia and Manchuria first. If we want to conquer Mongolia and Manchuria, we need to conquer Korea and Taiwan first."^[7] However, in the wake of the countless war crime accusations by the victorious Allies after World War II, intensive searches for a Japanese language original were unsuccessful, and the original document, if it existed at all, has never been found. Furthermore, in 1995, a former NKVD official stated that the document was a forgery created in 1931 by the Soviet Union to sow anti-Japanese sentiment abroad, especially in the United States.^[8]

While the Tanaka Memorial has been mentioned in newspapers and school textbooks in China, most Japanese historians contend that the document is a forgery.^[9]

Actions

Japan's first modern foreign action was the

In 1932, Japan captured Manchuria and built the puppet state of Manchukuo. Japan attacked China in 1937 and tried to finish the Continental Policy. But Japan failed to conquer China and lost in World War II, costing Japan all of her overseas land. This also symbolized the end of Japan's expansion and the failure of the Continental Policy.

References