Itagaki Seishiro shook his head and said uncertainly, "It will probably be difficult..."
Yonei Mitsumasa, however, spoke with confidence. "That is precisely why I proposed striking the Dutch East Indies first. You all know that the Empire's expansion into the Nanyang region will inevitably bring it into contact with East Africa."
"We cannot be sure whether East Africa cares about the Empire's expansion in the Nanyang region. Under these circumstances, we can use the small country of the Netherlands to cast a stone and test the waters, probing East Africa's attitude."
"If East Africa does not intervene directly in this war, then our subsequent campaign against Britain and France will proceed much more smoothly."
Yonei Mitsumasa's idea was to test East Africa first, much like how Germany, in a previous life before World War II, had continuously stirred up small troubles to probe the bottom line of Britain and France.
Of course, Japan's military high command understood very well that even if it was merely testing East Africa, Japan would still have to shoulder enormous risks. If East Africa truly entered the fray, then let alone plotting for the entire Nanyang region, Japan would likely find it difficult even to get a foot in the door.
Tojo Hideki spoke at this point. "At present, this is our only option. The Empire's conquest of the Nanyang region is the fundamental national policy of the Empire's overseas expansion in this new stage. If we cannot even take the Nanyang region, then our resources will run dry and we will collapse without a fight."
"At the same time, there is no need to fear offending East Africa. In truth, bad blood between the Empire and East Africa was formed long ago."
"Whether it is the Southern Ryukyu Islands, East Africa's former economic interests