Participants
There were six "independent" participants and one observer that attended the Greater East Asia Conference. These are:
- Hideki Tōjō, Prime Minister of Japan
- Zhang Jinghui, Prime Minister of Manchukuo
- Wang Jingwei, President of the Reorganized National Government of China
- Ba Maw, Head of State, State of Burma
- Subhas Chandra Bose, Head of State of Provisional Government of Free India (Arzi Hukumat-e-Azad Hind)
- José P. Laurel, President of the Second Philippine Republic
- Prince Wan Waithayakon, envoy from the Kingdom of Thailand
Strictly speaking, Subhas Chandra Bose was present only as an "observer", since India was still under British rule. Furthermore, the Kingdom of Thailand sent Prince Wan Waithayakon in place of Premier Plaek Pibulsonggram to emphasize that Thailand was not a country under Japanese domination. The Premier also worried that he might be ousted should he leave Bangkok. Tojo greeted them with a speech praising the "spiritual essence" of Asia, as opposed to the "materialistic civilization" of the West. Their meeting was characterized by praise of solidarity and condemnation of Western colonialism, but without practical plans for either economic development or integration.
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“A civilization which leaves so large a number of its participants unsatisfied and drives them into revolt neither has nor deserves the prospect of a lasting existence.”
—Sigmund Freud (1856–1939)