Criticising Colonialism in pre‑1945 Japan

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From the beginning of Japanese colonial rule, some people began to raise their voices to criticize this new domination on overseas people. During the Taishō democracy period, these voices began to be heard, prior to be smothered during the 1930’s. There were many people who doubted the capacity of the Japanese State to assimilate colonialized populations. We can separate these contestators of the colonial system in three major trends of ideas.1) A moral movement, which emerges basically as a fierce criticism of repressive police and army’s methods against colonial populations (especially after the 1919 independence movements in Korea).2) An economical criticism, inherited from the western liberal philosophy, stating that colonization cost more than it can bring in profits. This trend does not really care about the colonial situation in itself, but consider that the colonial programme is short-termed enterprise as colonial people will obviously struggle against the colonial ruler and defeat it sooner or later.3) Criticisms of the colonial system appearing inside the Japanese academic world itself, among professors in charge of studying and teaching colonial policies: their analysis of the colonial domination leads them to admit the ineluctability of the “home rule” in colonial countries, or even their independence.