Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere (GEACPS), was a
fascist,
Showa Statist and
Imperialist idea of an
Asia dominated by
Japan and free from any western influence. GEACPS was the
pan-Asian alliance that the Empire of Japan sought to establish during WWII, often equated with the Japanese Empire's territories at its height, however the ideology can refer to the dream of Japanese hugemony as a whole. Initially, the Sphere only encompassed Japan (including annexed
Korea (Chōsen),
Manchukuo, and parts of
China. As the
Pacific War progressed, he expanded to include territories in
Southeast Asia. The term was first introduced by Minister for Foreign Affairs
Hachirō Arita on 29 June 1940.
The proposed objectives of this union were to ensure economic self-sufficiency and cooperation among the member states, along with resisting the influence of
Western imperialism and
Soviet communism. In reality,
militarists and
nationalists saw the Sphere as an effective
propaganda tool to enforce Japanese hegemony. The latter approach was reflected in a document released by Japan's
Ministry of Health and Welfare, An Investigation of Global Policy with the
Yamato Race as Nucleus, which promoted
racial supremacist theories. Japanese spokesmen openly described the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere as a device for the "development of the
Japanese race." When World War II ended, the GEACPS became a source of criticism and scorn.
History
Development of Japanese Imperialism
The concept of a
unified Asia under
Japanese leadership had roots dating back to the 16th century. For example,
Toyotomi Hideyoshi proposed to make
China,
Korea, and
Japan into "one". Moreover, Hideyoshi had further plans to expand into
India, the
Philippines, and other islands in the
Pacific.
Monroe Doctrine for Japan
In Autumn 1872, the
U.S. minister to
Japan,
Charles E. DeLong explained to U.S. General
Charles Le Gendre that he had been urging Japan to occupy
Taiwan and "civilize" the
Taiwanese indigenous people just as the U.S. had taken over the land of the
Native Americans and "civilized" them. General Le Gendre, the first non-Japanese person hired as a foreign policy expert by the Japanese government, encouraged the Japanese to declare a Japanese "sphere of influence" modelled on the
Monroe Doctrine that the U.S. had declared for the exclusion of other powers from the Western Hemisphere. Such a Japanese sphere of influence would be the first time a non-White state would adopt such a policy. The stated aim of the sphere of influence would be to civilize the barbarians of Asia:
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Japan began invading Taiwan in 1874 and fought the
Russian Empire for control of
Manchuria starting in 1904.
Continuing this American policy, U.S. President 🏳️ Theodore Roosevelt (r. 1901-1909) also secretly reiterated to Japan that, just as the U.S. under the Monroe Doctrine (and the addition of Roosevelt Corollary) declared the
Western Hemisphere as part his sphere of influence, Japan should create his own sphere of influence in the
Pacific Rim. Teddy was encouraged by Japan embarking on Western ways and developing a modern
military in the wake of the forced "Opening of Japan" by the United States that had begun with the
Perry Expedition. Roosevelt envisioned demarcating respective United States and Japanese zones of military and economic dominance in the Pacific Rim. Roosevelt told the Japanese that they are more racially similar to Americans than
Russians are, even though Russians are a
White race, and that Japan should take his place among the great Western powers to dominate, among other areas,
Korea and
Manchuria, but that Japan must not encroach on U.S. possession of the
Philippines. In much the same way that
Europeans used the "backwardness" of
African and
Asian nations as a reason for why they had to
conquer them, for the Japanese
elite the "backwardness" of
China and
Korea was proof of the inferiority of those nations, thus giving the Japanese the "right" to conquer them. This mutual recognition of the U.S. and the Japanese zones of control in the Pacific would be secretly articulated in the 🏳️ Taft–Katsura
Agreement of July 1905, essentially partitioning the Western Pacific Rim between the two powers.
World War II
On 3 November 1938, Prime Minister
Fumimaro Konoe and Minister for Foreign Affairs
Hachirō Arita proposed the development of the New Order in East Asia (東亜新秩序, Tōa Shin Chitsujo), which was limited to Japan,
China, and the puppet state of
Manchukuo. They believed that the union had 6 purposes:
- Permanent stability of
Eastern Asia - Neighbourly amity and international justice
Joint defense against communism- Creation of a new
culture - Economic cohesion and co-operation
World peace
The idea of the GEACPS developed from a series of issues. Japanese leaders had an
imperialistic interest in securing natural resources and expanding Japan's
territory,
military, and economy. In addition, they believed that
Westerners treated the Japanese unfairly, out of
racial and
ethnic prejudice against
Asians (despite themselves
massacring non-Japanese Asians), and they resented the Western
colonization of Asian countries as well as the discriminatory laws and sentiments against Asians in the
United States of America and other Western countries.
The GEACPS sought to incorporate all of East Asia, though this was cut short as the
United States decided to drop two atomic bombs on
Japan.
Beliefs
Pan-Asianism
WIP
Members
Empire of Japan
Northeast Supreme Administrative Council[1]
Manchukuo
East Hebei Autonomous Government
Mengjiang
Great Way Government
Japanese Provisional Government of the Republic of China
Reformed Government of the Republic of China
Wang Jingwei Regime
State of Burma
Second Philippine Republic
Azad Hind
Empire of Vietnam
Kingdom of Kampuchea
Japanese Kingdom of Luang Prabang
Thai State
Relationships
Allies
Shōwa Statism - Founder, leader, controller
Nazism - An ally, with similar goals to mine.
Enemies
Neoconservatism - Greedy
imperialists and
capitalists that want nothing more to exploit
Asia. Ignore that I literally do the same
How to draw

- Draw a ball.
- Draw a circle in the middle, the borders in red
- Draw the map of Asia-Pacific on a globe into the red circle, in red
- Fill the rest of the circle with white
- Draw rays of red spreading from the circle
- Fill the rest of the ball with white
- Add eyes and finish!
- Add some puppet states (optional)
| Color Name | HEX | |
|---|---|---|
| Red | #BC0024 | |
| White | #FFFFFF | |
Gallery
-
Original infobox image, showing the union as separate balls instead of one
-
A bit lazy, sorry
See Also
Notes
- ↑
Japanese puppet organization in
Manchuria before the establishment of
Manchukuo, not
Fengtian Clique
