Did the Netherlands join the anti-Japanese oil embargo later than US? If so why?

Upvote:2

The Netherlands had far better relations with Japan before the Pacific War. They played a key role in assisting the Tokugawa Shogunate to address uprisings in Southern Japan in the 1630s. In exchange, they had special access to the Japanese trading post of Dejima (which had been used by the Portuguese until that point) during a period of otherwise almost total isolation. In contrast, trade between the United States and Japan only opened reluctantly in the 1850s with the overt threat of force. Suffice to say they were not on such good terms with other western powers.

This special trading relationship remained between the Dutch and Japanese for centuries and can still be seen in modern day Nagasaki prefecture. Local specialty foods have a distinctly European influence and Dejima is being restored as a tourist destination and museum. There’s also a Dutch theme park “Huis ten Bosch” for Japanese people interested in Dutch culture being supported by the Embassy of the Netherlands. This relationship includes education with many developments in technology and medical science being introduced to Japan in Dutch or German languages via the Dutch trading post. These languages are viewed as important in medical science and some doctors in Japan today were educated in medical school in German or Dutch rather than English. Some loanwords in Japanese from this period actually originated in these languages, although they’re often mistaken for English cognates. Diplomats from Britain and The United States had to use Dutch translators at time to communicate with the Japanese who had learned the language they associated with a technologically advanced society. It is still far easier for Japanese citizens to immigrate to and start a business in The Netherlands than most other non-EU nationalities.

Thus the relationship between the Dutch and Japanese was far closer than with the Americans. It was only due to strong international pressure that the Netherlands would have joined a trade embargo of what had been of their most profitable trading partners for centuries. They would have done so only very reluctantly in response to Japanese aggression in Asia-Pacific region.

This did not end well for the Dutch (who were already not faring well in the European theatre of WW2). The Japanese then seized direct control over their colonial holdings in modern day Indonesia that they had wished to trade with for oil. The two nations then severed long established ties and efforts to restore their historically close relationships continue to this day.

Upvote:3

According to this article, the U.S. was the key player. Bringing in the Netherlands was almost an afterthought.

Japan obtained 80 percent of its oil at the time from the U.S., then (by far), the world's largest oil producer. Japan asked for 3.2 million barrels from the Dutch East Indies, which could only supply 1.4 million barrels, less than half of the Japanese request. Shortly before the oil embargo, the U.S. also froze Japanese credit, severely curtailing its ability to pay, meaning that even the import of 1.4 million barrels was a "one time" thing.

So the "main squeeze" had been put on by the U.S. Getting the Netherlands' cooperation only tightened the squeeze. In such a situation, the thing to do is to squeeze first and tighten later. Every day you wait for "ratification" takes that much pressure off Japan.

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