Container ships at Yokohama Port (©Sankei by Ryosuke Kawaguchi)
The story of humanity is interwoven with the seas in all the centuries gone by. The primacy of the vast and seemingly endless seas and oceans has rendered it as "ground zero" for contemporary globalization. Maritime spaces display a complex interplay of culture, language, economics, politics, and their consequent geo-economic, and geopolitical significance.
The story of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and the roots of their placement in Japan's history remains intriguing. Notably, nearly all of Japan's foreign trade remains sea-borne with a large part of it flowing along two major sea routes.
Japan's Sea Routes
The first is the Pacific route. Its central lane links Japan with Canada and the United States. The southern lane links Japan with Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands, and the southeastern lane with South America.
The second sea route for Japan's trade flow is the Indian Ocean route. It connects Japan via the East and South China Seas and the Strait of Malacca with the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, and Europe, stretching to the east coast of Africa. Nearly one-half of Japan's seaborne trade is carried along the Indian Ocean route. It remains vital for Tokyo's tanker fleet in particular — given that it is the only economical route available to Japan.
The vitality of this route has only increased with the passage of time. Recognizing this, Japan began enhancing its trading ties with the Persian Gulf region in the early 20th century.
The post-1945 decade saw a rapid dissolution of European empires across the Indian Ocean. Though Japan was a notable sea power in the pre-1945 world, it did not exercise a telling influence in the Indian Ocean area during peacetime.
Tokyo's influence started only when it forayed into the Indian Ocean in pursuit of its war objectives. It sought naval and aerial supremacy over what was termed the "Southern Resources Area." That region essentially was a broad arc stretching from the Andamans in the Bay of Bengal to the Bismarck Archipelago in Southeast Asia.
Imperial Japan
This takes one back to when Japan announced its Southern Expansion Doctrine or Nanshin-ron (南進論), proposed by the late 19th century. It was the Empire of Japan's political doctrine that earmarked Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands as its predominant spheres of interest. In Japanese historiography, "Nanshin-ron" has often been used to describe the significance of the "South Seas" region.
Following the Meiji Restoration (1868), the Nanshin-ron policy gained primacy for trade and emigration in Southeast Asia around the late 1920s. During its initial phase, the South Seas Mandate essentially identified the economic and military development of the region as becoming critical for Japan's security. By the time of World War II, the policy had evolved and constituted part of the basis of Japan's Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.
Interestingly, research on 20th-century Japanese military history reveals an essay titled "From the Offensive to the Defensive: Japanese Strategy During the Pacific War, 1942-44" by Shindo Hiroyuki. Shindo argued that by mid-1940, Japan had adopted a national policy of expanding southwards even at the risk of war with the Western powers.
Adoption of this "Southward Advance" policy was noteworthy since it marked the first time when the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) agreed to such an advance into Southeast Asia. Traditionally, the region was considered the Imperial Japanese Navy's (IJN) geographical area of responsibility.
Contemporary Significance
The term "South Seas" has almost ceased to be used in postwar Japan. Literally, it means the southern seas as seen from Japan. Specifically, it evokes an image of islands in Southeast Asia and the Pacific rather than the seas there — being a shortened version of the term "South Sea Islands." Therefore, the term "South Seas" corresponded to the contemporary term "South Pacific."
After the 1990s, the Pacific Island countries were not inclined to be referred to collectively as the "South Pacific." Thus, these countries began to be referred to as the "Pacific Island Countries."
Asia's journey through the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean broadens the horizon of Japan's foreign and security policy as a comprehensive conceptual construct. This journey has navigated an extensive path to reach where it stands today, enhancing and improving connectivity between Asia and Africa through a free and open Indo-Pacific. This contemporary reality has emerged from many centuries of history lived through these oceans.
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Author: Dr Monika ChansoriaLearn more about Dr Chansoria and follow her column "All Politics is Global" on JAPAN Forward, and on X (formerly Twitter). The views expressed here are those of the author and do not reflect the views of any organization with which she is affiliated.
