The Evolution Of Japan's Understanding Of Hainan Island (1873-1945

Since modern times,Japan has been coveting China’s Hainan Island for a long time.In addition to its strategic location and rich tropical resources in the South China Sea,Hainan Island is also closely related to Japan’s "southward expansion strategy".It is worth noting that Japan’s aggressive ambition and strategic understanding of Hainan Island did not come into being out of thin air,but went through a long development process.From 1873,when Japan established consular diplomatic relations with Hainan,to 1945,when Japan was defeated and withdrew from Hainan Island,Japan’s understanding of Hainan Island changed with its "southward strategy".From the preliminary understanding,to the focus on the economic value of Hainan Island and its surrounding South China Sea Islands,to the view of Hainan Island as the frontier base for Japan’s "southward expansion",even during the Pacific War,Hainan Island is also regarded as "one of the rings of the Greater East Asia Co-profit Circle".These changes in strategic understanding originated from the evolution of Japan’s "southward movement" policy in different periods,which in turn affected the Japanese government’s war decision-making to varying degrees.Taking the development and evolution of Japan’s "southward movement" and "southward movement" policies as clues,this paper takes the official Japanese archives collected by the Asian Historical Data Center of the National Archives of Japan,the Japanese documents of the National Library of Congress of Japan,and the news archives of the Kobe University News Archives as the main historical materials,to sort out the understanding of the Japanese government and the public on Hainan Island in different periods,and the changes of its focus,so we canexplore the evolution of Japan’s external expansion strategy.Finally,I will answer two questions:What is the value of Hainan Island in the understanding of Japanese invaders? How do these perceptions affect Japan’s war decision-making? The body of this article is divided into three chapters:This article first sorts out the development context of Japan’s "southward movement theory" and "southward movement" policy.As one of the main diplomatic ideologies of Japan in modern times,the "southward movement theory",which corresponds to the "northward movement theory",originated from the "sea defense policy" of the Edo period(1603-1868)thinker Sato Nobuchi.After the development of the Meiji period(1868-1912)and the Taisho period(1912-1926),the Showa period(1926-1989)officially became the "southward movement" national policy,and further evolved into the foreign aggression theory of "Greater East Asia Shared Prosperity Circle".By sorting out the content of Japan’s "southward movement" and "southward movement" strategy at different stages,combined with the international diplomatic environment faced by Japan at each stage,further explore the connection between Japan’s "southward movement" expansion and Japan’s strategic understanding of Hainan Island.Secondly,analyze the evolution of Japan’s strategic understanding of Hainan Island from 1873 to 1939,with a focus on exploring the different focuses of Japan’s attention and methods of aggression towards Hainan Island in different periods from the perspective of the evolution of Japan’s "southward advance" strategy.Through multiple historical materials such as the consul investigation report of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan,the investigation report of the Governor’s Office of Taiwan,and the archives of the army and navy: from the initial stage of understanding(1873-1914),Japan’s general understanding of Hainan Island;During the period of "economic southward advance"(1914-1936),Japan focused on the tropical resources of Hainan Island and consciously carried out a series of colonial expansion actions in Hainan Island,such as investment,industry and resource survey;Then,during the period of "national policy moving southward"(1939-1939),Japan focused on the strategic position of Hainan Island in the South China Sea,and positioned Hainan Island as a strategic place for Japan to control the Chinese Mainland northward and march southward into the Southeast Asia.Finally,explore Japan’s strategic understanding of Hainan Island from 1939 to1945,and study its strategic position in Japan’s external expansion.Through multiple historical materials such as Japanese archives and news reports from Japan’s land,sea,and foreign provinces,focuses on the perspective of the evolution of Japan’s "southward advance" strategy,taking the outbreak of the Pacific War in 1941 as the dividing point,and combs the fact that from 1939 to 1941,Japan regarded Hainan Island as the "southward advance stronghold" of the South China Sea,the "blockade base" of blocking China’s coastal areas in the north,and the "South China Sea treasure house" of plundering tropical resources,Then from 1941 to 1945,the evolution of Japan’s strategic understanding that Hainan Island was regarded as "one of the rings of the Greater East Asia co-prosperity circle",in order to explore the war concept of Japan’s foreign aggression.In a word,by studying the evolution of Japan’s understanding of Hainan Island,we can draw a conclusion that Japan’s aggressive ambition to Hainan Island in modern times was not created out of thin air,nor was it a temporary initiative.Japan’s strategic understanding of Hainan Island is closely related to Japan’s "southward strategy".The difference in Japan’s focus on Hainan Island and the means of aggression in different periods stems from the evolution of the "southward strategy",and vice versa,By studying the evolution of Japan’s understanding of Hainan Island,we can also outline the concept of Japan’s foreign aggression and expose the aggressive ambitions of Japanese imperialism.