In 1936 Japan and Germany signed the Anti-Comintern Pact, joined by Italy the following year. Subsequently when Germany then Italy were at war with Britain, which is one of the great powers at the Pacific region; Japan, because of her geographical interest and strategic locality was also involved regionally. When United States of America openly supported the British Commonwealth; of which Malaysia is a member country, the situations became more difficult. However, this was not all; another confusing factor was the working alliance between Germany and Russia in the early days of the war where Japan traditionally had for years upheld the anti-Communist policies. Nevertheless, Japan at Hitler’s Machiavellian stroke, managed to bring Soviet Russia into the same camp with Germany, Japan & co. Japan’s attitude towards USA and other Pacific Powers hinged upon her conception of her mission as the standard bearer of culture in the Far East. A few weeks before attacking Holland, Mr. Hachiro Arita (Japanese Foreign Minister) had expressed concerned over the possibilities of the war being extended to the East Indies. On May, 11, 1940 the day after Hitler’s attack on Low Countries, Mr. Arita reiterated that Japan would not tolerate any change in the political status quo of the Far East to which Sir Robert Craigie, British Ambassador to Japan hastened to inform that British had no intention to interfere with. Prince Fumimaro Konoye, a patrician and totalitarian politician came to power as Japan’s Fascist Premier, and formed his first Cabinet on July 21, 1940. He’d set to work away with the party system in favour of turning Japan into a Fascist state ! He ambitioned the establishment of a new frontier of world peace in accordance with the lofty spirit of Hakkoichiu ( eight corners of the world under one roof – with foundation from the solidarity of Japan, Manchukuo and China. ) hence the formation of a new political order in East Asia. Moreover, Mr. Yosuke Matsuoka, the newly appointed Foreign Minister declared in a statement that Japan was to proclaim and demonstrate Kodo ( the Imperial Way ) throughout the world. “We should be resolved to surmount all obstacles which lie in our path and, in concert with those friendly powers ready to cooperate with us, strive for the fulfillment of the Heaven-ordained mission of our country.” He said. In June, Japan demanded:-
- The French authorities in Indo-China should refuse to allow the passage of arms to Chiang Kai-shek’s army; which the French acquiesced at once.
- The British to stop the transit of war materials, petrol, lorries and railway materials into China through Burma and Hong Kong.
The news of the closure was received with intense regret in Chungqing, the Capital of China transferred in 1937 from Nanjing. Marshal Chang Kai-shek said “If, by closing the Burma Road, Britain hopes to shorten the war in the Far East, I am sure on the contrary, that she will lengthen the duration and widen the scope of hostilities. So long as China has not attained the objective for which she has been fighting, namely, the preservation of her sovereignty and her territorial and administrative integrity, she will not lay down her arms.” The Japanese further confronted the French authorities with a 72 hours ultimatum on Sept. 19 resulting in an agreement signed Sept 22, that:-
- to station 6000 troops for their supervision.
Japan was granted the right of passage of Japanese troops.
- Japanese army was permitted to establish 3 air-force bases in Tongking, and
- To station a certain numbers of Japanese troops in Haiphong.
In June 12 1940, Japan & Thailand‘d concluded a 5 years of amity which gave unmistakable evident of Japan’s peaceful mission. With this, it certainly endowed her with advantages in any future conflict with Britain starting with Peninsular Malaya. Over in Shanghai, by agreement with the French military, Japan had taken over the French policing of the concession at the end of July in 1940. Light tanks started entering the Sikawei of the French‘s territory. The newly appointed Japanese Ambassador to the USA, Mr. Matsuoka, in an outburst asked his audience of both Japanese and Americans to imagine what would happen if the USA joined in the European war. He warned the Americans to think twice before they took the fatal leap, but he made it clear that Japan was, and would remain loyal to her allies. Moreover, in the future Japan’s policy would resolve around the Three Power Pact.
He invited his audience to look forward to fifty years to an era of enduring peace and unlimited prosperity in a Greater East Asia, where we have a great mission as a civilizing and stabilizing force. “We shut the door nowhere and to no one! Is it too much for Japan to ask for half a century to prove her?”
related photos on: http://melakatoday.spaces.live.com/photos/cns!9DCC8D8FFEBA83E1!616/
