The Other Empire: Literary Views of Japan from The Philippines, Singapore, and Malaysia. When postcolonial studies have focused on the interaction between the colonised countries and their British or American colonisers, little attention has been paid to the literary influence of the other colonial empire - Japan. It was a peaceful neighbour and trading partner from its post-Perry opening in 1853. However, its brutal occupation of the Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia from 1941-1945 left an indelible impression on the collective psyche of the colonised peoples. Literary responses to Japan began almost from the beginning of the formation of national literatures in English in the Philippines, Singapore, and Malaysia. In this survey of literary images of Japan, ranging from the sadistic army lieutenant during the war to the Filipina Japayuki in contemporary Tokyo, Ronald Klein has identified more than 160 works with Japanese characters, providing both comprehensive overviews as well as individual monographs on specific writers.