Download - Canada ALPHA

Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
• The term used for the areas and territories occupied by Japan or under Japanese control
• Idea of Japanese cultural superiority over other Asian races
• Economic reasons
o raw materials from East Asian countries, oil from Dutch East Indies, rubber
from Indochina – for manufacturing industry
o export markets for goods and surplus population
• Political aspirations – considered colonies to be a basic prerequisite to achieving
international prestige and becoming a respected fi rst-rate nation
• Used language such as “Asia for Asians” or “liberating Asian countries from Western Imperialist
powers”
o but local governments were puppet regimes, and programs of
“Japanization” were implemented to undermine local customs and beliefs in
occupied territories.
Source: Study Guide for Teachers Iris Chang - The Rape of Nanking
http://edmontonalpha.org/study_guide.pdf
55