Roger Dingman described the first, "The Japanese-Soviet Confrontation, 1935–1939", as "a wealth of new data", and praised the second, "The Army's Move into Northern Indochina", for demonstrating "brilliantly how peaceful passage through northern Indochina became forceful occupation". Mark Peattie wrote that Hata's third essay, "The Marco Polo Bridge Incident 1937", was "the best overview we now have in English" of the event, and Hata would later expand it into a full-length book which Edward Drea and Tobe Ryoichi called "the single best source on the incident".
Roger Dingman described the first essay, "The Japanese-Soviet Confrontation, 1935–1939", as a treasure trove of new data, and praised the second essay, "The Army's Move into Northern Indochina", for showcasing "outstandingly how peaceful passage through northern Indochina turned into forceful occupation". Mark Peattie noted that Hata's third essay, "The Marco Polo Bridge Incident 1937", was "the most comprehensive English-language overview" of the event, and later expanded it into a full-length book which Edward Drea and Tobe Ryoichi deemed "the single most authoritative source on the incident".