Japan's Early Twentieth Century Entry into Burma and British Perceptions (and Misperceptions) of the Friend that Became a Foe, 1903–1943: A Case Study in the Global Blindspot

Abstract

This is an analysis of Japan’s early twentieth century relations with the contemporaneously important Burma. It questions how it is that the British Empire, imperial overseer of Burma, allowed Japan to enter Burma and build up so much power to eventually overthrow the British themselves. The paper relies on primary archival materials to demonstrate that decade by decade, from the 1910s to the 1940s, Britain knew that Japan was building up its economic, then political, then military power, yet did nothing. This I term the ‘global blindspot’.