Colonialism and Southward Expansion - Japan's geographical perception on Asia and Nan'yo

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K01133
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 04020:Human geography-related
• Research Institution: Ibaraki University
• Principal Investigator: Yeh Chienwei 茨城大学, 人文社会科学部, 教授 (30242332)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 植民地 / 台湾 / 南洋 / 南進政策

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This research focuses on how the Imperial Japan had promoted the regional Integration of Asia (including Nan'yo),the Greater East Asia Co-prosperity sphere, and how it influenced the local societies. Taiwan was destined to be the base of Japan's southward expansion after its occupation in 1895. Since then, Japan expanded its interest towards Southern part of China and South pacific islands, Taiwan colonial government played the key role in Southward advance policy. As for the Japanese colonialists, the realization of the Co-Prosperity Sphere was their ultimate aim, which could only be achieved by drawing on their subject territories.In Nan'yo,various industries, such as phosphorus mining, manganese mining and sugar industry was exploited. In development of sugar industry, Taiwan's experience was trasfered, however few Taiwanese was engaged in to Nan'yo industry. Athough Taiwan was destined to be the core center of the Southward advance, it remaied only as an ideology.

Free Research Field

人文地理学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

日本は、南進政策を実施しアジア・太平洋の地域統合により新たな地域構造の構築を試みた。日本が唱える「大東亜共栄圏」の理念をいかに「理解」し、アジア新秩序のなかで自らの位置づけを把握していたか、それが人々のアイデンティティ形成・ナショナリズム形成にどのような影響を与えていたのかという問いに対し、本研究では植民地政策や南進政策の理念、植民地で蓄積された経験と知識の移転についての分析も試みた。植民地統治期に日本が構築したアジア・南洋の空間秩序の意味を問うことは、歴史的意義のためだけではなく、現代においてそれが日本とアジアとの関係にどのような意味を持つかを考察する上で意義深いと考える。