Continental Policy of Japan as Seen From France: Dynamics of the “Collaboration” and the “Resistance” in Indochina, 1940–1945 (Part One)
https://doi.org/10.55105/2687-1440-2025-54-125-147
Abstract
The article continues to analyze the little-studied aspects of Japanese-French relations during the Second World War – the collaboration of the French state (Vichy regime) and the authorities of French Indochina with Japan and their resistance to the Japanese military, political, economic, and propaganda expansion. The strategic goal of Japan after the military defeat of France in 1940 was to establish control over Indochina, so as to include it into the “Great East Asia CoProsperity Sphere.” The Vichy regime proclaimed a policy of “preserving the empire,” but had to compromise with Japan because of the inequality of forces in the region and its remoteness, and then, from late 1941, the complete isolation of Indochina from the homeland.
The actions of the Indochina authorities were usually considered in isolation from the policy of the French state as a whole, therefore, the article pays special attention to the policy making process and its authors, as well as the analysis of the concepts of “collaboration” and “resistance,” which, in this case, have a specific meaning. The work is based on documents, diaries, memoirs, and other evidence from the actors in combination with the latest historical research.
Keywords
Japan,
France,
the French state (Vichy regime),
Indochina,
expansion,
collaboration,
security,
resistance
About the Author
V. E. Molodiakov
Takushoku University, Research Institute for Global Japanese Studies
Япония
Япония
Molodiakov Vassili E., Doctor of Sciences (Political Science), Professor
Otsuka 1-7-1 G-210, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 112-0012
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Review
For citations:
Molodiakov V.E. Continental Policy of Japan as Seen From France: Dynamics of the “Collaboration” and the “Resistance” in Indochina, 1940–1945 (Part One). Yearbook Japan. 2025;54:125-147. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.55105/2687-1440-2025-54-125-147
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