Japan’s Economic Domination In Southeast Asia During The Pacific War

As bogged down in the quagmire of the invading war to China, Japan made alast desperate effort on waging a war against the United States, the United Kingdomand the Netherlands on December,1941, which is called “the Greater East Asia War”.Several months later, the Japanese army occupied the vast areas of Southeast Asiaand the Western Pacific. In these areas, Japan took a rigid military domination,among which the economic control is the core.By using the empirical research method in history and taking the politics andeconomics theory analysis as a reference, this paper makes detailed researches on theeconomic control policy of Japan in the Southeast Asia during the Pacific War. In theperspective of the occurrence, development and demise of Japanese state monopolycapitalism together with combining the macro discussion and case analysis, thispaper aims at exploring its policy, organization system, method and means as well asimplementation effect. And it also explains the features, essence, role and effects.In order to achieve the above goals, this paper first states the Southeast Asiapolicy of Japan before the Pacific War, which serves as the background and bedding;then analyzes the evolution of the economic control policy of Japan in the SoutheastAsia during the Pacific War in a panoramic method, which explains the features andchanges of the military domination and economic control in different stages; nextexplores the policy and implement effect of the sub-system of economic control inbanking, finance, industry and trade; at last takes an overall comment on the wartimeeconomic control.This paper draws the following conclusions: Firstly, the economic controlpolicy of Japan in the Southeast Asia during the Pacific War takes "self-sufficiency”and "fuel war with warfare" as the short-term goal and the construction ofJapan-focused exclusive Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere and Yen EconomicCircle as the long-term goal, namely, through rigorous military domination andeconomic control, Japan aims to involving Southeast Asia into Japanese capitalism economic circle and make it as the quartermaster supplier and dumping market, thenfinally realizing the Southeast Asia economy as Japan’s subsidiary and being thesecond layer economic supplying circle of Yen Economic Circle. Secondly, sinceeconomic control policy is an integral part of state monopoly capitalism, so exceptfor the national and local military institutions, some private capital such as plutocrats,their investments to Southeast Asia is also under the wartime Materials MobilizationPlan arrangements, and then plutocrat capital constituted the means and content ofeconomic control policy. Thirdly, whether it be with Japan’s colonial rule in Taiwanand Korea, or compares with the pre-war Occident’s colonial rule in Southeast Asia,the economic control policy of Japan in the Southeast Asia during the Pacific War ismore coercive and brutal, especially in the later period of war, the brutal dominationin politics and crazy plunder in economy brought catastrophic disaster to theSoutheast Asian countries, which torn off Japan’s mask of being the whitewashedLiberator, revealed the "coexistence and common prosperity" policy is nothing butlooting resources in Southeast Asia and Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere isjust the colonial circle of Japanese militarism. Lastly, the economic control of Japanin Southeast Asia is characterized with an emphasis on banking, finance, industryand trade domination, which aims to maximize its control and plunder of the localresources. By contrast, the price control is inadequate which has led to a harsherinflation in Southeast Asia than other colony.The economic control policy of Japan in Southeast Asia contributes profoundchanges in Southeast Asia. Fighting against the invasion of Japan and struggling fornational independence become the top priority of Southeast Asian countries, whichindicates the transformation of entering into the national movement forindependence. After World War II, by using the economic means of compensation,assistance, investment and trade, Japan has ensured its raw material and market inSoutheast Asia, strengthened its own economic and political influence, as well asachieved its goals which unable to achieve by means of force during the Pacific War.The road that Japan from rise to expansion has become a negative teaching materialwhich proved that changing the international order in East Asia by using force andaggression will not work.