Analysing Racial Theories and Hierarchies Existing at the Time of the Asia-Pacific War: Japan’s View of the “South-Sea Islands”

Abstract

This paper provides an analysis of the racial theories and conceptions prevailing in Japan during the Asia-Pacific War, a period spanning approximately 15 years from the Mukden Incident of 1931 until 1945, highlighting Japan’s imperialism in East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania. The central theme explores how the Japanese Empire positioned itself in comparison to Western nations and other Asian peoples, leading to the creation of a racial hierarchy with the “Yamato race” at the pinnacle, while categorizing all other Asian ethnicities into different levels below. Particular emphasis is placed on the racial theories and hierarchies constructed around the region back then referred to as “South Sea Islands”, Nan’yō guntō.