Japan's Attempt to Install an Ottoman Prince in Central Asian Territory
In the early 1930s, Japan harboured ambitions to establish a puppet state in East Turkestan, a region under Chinese rule with a significant Turkic Muslim population. The masterminds behind this plan aimed to crown Prince Abdul Kerim Efendi, a grandson of Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid II, as the ruler and symbolic Caliph of this new Islamic state.
The presence of Prince Abdul Kerim Efendi in Tokyo raised international alarms, particularly from Turkey and the Soviet Union. The Japanese government, guided by the ideology of "Greater Asianism," sought to unite Asian peoples under Japanese leadership and expel Western influence. Some Japanese military factions and ultra-nationalist societies like Kokuryukai and Genyousha viewed Prince Abdul Kerim as a potential leader to unite Turkic Muslims under a state loyal to Japan.
However, intelligence reports and diplomatic efforts by Turkey and the Soviet Union successfully thwarted this plan. Claims suggest that the legal and diplomatic pressures, combined with growing scrutiny from Soviet and Turkish observers, played a role in halting the prince's political trajectory. The prince eventually left Japan for the United States, where he died soon after.
Uncovered intelligence reports from Japanese archives shed light on how this plan was foiled by the rare alliance between Turkey and the Soviet Union. Two Tatar leaders, Ayaz Ishaki and Abdurreshid Ibrahim, visited Japan to shift the loyalties of the Turkic diaspora away from Japanese influence. Ishaki later helped establish the Idil-Ural Turk-Tatar Cultural Society, promoting ties with Turkey instead.
The failure of this plan marked the end of Japan's aspirations for a Central Asian client state. Instead, their strategic focus shifted toward Southeast Asia and the Pacific. The Prince's attempt to reclaim political and religious authority abroad alarmed both Turkey and the Soviet Union, as his status as a descendant of the Ottoman dynasty and former heir to the Caliphate gave him symbolic weight in the Muslim world.
The Japanese government aimed to apply a similar model in East Turkestan that they had used in Manchukuo, a puppet state in Manchuria. However, the combined efforts of Turkey and the Soviet Union ensured that this plan never came to fruition, preserving the region's status under Chinese rule.
[1] References: Various historical documents and archives.
The uncovered intelligence reports from Japanese archives revealed the rare alliance between Turkey and the Soviet Union, which thwarted Japan's attempt to establish a puppet state in East Turkestan. This alliance was initiated through visits by Tatar leaders Ayaz Ishaki and Abdurreshid Ibrahim, who shifted the loyalties of the Turkic diaspora away from Japanese influence. Furthermore, the political trajectory of Prince Abdul Kerim Efendi, a potential leader for such a state, was halted due to legal and diplomatic pressures, combined with growing scrutiny from Soviet and Turkish observers.
