Goto (international relations, Waseda U., Japan), over the course of 12 essays penned in the 1990s and later, examines aspects of Japan's imperial relationships with Southeast Asia from the 1930s to the postwar period. The essays sometimes examine the actions and motivations of important individuals such as Tojo Hideki or Indonesia's Sukarno, while at other times focusing on the experience of groups such as Indonesian students in Japan during World War II or Southeast Asian elites in the wartime empire. Other topics include the decolonization of Indonesia and Malaya, contemporary Japanese views of the occupation of Southeast Asia, and the pre-war relationship between Japan and Portuguese Timor. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)