I swear, Jacobin has people on staff that they pay to write things for the sole purpose of making the other stuff they write seem sensible by comparison.
what show are you watching?
I guarantee you there is some tankie Sinophile somewhere in your newsroom that would happily explain to you how the concept of colonialism interacts with imperial Japanese history, and it's not this.
Once again a reminder that it is a manifestation of white supremacy to ALWAYS center your understanding of every dynamic exclusively on white people.