[Brilliant Results in the Great East Asian War]

Japan’s global ambitions in late 1942.

This inflammatory map of Asia and the Pacific was published in 1942 by Osaka Minichi Newspapers. From the PJ Mode Collection of Persuasive Maps at Cornell University;

“The prominent dashed line extending southeast from the north Pacific near the Aleutian Islands is labeled “Just Before the Start of the War.” It tracks the Japanese fleet to the attack on Pearl Harbor and then south and west across the Pacific. Information is provided about enemy ships sunk, the numbers of enemy soldiers killed (horizontal figures in green), and those captured (standing figures in red, with arms raised). The size of the figures is proportional to the numbers. The grey shaded area on the map represents “Our Seas,” asserting naval control from the central Pacific south and west to the coasts of Australia, India, and Africa. The grey arrows suggest possible invasions aimed at Madagascar, three coasts of Australia, and both Victoria and San Francisco in North America.”

Source.