Japanese occupation of Malaya in the name of "Asia for Asiatics", with the European powers unable to effectively retaliate. Many of the other nations within the boundaries of the sphere were under colonial rule and elements of their population were sympathetic to Japan (as in the case of Indonesia), occupied by Japan in the early phases of the war and reformed under puppet governments, or already under Japan's control at the outset (as in the case of Manchukuo). These factors helped make the formation of the sphere, while lacking any real authority or joint power, come together without much difficulty. The "sphere" would, according
Germany–Indonesia relations Service Poll, 60% of Indonesians view Germany's influence positively, with only 21% expressing a negative view, one of the most favorable perceptions of Germany in Asia Pacific after South Korea's and Australia's view. The relations between people of Germany and Indonesia was commenced during 19th-century colonial Dutch East Indies. Indonesian painter Raden Saleh (1807-1880) spent some times in Germany and his works influences the local art scene. On the other hand, numbers of German scientists and artists took interest in Indonesia. Such as the Prussian geographer Franz Wilhelm Junghuhn spent most of his work studying the geography and geology of