Japan had something different to offer: “Asia for the Asiatics.” That slogan may sound banal today, but for a region long colonized, it was a powerful, revolutionary idea. Even Romulo conceded that it was “morally unassailable.

With the best hope for an Allied defense of the Pacific knocked out in one quick blow, the Japanese made brisk work of the rest. Guam fell on December 10, Thailand on the twenty-first, Wake Island on the twenty-third, and Hong Kong on Christmas Day. New Year’s Day saw Manila succumb. Then came the other great colonial capitals of Asia: Singapore on

When Japan invaded the U.S. Pacific empire in 1941–42, the surrenders had come quickly—Guam gave up within hours, the westernmost Aleutians were taken without a fight. But there were two reasons to think that things might not be so easy going the other direction. First, Japan, unlike the United States, had fortified its frontline colonies. Second,