It was this possibility that made Japan’s aims, as outlined in the
alliance, so significant. Berlin and Rome waved Japan ahead toward the
conquest of “Greater East Asia.” Until 1940 Tokyo’s official claims
had reached out only to Manchuria and China. But the new term brought
southeast Asia into the picture as well. This area would certainly
include Indo-China, Siam, Burma, Malaya, the Dutch East Indies and the
Philippines. On its outskirts lie Australia, New Zealand and India. By
formally announcing “Greater East Asia” as Tokyo’s sphere of influence,
the Axis-Japan pact served as a blueprint of the Far Eastern sector of
the world order which the Axis alliance hoped to establish.