Japan was defeated in World War II, and Great Britain was among its winners. However, Mrs. History introduces unexpected amendments to any formal status. crash british empire occurred within a few years of the end of World War II. And it was caused in many respects by the actions of Japan.

With late XVIII century, especially after the loss of most of the colonies by England in North America, India (and all the Asian possessions of England in the aggregate) was rightly considered the foundation of the power of the British Empire. Even Napoleon dreamed of inflicting a mortal blow on England by capturing India. In World War I, Germany tried to stir up an anti-British movement in India. Second world war Japan was able to proceed directly to the capture of British colonies. At that time, except for India, England in South- East Asia belonged to Burma, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Beginning imperial expansion in the 20th century, the Japanese ruling circles put forward the concept of "a sphere of co-prosperity of great East Asia". It proclaimed the liberation of all the peoples of the "yellow race" from the rule of the white colonizers. This doctrine masked the creation of a single empire in this region under the auspices of Japan.
Except England, colonial powers in the region were France (it owned Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia), the Netherlands (Indonesia) and the United States (Philippines). All these countries have been counting their independence since the time of the Japanese occupation. China was also in the position of a semi-independent country, and the Japanese, under racist rhetoric, created a collaborationist government there as well.

Capturing these territories from their former owners, the Japanese militarists did not skimp on declaring the independence of the new states. Many leaders of the national liberation movements agreed to cooperate with Japan, seeing in it a deliverer from the colonial rule of the "whites".

In the context of the Second World War, a significant part of the national liberation movement in India also relied on Japan's help. At the head of this wing was Subhas Chandra Bose, a well-known scientist, repeated chairman of the Indian National Congress, who was called by his followers the "respected leader".

Unlike Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru - the ideologists of non-violence, Chandra Bose was convinced of the need for the violent conquest of India's independence. With the outbreak of World War II, he pinned his hopes on an alliance between Germany and the USSR against England. Bos later continued cooperation with Germany.

In December 1941, Japan entered the war against England and the United States and in February 1942 captured Malaya and Singapore. Bose and his associates moved the center of activity to Singapore, where a significant part of the population was then Indians (and the name of the city is Indian).

In January 1942 Japanese troops from the territory of union Thailand (which was then called Siam) entered into British colony Burma and until May 1942 completely occupied it. The Burmese Independence Army participated in this operation on the side of the Japanese. On August 1, 1943, the formation of the independent State of Burma was proclaimed in Rangoon.

In October 1943, the "Provisional Government of Free India" was formed in Singapore. With the support of the Japanese, the formation of parts of the "Indian National Army"(INA). In March 1944, the 15th japanese army in the amount of three divisions and one (out of three) INA divisions launched an invasion from Burma into Assam (northeast India). However, the colonial Indian corps, which remained loyal to Britain, did not allow the Japanese-Indian forces to go far. In June 1944, the Japanese and the INA retreated from Indian territory.

In 1945, units of the INA took part in defensive battles against British troops in Burma. With the end of the war, they were forced to lay down their arms and surrender to the colonialists on the terms of internment and repatriation. But the British broke their promise. Many of the INA fighters were imprisoned under the pretext that they were former members of the British colonial forces. against three senior officers The INA was organized by the British authorities for a judicial tribunal at the Red Fort (Delhi). Under pressure public opinion the death penalty for them was replaced by life exile.

However, the situation after the war was such that Great Britain could no longer restore its dominance in its Asian colonies. On August 15, 1947, the independence of India was proclaimed. In January 1948, the British were forced to grant independence to Burma. For more than a decade, England led a senseless colonial war, trying to maintain its dominance over Malaysia and Singapore, but in 1957-1963. went from there too.

The assessment of the events of the Second World War in the countries of Southeast Asia is fundamentally different from its assessment in the countries of Europe and America. Collaborationist leaders such as Aum San (Burma-Myanmar) and Sukarno (Indonesia) are revered there as founding fathers independent states. Great reverence, along with Gandhi and Nehru, is surrounded in India by the name of Subhas Chandra Bose. BUT national flag modern Republic India became the tricolor banner of the Indian National Army, which fought against England on the side of Japan.

I am not a supporter of anti-Americanism, but I have to admit that now, sixty years after the end of the war, my country is practically an American colony. Partly because of the US-Japan security treaty, and for a variety of economic, financial, and geopolitical reasons, our people have been enslaved by America. You would think that the Americans are still taking revenge on Japan for the attack on Pearl Harbor!

Thanks to Obama's election, the US began withdrawing troops from Iraq, but more than 40,000 remain in Japanese territory. american soldiers. Officially, they are here for protection - from the North Korean, Russian and Chinese threat, from the threat of application nuclear weapons. Almost ninety military bases, and thirteen of them - huge and very expensive - in one archipelago of Okinawa, which was even occupied by the US until 1972. In addition, Washington does not reimburse the costs of maintaining this contingent. So these four billion dollars are paid almost entirely by Japanese taxpayers. In addition, those who live near military installations are no longer able to exist in such conditions. Such a concentration of bases on the territory of small Okinawa. But such half-measures will not remove the question. In addition, one of the paradoxes of the presence of these bases in Okinawa is that they hardly benefit the local economy. The Ryukyu archipelago, of which the Okinawa Islands are a part, remains the poorest region in Japan. The unemployment rate there is four times higher than in other parts of the country, and the gross domestic product per capita is well below the average. The only industry that functions more or less normally is tourism ...

These military bases were established in Japan after World War II, during the years of our country's occupation by the Americans (1945-1952), when they sought to contain Soviet and Chinese expansion. China, Soviet Union and the countries under his influence - such as Cuba - were quite clearly defined as enemies. America was terrified that Japan would turn sharply to the left and end up in the communist camp. General MacArthur was very cunning: he dispelled the myth of the divinity of the emperor, but left him to live in the Palace and proclaimed him a symbol national unity. In doing so, he encouraged right-wing and far-right forces. Since then, Japan has become a democratic country that recognizes human rights and long time without much hesitation relied on the all-powerful Conservative Party, which enjoyed the solid support of Washington. Left-wing parties were assigned only the role of spectators. But that era has come to an end. Now the US and Japan should rethink the basis of their relationship.

Twenty - thirty years ago, when the phenomenon of "demonstrative flogging" (a form of primitive criticism directed against the Japanese) existed almost constantly, the Americans punished Japan for every political measure that they considered a hindrance or a sign of resistance. Now the economies of these two countries are so closely linked that the situation has completely changed. The US imports goods from "popular Japan" - cartoons, video games, comics, clothing, design items, films - and it seems that they have become more respectful of us. America and Japan are interdependent, and when the US coughs, Japan gets a runny nose.

Judging by the way things are unfolding, I'm sure that Japanese authorities the United States will be obeyed for a long time, like exemplary kids. These are the sad realities of our country. I believe that, unlike the French, the Japanese are not able to confront the Americans head-on, that is, to force them to respect themselves and their right to make independent political decisions. You might think the Japanese are not allowed to. We live in a country that is content with such contradictions and accepts them. According to the 9th article of our Constitution, approved in 1947 by the United States (which robs Japan of "the right to war"), and following the principles of the San Francisco Peace Treaty (1951), Japan theoretically has no right to possess weapons. And what happens now, when we do not know how we can ensure the payment of pensions? Japan becomes great again military power. Its military budget ranks fourth or fifth in the world, at around thirty billion euros a year.

Japan seeks to assert its independence. Therefore, the leadership of the country considers it necessary to move precisely along this path, which ensures our strength. But the arms race, which included all the major economic powers in Asia - primarily China and Japan, but also Taiwan, South Korea, North Korea and other countries - does not contribute to the preservation of peaceful relations and mutual trust. China's military budget grows by about 10% every year (from ten to fifteen percent, approaching thirty billion euros), and may soon be equal to ours. I believe that Japan, China and other countries Asian region must return to a peaceful track, negotiate, conclude agreements on peace and friendship, and spend all these billions on primary needs: the fight against poverty, education, health care, pensions, protection environment... But perhaps I'm too naive ...

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• Colonies and Kingdoms. Encyclopedia, Morris Neal. Following the great discoverers, the Europeans moved through Atlantic Ocean to explore and colonize new lands. It soon became clear that in the New World there are many ...
• Colonies and Kingdoms, Morris N.. Following the great discoverers, Europeans moved across the Atlantic Ocean to develop and colonize new lands. It soon became clear that in the New World there are many ...