Japanese Imperialism: My Opinion
The actions of the Japanese Empire during the period covered in this website were wholly correct and justifiable. We as Westerners, living in the modern day, are generally shown this time period as one in which Japan is the evil conqueror of the East, taking helpless inlands and countries greedily, before being stopped by the mighty power of the "Free World". But this worldview is one that confidently ignored that scarcely 20 years before World War 2, countries of the "Free World" such as the British Empire, The French and many others were in fact ALSO conquering helpless islands and colonies as well. Since Japan was late on the International Scene, by the time that it started an Imperialistic policy, other Empires were starting to ditch it. It's like someone coming to school in 2009 with a cd player and a watch, and having the other students look down on this 'idiot', who is just doing what they did a few years back. Some people also say that the actions taken by the Japanese on their conquered peoples were unjust and uncivilized. I wonder if those people have ever heard about the horrors of the Belgian Congo, or the murder and enslavement of the Aztecs and Inca by the Spanish. Even such countries as the "'good ol' US of A" have done such things, in places like Argentina, Panama, and Afghanistan, making them part of the Empire of Democracy (at the point of a bayonet). So the next time someone tells you of the horrors of Japanese's Imperialism, don't respond. Just show them a picture of the Vietnam War to show them: "They aren't the only ones who do it."

*This Editorial was a requirement of the project.