The Japanese Empire: Grand Strategy from the Meiji Restoration to the Pacific War

Sarah Paine does it again: a sweeping history of imperial Japan from Meiji Restoration through end of WWII. This is the best presentation I’ve read yet on Hirohito’s role in governance. I would have enjoyed more on Japan’s Manchuria adventure, and a bit less on mainland Chinese battles.

This book provides an excellent overview of the rise and fall of the Japanese Empire. The author analyzes why Japan, who was successful in two wars (First Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese) yet failed miserably in two later conflicts (Second Sino-Japanese and Pacific War against the USA).The picture painted is one of temporary success achieved by a modernizing group of leaders (Meiji Generation) who used all aspects of grand strategy (economic, foreign policy, social and military) to achieve the goal of making Japan not only fit into the arena of the Western dominated global system but also developed their country into a regional player as well. Their success, however, was fleeting as these men failed to institutionalize their new structure and Japan essentially reverted to their old bushido based society as the army, the most organized and effective organization, filled the void left by the Meiji Men.In their early wars, Japan emulated the Prussian model embodied by Otto von Bismarck who skillfully demonstrated what Clausewitz meant when he said war was politics by other means. Japanese leaders in the first two wars carefully crafted their goals and then used warfare (among other things) to bring their vision to fruition, In contrast, the later Japanese leaders (mid 1920’s onward) fell into the same trap as their future allies in Germany by relying solely on an military operational approach to achieve their goals, an approach that doomed them. For example, in the first two wars the Japanese leaders laid the foundation for an exit strategy even before the first shots were fired whereas later they made no effort to prepare for that eventual step of war termination.The author also spends a good deal of time comparing and contrasting continental versus maritime powers. This is useful not only for general knowledge and analyzing military conflicts throughout history, but it also becomes the bedrock of his critical point: Japan’s biggest failure was its attempt to become a continental power when geography clearly indicated their greatest chance of success and power lay in making themselves into a great maritime power.As one might expect this book is one of decision making and grand strategy so you will not find any in depth discussion of campaigns or battles except in how it reflected the strategy that Japan tried to execute that it mistakenly thought was grand strategy when in reality it was operationally based.Along with all this analysis Paine makes insightful observations regarding different aspects of the conflicts involved and helps the reader to see the situation in the same light as those who lived through this tumultuous time.. For examples, in his discussion regarding the US use of atomic bombs he writes “During the war, Americans did not feel angst over the enemy civilian death toll from the air war or even from the atomic bombs. They had lost too many of their own children and wanted a victory that minimized their own children’s deaths. Only from the security of a postwar world, no longer under threat of Imperial Japanese or Nazi German aggression, have subsequent generations criticized the air war.” The parallels he draws between Germany’s war with Russia and the Japanese war with China are also interesting as well.In the end, I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn the basics about the Japanese Empire during this crucial period. The analysis of not only the Japanese decision making but also the principles of grand strategy and the fundamental differences of continental and maritime powers in their pursuit of security richly packs this quite pithy (187 pages) book.

A great product at a fair price but the package arrived open and unsealed. It’s a miracle he book was not more damaged.

THIS IS A VERY INFORMATIVE BOOK THAT COVERS A PERIOD OF JAPANESE HISTORY FROM THEMEIJI RESTORATION AND THE FIRST SINO-JAPANESE WAR IN 1895 TO THE END OF THE PACIFIC WARIN 1945, SHE IS VERY WELL INFORMED , HOWEVER SHE IS BIASED AGAINST JAPAN.JAPAN MADE A ROAD IN FIFTY YEARS FROM BEING A FEUDAL COUNTRY TO A VERY INDUSTRIALIZEDAND POWERFUL NATION, AND TO AVOID BEING ENGULFED BY THE WESTERN POWERS IN THE LATENINETEEN CENTURY LIKE CHINA , IT HAD TO CREATE ITS OWN EMPIRE.OF COURSE DURING THOSE FIFTY YEARS JAPAN MADE A LOT OF MISTAKES LIKE FIGHTING NATIONALISTCHINA RATHER THAN JOINING HER IN THE STRUGGLE AGAINST COMMUNISM THE MAIN ENEMY OFTHE CIVILIZED WORLD WEST AND EAST , IN THIS POINT I AGREE WITH THE AUTHOR.THE GOAL OF JAPAN WAS TO CREATE A PAN ASIAN ORDER FREE FROM BOTH SOVIET COMMUNISM ANDWESTERN IMPERIALISM, A VERY IDEALISTIC GOAL.THE AUTHOR POINTS OUT THE ATROCITIES COMMITED BY JAPAN, AND SHE IS RIGHT, BUT BOTH THE SOVIETUNION AND THE WESTERN ALLIES DID WORST THINGS , NOT TO MENTION THE CHINESE NATIONALISTS ANDCOMMUNISTS ALIKE ; THE AUTHOR EVEN JUSTIFIES THE RELENTLESS FIREBOMBING OF THE JAPANESE CITIESAND THE TWO ATOMIC BOMBS , THAT LEFT HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS DEATHS IN THEIR WAKE.THE DEFEAT OF JAPAN REMOVED THE ONLY BULKWARK AGAINST COMMUNISM IN THE FAR EAST AND SOUTH ASIA,FOUR YEARS LATER, IN 1949, CHINA BECAME COMMUNIST, UNDER MAO ZEDONG WHO INSTALLED THE MOSTCRIMINAL REGIME IN THE 20TH CENTURY ALONGSIDE WITH STALIN AND HITLER, THIS IN TURN PROVOKEDTHE BLOODY WARS IN KOREA AND VIETNAM , THE SUBVERTION IN MALAYSIA, INDONESIA AND BURMA,THE OBLITERATION OF THE TIBETAN NATION AND THE GENOCIDAL REGIME OF THE KHMER ROUGE IN CAMBODIA.TODAY WE HAVE THE TOTALITARIAN NORTH KOREA ARMED WITH NUCLEAR WEAPONS, AND THE ROOTOF THIS CAN BE TRACED BACK TO 1945 WHEN BOTH SUPERPOWERS (USA AND THE USSR) DIVIDED THECOUNTRY ALONGSIDE THE 38TH PARALELL , IN YALTA AND POSTDAM.

This is a great book. However, the print font is unusually small, so if you have any eyesight issues you may find it difficult to read comfortably. Also the print of the pages is significantly defaulted in towards the binding so it is hard to spread the pages to read easily.

Interesting treatment of the rise and fall of the Japanese overseas empire from the late 19th century through WWII. Perhaps the last chapter was the most interesting. The author suggests that Japan failed, because they tried to become a continental based power instead of following a course as a maritime power, which they were more suited to. Another interesting thesis in the conclusion that Japan might have been better off supporting allying with the Nationalist Chinese as a trading and resource partner, and creating a unified China. Rather than starting an un winnable war. One minor editorial quibble. In the chapters in the Russo-Japanese war, it would benefited from a sentence indicating that Lushun (Chinese city) was known as Port Arthur at the time. Especially for readers not previously familiar with the geography of that war.