Thanks for posting from Toland’s “The Rising Sun.” It’s one of my favorite books. Toland’s wife was Japanese, so while he was able to write the war from the Japanese point of view, he was not a Japanese apologist. His account of the Bataan Death March left little to the imagination and after reading it, I had no problems with firebombing Tokyo. Something about “reaping the whirlwind.”
Even though Matsuoka signs this pact this week, on his way back to Japan through the USSR he will conclude a Non-Aggression Pact with the USSR, which Japan will scrupulously honor and the USSR will breach in August 1945. This shows how all Axis powers were really pursuing their own contradictory aims during the war. Hitler’s inability to get the Japanese to look north rather than south may have forfeited his chance to defeat the USSR and win WW2. But if you were a Japanese leader, it would be hard to look anywhere but south, since Siberia did not offer the readily accessible war materiel Japan desired.
So here you have an example, in today’s NYT, of these historical forces weaving their complex tapestry. The Japanese conclude their pact with Hitler, while America puts more economic screws on Japan’s war economy. Having been given a bloody nose by the Soviets, and with France defeated and Britain isolated, Japan is lured away from the USSR and towards conflict with Britain and the USA. So in a way, Hitler becomes a victim of his own success by defeating France so quickly. These are the ironies of history that make it so compelling to study.
The Rising Sun is one of my favorite books on the Pacific war as well. I also particularly like Ronald Spector's Eagle Against the Sun and its a rather interesting exercise to put the two together to look at things from a Japanese and American point of view.
My earlier post points out what might be a minor error in Toland's assessment, but minor is a key word there. Toland's book is one that I would recommend to anyone who want's to get a good analysis of the Japanese in World War II.
Thanks for another great post!