Why did Japan invade the Philippines?

Japanese occupation in the Philippines

To understand why Japan invaded the Philippines during World War II, it is necessary to understand the background of that time.

Sino-Japan War and Japanese Invasion of French Indochina

The Japanese army advanced into northern French Indochina to cut off supply routes to the Republic of China, Japan’s opponent in the Sino-Japanese War. The U.S. and Britain were angered by this and banned the export of resources to Japan. Thus, Japan invaded southern French Indochina in search of resources in Southeast Asia. The U.S. imposed an oil embargo on Japan. Japan, wanting oil, decided to join World War II by attacking Pearl Harbor.

Around 1940, Japan was engaged in the Sino-Japanese War with China.

One of the routes for transporting aid supplies to China’s military was via French Indochina (now Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia). The Japanese army entered northern French Indochina to cut off the route of aid to China. The following year, the U.S. imposed a total oil embargo on Japan. Japan, which relied on oil imports, decided to launch an offensive to the south and built bases in preparation for the outbreak of war. In December 1941, Japanese forces landed in Kota Bharu and other locations on the Malay Peninsula, engaged in battles with British and Thai forces, and occupied the Malay Peninsula and Thailand. In a short period, the Japanese army constructed a military railroad that provided a land supply route between Thailand and Burma. The Japanese occupied the Seletar military port (Shonan, Singapore), a keystone of the East Asian seas, and acquired oil fields in the south to secure oil, a strategic commodity, which was then sent to Japan via Singapore.

In 1944, however, the U.S. military advanced into Manila and U.S. submarines and aircraft attacked and sank Japanese tankers, making it difficult to transport oil to the mainland.

Battles in the Philippines

During World War II, the Philippines became the site of a decisive battle between the U.S. and Japan, resulting in casualties estimated by the Philippine government as exceeding one million people. In particular, it is said that 100,000 people died in urban warfare in Manila.

The number of casualties due to war crimes, such as the killing of residents by the Japanese military, was also enormous. In addition, more than 500,000 Japanese were killed in the Philippines.

The reason why Japan invade the Philippines

Japan first occupied the Philippines at the beginning of World War II because it was located between the oil-producing Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) and Japan.

The Philippines was an important location for transporting oil from the Dutch East Indies and French Indochina to Japan.

In addition, the war between the U.S. and Japan made it necessary to invade the Philippines because it was an American colony.

Japan invaded the Philippines and occupied Manila.

Originally, the Philippines was a Spanish colony but was occupied by the U.S. in 1898. Later, the U.S. changed its policy to make the Philippines independent, and in 1935 an autonomous government was established. Ten years later, the Pacific War broke out while the country was set to become independent. As a result, Japan occupied the Philippines and took over the capital, Manila. In this war, the Philippines became a battleground twice. The first time was when Japan attacked and occupied the Philippines. Then, at the end of the war, the Philippines became the decisive battleground between the U.S. and Japan, with Manila being the largest battleground.

Japanese colonization in the Philippines

Was there Japanese colonization in the Philippines?  There is a difference between colonization and invasion and Japan did not colonize the Philippines.