Japan's history of colonialism - Sundus Khan

Japanese Colonial Empire:

Often times, when we think of Japan, the following images come to mind: anime, sushi, kawaii—innocent things. It often comes as a surprise to many people in the west when they find out that Japan was a massive colonial empire, with a large history of colonialism and imperialism.

Here were the regions annexed or occupied by Japan until 1945:

Annexed:

Korea

Taiwan

South Karafuto

Kwantung Leased Territory

South Pacific Mandate, Shandong (this was formerly apart of the German Empire)

Occupied:

Manchuria

Russian Far East, Baikal Area and Kamchatka

During WWII:

Several regions in mainland China

Portuguese Timor

Hong Kong (UK)

French Indochina

Thailand - as an 'allied' state although induced

Burma (UK)

British New Guinea

Philippines (USA)

Malaya (UK)

Andaman and Nicobar Islands (India)

Straits Settlements (Singapore)

Sarawak (UK)

Brunei (UK)

British North Borneo

Nauru (Australia, New Zealand and UK)

Dutch East Indies

Guam (USA)

Imphal (India)

Wake Island (USA)

Gilbert and Ellice Islands (UK)

Christmas island (Australia)

Attu, and Kiska (Alaska)

After the Japanese surrender in WWII, control over all of these territories were renounced by Japan.

The Japanese colonial empire was one of the largest empires in history, despite the island’s seemingly small size. The total amount of land under Japanese control reached to 3,300,000 square miles in 1942, and in 1943, Japan accounted for more than 20% of the world’s population. During this time, the colonies under Japan’s rule suffered greatly. Much of Japanese colonial rule was harsh, oppressive, and heavy-handed. Many of the occupied citizens went through heavy discrimination from Japanese authorities. For example, in Korea, many Koreans were pressured by colonial authorities to change their names to Japanese names, and those that did had a better chance of obtaining better jobs, etc. Koreans were looked at as “dirty” and many Koreans were forced to work in Japanese factories during the period of war from 1937-1945. Furthermore, young Korean women were drafted as sexual slaves for Japanese soldiers, called “Comfort Women”. There was an incredible amount of dehumanization done to the Koreans by the Japanese colonial authorities, and this was not uncommon in the other colonies Japan occupied as well.

Citations:

20th century: Korea as a colony of Japan, 1910-1945: Central themes and key Points: Asia for Educators: Columbia University. (2019). Retrieved April 16, 2021, from http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/main.

Japanese colonial empire. (2021, April 04). Retrieved April 16, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_colonial_empire

James, David H. (2010-11-01). The Rise and Fall of the Japanese Empire. Routledge. ISBN 9781136925467. Archived from the original on 6 July 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2018. by 1942, this 'Empire' covered about 3,285,000 square miles

List of territories occupied by Imperial Japan. (2019). Retrieved April 16, 2021, from https://military.wikia.org/wiki/List_of_territories_occupied_by_Imperial_Japan