[anigbrowl]

It's not historical revisionism, it's my desire to not write multiple paragraphs explaining the much briefer period of Japanese colonialism when the main point I wanted to make was about the British empire. By the time Japan launched its invasion of Manchuria the end of European colonialism was already in sight; Ireland had freed (mos of) itself from British domination a decade earlier, Gandhi had led the salt march in India the previous year and so on.

Yet amazingly Europeans found and continue to find no shortage of pearl clutching over Japan daring to do the same thing they did, in a dog-eat-dog world where not doing so meant becoming another pawn.

This is the exact opposite of how I feel about it. It was natural for Japan to emulate its geopolitical competitors, they just timed it poorly, overlooked the gradually rising tide of decolonization, and allowed the army in Manchuria too much leeway, culminating in atrocities that continue to haunt their foreign relations today.