Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No.4, 2013

The Hidden Logic of Japan’s Foreign Wars: 1592-1945

(Abstract)

Han Dongyu

In 1592-1945, Japan waged a succession of large-scale wars in East Asia: the Invasions of Korea, the First Sino-Japanese War and the Aggression against China. The series of invasions against East Asia, which were drafted by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, developed by the Meiji emperor and culminated during the Shōwa period, have become a consistent mode of thinking and inertial force underlying the facts. The post-WWII view that advocates a cut-off of the links between wars does not conform to the Japanese statements and practices in history, but with the individualistic expressions of modern Japanese scholars. Therefore, it might be helpful to review the facts and the underlying logic between the wars and to restore the truth of regional wars, so as to throw insights on the theoretical and practical studies on East Asia.