Japan's rapid industrialization and militarization that resulted from the Meiji Restoration led to its emergence as a world power. Japan is a resource poor island without the natural resources necessary for mass production. Furthermore, economic and political turmoil in the 1920s led to the rise of militarism and totalitarianism, eventually culminating in Japan's membership in the Axis alliance with Germany and the conquest of a large part of the Asia-Pacific in World War II.
Asia For Asians
The Japanese viewed themselves as Asian liberators. Japanese leaders viewed themselves as leaders in creating a "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" while liberating Asian colonies from their European masters. The Japanese believed that their "bright and strong" souls made them the superior race, and therefore their proper place was in the leadership of the Greater East Asia. While they were never able to conquer all of Asia, the image below reflects their desire to return "Asia to Asians."