Time Slip Reiwa Japan

127 - The Stirrings of World War - 2

Due to the Führer's strict order, the Waffen-SS, which had been hiding in the Netherlands and engaged in espionage activities, began more aggressive actions. Already within the Netherlands, resentment towards Japan, which mistreated the Dutch as the rulers of the Dutch colony (Dutch East Indies) due to German propaganda activities, had been growing stronger. The reason for the poverty of the general populace in the Netherlands is that the Dutch government is colluding with Japan to exploit them.

They must reclaim the Netherlands from Japan's evil grasp. And hand in hand with their European brethren (the German Reich), they must reclaim the pride of the white race from the nefarious hegemonic nations led by Japan.

Some Dutch people found themselves ensnared by these rather twisted sentiments. *1

Even though higher-ranking German commanders, who had experienced World War I as adults, were rational—recognizing the problem of excessive anti-Japanese sentiment as they also considered cooperation with Japan after the annexation of the Netherlands—the young soldiers on the ground, influenced by Nazi Party propaganda, were largely imbued with a distorted sense of privilege as the chosen people (Aryans), vilified Japan, and sympathized with the feelings of the Dutch.

The Dutch government did not turn a blind eye to this situation. Being a democracy, it couldn't ignore the voices of the electorate, but at the same time, the majority of voters hadn't yet expressed anti-Japanese sentiments. That's precisely why the Dutch government had no reason to hesitate in prioritizing the appropriate distance from Japan from a national interest perspective and crushing anti-Japanese sentiments. They began to crack down on excessive anti-Japanese propaganda on the streets by using the police, and prohibited the publication of articles in domestic newspapers and other mass media that incited anti-Japanese sentiment.

. . .

Germany

Germany attempted to establish contact with Japan, but it was difficult to find any cooperative European (near Germany) League of Nations member states. Since the G4, including Japan, were hostile towards Germany, any mediation efforts might not be appreciated but rather perceived as hostile ("Are you with Germany or against it, mate?"), thus it was understandable for them to hesitate.

German diplomats keenly felt the scrutiny towards Germany, yet, it was precisely due to this scrutiny that they acted desperately for their homeland. Although Germany's Foreign Ministry had prepared non-trivial compensation for cooperation, countries observing Germany's actions in Eastern Europe, the Balkans, etc., fundamentally distrusted Germany and preferred to keep their distance.

Before negotiations could even begin, this was the current situation: an inability to even approach the negotiating table. In normal interstate relations, countries would establish embassies in each other's territories, enabling easy contact via letters or telephone. However, this wasn't the case with Japan.

Right after the time slip—restoration to the League of Nations, Japan limited its diplomatic channels to the League of Nations and the Japanese embassy in Geneva *2 in order to prevent information leakage and temporarily manage the chaos of the time slip. However, besides serving Japan's interests (facilitating information control), this arrangement was evaluated positively by the international community, making it easier to monitor and manage Japan's actions from a global perspective, thus it continued as a provisional measure. Furthermore, the fact that the primary contact point of the G4 was within the League of Nations added to the League's authority, leading the League to unofficially desire the continuation of this situation.

Therefore, due to these circumstances, it was difficult for Germany to establish contact with Japan. Having withdrawn from the League of Nations, Germany had lost one of its avenues. Furthermore, during this period, Japanese diplomats were extremely busy with international agreements *3 related to nuclear energy, which was an unfortunate reality for Germany.