Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere (Rays of the Rising Sun)

The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere (大東亞共榮圏 Dai-tō-a Kyōeiken) was an imperial concept created and promulgated for occupied Asian populations during the first third of the Shōwa era by the government and military of the Empire of Japan. It extended greater than East Asia and promoted the cultural and economical unity of Northeast Asians, Southeast Asians, and Oceanians. It also declared the intention to create a self-sufficient "bloc of Asian nations led by the Japanese and free of Western powers". It was announced in a radio address entitled "The International Situation and Japan's Position" by Foreign Minister Hachirō Arita on June 29, 1940.

An Investigation of Global Policy with the Yamato Race as Nucleus — a secret document completed in 1943 for high-ranking government use — laid out the superior position of Japan in the Greater Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, showing the subordination of other nations was part of explicit policy and not forced by the war. It explicitly states the superiority of the Japanese over other Asian races and provides evidence that the Sphere was inherently hierarchical, including the Japanese Empire's true intention of domination over the Asian continent.

The Sphere was in full implementation in 1946, by which point, the Japanese had almost complete control of East Asia. Various puppet regimes were established, and greater independence was given to them than originally planned, to keep rebellions from occurring.

Extent of the Sphere
As of 1946, several countries where part of the sphere:


 * Flag of Japan.svg Japan
 * [[File:Flag of the Republic of China-Nanjing (Peace, Anti-Communism, National Construction).svg|23px|border]] China
 * Flag of Manchukuo.svg Manchukuo
 * Philippines
 * Vietnam
 * Burma
 * Thailand
 * Kingdom of Malaysia
 * Indonesia
 * India
 * Cambodia

Later, by 1952, several other states joined:


 * Australia
 * Nepal