The Ministry of Greater East Asia was established on 1 November 1942 under the administration of
Prime Minister Hideki Tōjō, by absorbing the earlier and merging it with the East Asia Department and South Pacific Department of the
Foreign Ministry and the , which looked after affairs in Japanese-occupied China. Theoretically, the ministry had political and administrative responsibilities in a vast area under Japanese influence (extending south from the
Aleutians to the
Solomon Islands, and west from
Wake Island to
Burma and the
Andamans), with perhaps a population of over 300 million inhabitants. In reality, wartime conditions meant that the ministry was little more than a paper creation. Aside from the first Minister of Greater East Asia,
Kazuo Aoki, all succeeding ministers simultaneously held the portfolio of the
Foreign Minister. The Ministry of Greater East Asia was abolished on 26 August 1945 by order of the
Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers after the
surrender of Japan brought an end to Japan's overseas holdings. == List of ministers of Greater East Asia ==