This is a French documentary regarding Kanji Ishiwara, a Japanese military strategist & general. He trained in Germany and became a believer in Total War as adopted by Hitler in the 1930s. His believe was that the Asian countries would fight for dominance under Japan, and then take on the Western powers for world dominance, as part of a branch of Nichiren Buddhism. He masterminded a plot to make it appear China had attacked Japanese troops in Manchuria, which became their pretence for attacking the Chinese. The documentary makers paint this as the beginning of WW2 in 1931
The documentary itself has many interesting facts which I didn't know about. I've subsequently clarified most of them via Wikipedia (for what that's worth). It contains lots of historical footage, which due to its age is of poor quality, and interviews with various Japanese historians. There is also a narration throughout. The version I saw on Prime had English dubbings. Interesting, but not great viewing.
The documentary itself has many interesting facts which I didn't know about. I've subsequently clarified most of them via Wikipedia (for what that's worth). It contains lots of historical footage, which due to its age is of poor quality, and interviews with various Japanese historians. There is also a narration throughout. The version I saw on Prime had English dubbings. Interesting, but not great viewing.