The events of the Holocaust will always remain relevant.
And definitely some parallels between Japan's (a country with very minimal natural resources) conquests through Asia in the 1930s-40s in a bid to obtain oil, iron, rubber etc, and what China would like to do if they could.
The Axis of Upheaval are catching up in Bejing this week. A Putin, Kim and Xi lovefest seems not a million miles unlike a Hitler, Mussolini & Tojo meet and greet.
And definitely some parallels between Japan's (a country with very minimal natural resources) conquests through Asia in the 1930s-40s in a bid to obtain oil, iron, rubber etc, and what China would like to do if they could.
The Axis of Upheaval are catching up in Bejing this week. A Putin, Kim and Xi lovefest seems not a million miles unlike a Hitler, Mussolini & Tojo meet and greet.
Yes. Sobering.
And the war in Asia, well it almost starts as Japan increases its sphere of influence in Korea in the 1880s/90s. And not leaving out the British forcibly importing opium into China and the great power games there besides Japan.
I think it’s important to be careful when comparing the two. There was an ideology of superiority, but it is important to remember this harsh world applied to everyone. Injured troops were killed rather than evacuated. They were told to do suicide charges rather than surrender. Sacrificing individual freedom for your community’s success is preached in many places. The culture of honour was both true and enforced.
But Japan had a strong hopeful internationalist movement too, that was undercut by the West. Racial equality clauses were blocked in the treaty of Versailles and in a later navy treaty that attempted to stop the build up in armaments by setting ratios on ships. If trade deals with the US could have been done, that would have helped the internationalists to reel in the army. As it was the army could fairly claim that the West would never accept us and could not be trusted.
We’re talking about a world where India wasn’t independent of Britain and when many badly behaved colonial empires existed and limped on around the globe.
I think it’s better to look at Japan’s rise as the European empires retreated or reformed or in comparison to other empires. It was something nationalistic, and while hated for its brutality and war crimes, it was not driven by a philosophy of extermination or historic prejudices as much. The army in a way was similar to the East India Company in that it had a mind of its own and often got agreement rather than permission. And profit featured as a key motive for many.
How much US debt does China hold? How many US companies and others are dependent on their Chinese manufacturing and supply chains? It’s certainly not simple equation.