Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere Worksheets
Do you want to save dozens of hours in time? Get your evenings and weekends back? Be able to teach about the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere to your students?
Our worksheet bundle includes a fact file and printable worksheets and student activities. Perfect for both the classroom and homeschooling!
Resource Examples
Click any of the example images below to view a larger version.
Fact File
Student Activities
Table of Contents
Add a header to begin generating the table of contents
Summary
- Historical Background and Establishment
- Greater East Asia Conference and the Imperial Rule
- The GEACPS' Failure and the Land Disposal Plan
Key Facts And Information
Let’s find out more about the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere!
The Empire of Japan proposed the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, also known as the GEACPS, intending to create a pan-Asian union. It initially included Japan, annexed Korea, Manchukuo and parts of China, but expanded to Southeast Asia during the Pacific War.
First introduced by Foreign Minister Hachiro Arita on 29 June 1940, its goals were economic self-sufficiency, cooperation among member states, and resistance to Western imperialism and Soviet communism. However, it was essentially a propaganda tool to enforce the Japanese Empire's dominance, as reflected in racially supremacist theories promoted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. It openly described the GEACPS' intentions as advancing Japanese racial development. Post-World War II, the concept faced significant criticism and disapproval.
The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere at its peak in 1942.
Historical Background and Establishment
- The idea of a unified Asia under Japanese leadership dates back to the 16th century with Toyotomi Hideyoshi's vision of uniting China, Korea and Japan. The modern concept emerged in 1917 when Japan likened its expansionism to the US Monroe Doctrine during the Lansing-Ishii Agreement. This idea influenced the development of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, which the Japanese Army compared to the Roosevelt Corollary. Japan's imperialism aimed to address domestic issues such as overpopulation and resource scarcity, as well as resist Western imperialism.
- On 3 November 1938, Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe and Foreign Minister Hachiro Arita proposed the New Order in East Asia, encompassing Japan, China and Manchukuo, with goals such as regional stability, defence against communism, cultural development, economic cooperation and world peace. These broad objectives facilitated support for militarism and collaboration.
- On 29 June 1940, Arita renamed this union the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, emphasising economic aspects. By 1 August, Konoe had expanded the union to include Southeast Asia, and on 5 November, he reaffirmed the continuation and enhancement of a Japan–Manchukuo–China yen bloc.
- World War II's outbreak in Europe allowed Japan to promote the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere without significant Western or Chinese resistance. This involved conquering Southeast Asian territories for their natural resources. Japan encouraged its subjects to endure economic hardships for the war effort, promoting moral superiority and spiritual essence over material gain.
- After Japan's advance into French Indochina in 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt imposed a trade embargo on steel and oil, which were essential for Japan's military. This prompted Japan to attack British and Dutch colonies in Southeast Asia in December 1941 to secure these resources. Successful conquests prompted announcements of the availability of resources in Japan.
- To 'liberate' Asian colonies from Western powers, Japanese propaganda promoted slogans such as 'Asia for the Asiatics'. They intended to replace Chinese agricultural dominance with Japanese settlers, though Southeast Asian natives resented this. They blamed the prolonged nature of the Second Sino-Japanese War on Western resource denial. Initially, the Japanese forces were welcomed, but their brutality turned them into enemies.
- Japan's war effort strictly exploited occupied territories, with harsh labour conditions causing significant casualties, such as on the Burma–Siam Railway. Japan spared some ethnic groups, such as supportive Chinese immigrants.
- A 1943 secret document entitled 'An Investigation of Global Policy with the Yamato Race as Nucleus' positioned Japan as the leader within the Co-Prosperity Sphere, asserting Japanese superiority and protection.
- This propaganda mobilised Japanese citizens by portraying expansion as an anti-colonial liberation. Booklets like 'Read This' and 'The War is Won' depicted colonialism as oppressive, justifying Japan's role as liberators.
Greater East Asia Conference and the Imperial Rule
- The Greater East Asia Conference, also known as the Tokyo Conference, took place in Tokyo on 5–6 November 1943. Japan hosted heads of state from various Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere members, using English as the common language. The event primarily served as propaganda.
Participants at the Greater East Asia Conference in November 1943
- Prime Minister Hideki Tojo opened the conference with a speech extolling Asia's 'spiritual essence' over Western 'materialistic civilisation'. The meeting stressed solidarity and condemned Western colonialism, but it lacked concrete plans for economic development or integration and had little military significance due to the absence of military representatives.
- The conference was intended to solidify Asian countries' commitment to Japan's war effort and improve its global image. Dignitaries included Hideki Tojo (Japan), Zhang Jinghui (Manchuria), Wang Jingwei (China), Ba Maw (Burma), Subhas Chandra Bose (Free India), José P. Laurel (Philippines) and Prince Wan Waithayakon (Thailand).
- Two conflicting ideologies drove the Japanese colonial empire during its wartime expansion. On the one hand, it promoted the unity of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, a coalition of Asian nations led by Japan against Western imperialism, celebrating Eastern spiritual values over Western materialism. On the other hand, the Japanese administration relied heavily on efficiency, modernisation and engineering solutions, with Japanese being the official language in all bureaucratic and educational systems.
- Japan established puppet regimes in Manchuria and China, which collapsed after the war. The Imperial Army's administrations were notoriously ruthless, except in the Dutch East Indies, where Japan focused on securing oil. Although the Dutch colonial government destroyed oil wells, Japan quickly repaired them. However, US Navy submarines severely hindered oil transport, exacerbating Japan's oil shortage. They also supported the Indonesian nationalist movement led by Sukarno, which gained power in the late 1940s after fighting the Dutch.
- In the Philippines, the Japanese Army aimed to use the islands as a source of agricultural products for its industry within the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. Efforts to grow cotton on former sugar lands failed due to a lack of seeds, pesticides and expertise.
- Displaced farm workers moved to cities, facing scarce relief and job opportunities. Other attempts to use local resources, such as cane sugar for fuel and abaca for rope, were futile due to skill shortages, market collapse, adverse weather and transportation issues. These efforts provided minimal aid to Japanese industry and diverted resources from food production, leading to hardships for Filipinos.
- During the war, living conditions in the Philippines deteriorated, with fuel shortages hampering transportation, food scarcity, periodic famines, and epidemic diseases killing thousands. In October 1943, Japan declared the Philippines an independent republic, establishing the Second Philippine Republic under President José P. Laurel. However, this Japanese-sponsored regime was ineffective and unpopular, as Japan maintained tight control. Filipinos quickly realised that 'co-prosperity' meant serving Japan's economic needs; hence, the regime was dubbed as a 'puppet government'.
The GEACPS' Failure and the Land Disposal Plan
- The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere disintegrated with Japan's surrender in September 1945. Ba Maw, the wartime president of Burma, criticised the Japanese military for their failure, stating that they imposed a Japanese-centric approach on everything and insisted that others conform to their ways. This attitude prevented genuine understanding and cooperation between the Japanese and other Asian peoples. Other nations failed to support the GEACPS because its purpose was to benefit Japan, not the collective Asian countries.
- While nationalist movements in Asia cooperated with Japan to some extent, there was never an actual unity of interests. Ba Maw argued that if Japan had sincerely pursued the ideal of 'Asia for the Asiatics' from the beginning and acted accordingly, they could have earned the trust and gratitude of many Asian countries. This could have significantly impacted Japan's postwar standing in emerging Asia.
- Japan's propaganda efforts during World War II included dropping pamphlets over the Philippines, Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak, Singapore and Indonesia, urging locals to join the Japanese cause. Japan established mutual cultural societies in these occupied territories to win over the natives and replace English with Japanese as the common language. Multi-lingual pamphlets showed Asians working together harmoniously, displaying the flags of all states and a map of the imagined GEACPS. Despite claims of granting independence to occupied countries, these puppet governments held no real power. Thailand constructed a street with modern buildings and shops to showcase progress, but most consisted of false fronts. The Greater East Asian Film Sphere, a network of Japanese-sponsored film production and distribution companies, produced shorts, newsreels and feature films to promote the Japanese language and cooperation with colonial authorities.
- Before World War II escalated into the Pacific and East Asia, Japanese planners anticipated retaining territories from previous conflicts with Russia (such as South Sakhalin and Kwantung), Germany (the South Seas Mandate) and China (Manchuria), along with Korea, Taiwan, and recently occupied portions of China and French Indochina. A significant planning document from December 1941, the 'Land Disposal Plan in the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere', drafted with the direction of Hideki Tojo, outlined expansive territorial ambitions.
- This plan envisioned Japan maintaining puppet governments in Manchukuo, Mengjiang and the Wang Jingwei regime in China, while also planning to conquer vast areas spanning East Asia, the Pacific and even parts of the Western Hemisphere.
Part of a Japanese propaganda booklet released during the Tokyo Conference in 1943, illustrating various scenes across Greater East Asia.
- The goal was not the immediate acquisition of all territories but preparation for a future war, aiming to seize Asian colonies of defeated European powers and the Philippines from the United States. Establishing puppet states resulted in limited autonomy, while actual independence efforts, particularly in Vietnam, emerged despite Japanese oversight.
- The primary objective of the Japanese Empire's Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere was to consolidate Asia under its leadership as a means to counteract Western imperialism. However, it primarily prioritised the Japanese Empire's self-interest.
- The ambitious propaganda and governance initiatives, which involved the establishment of puppet administrations and cultural assimilation, frequently clashed with the local population's aspirations for independence. The defeat of Japan in 1945 signalled the decline of this endeavour, revealing its inconsistencies and lack of widespread backing among the Asian communities it aimed to influence.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What was the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere?
The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere was a concept initiated by Japan during World War II. It aimed to create a bloc of Asian nations led by Japan and free from Western influence.
- When was the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere established?
Japanese Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe formally announced the concept on 1 August 1940. However, it evolved as Japan's territorial ambitions expanded during World War II.
- Which countries were part of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere?
The sphere included territories occupied by Japan during World War II, such as Manchukuo (Manchuria), parts of China, Southeast Asia (including the Philippines, Burma, Malaya, and Indonesia), and other Pacific islands. Japan intended to integrate these regions into its economic and political framework.