The pseudo-political and economic union of Japanese-dominated Asian and Pacific territories during World War II. In the aftermath of Japan’s dramatic conquests of 1941–42, some nationalist leaders (for example, Indonesia’s Sukarno and Burma’s Aung San) collaborated with the Japanese for tactical reasons. However, the hardships wrought by the Japanese (principally through their requisitioning of supplies and use of forced labour) soon disabused the local populations about Japan’s intentions. By the end of the war, the Co-Prosperity Sphere had become an object of hatred and ridicule.