From my studies (and from my spotty memory ;D) – the Germans largely tolerated the Japanese as a necessary partner in their war against Great Britain and the United States. I say “tolerated” because the Japanese ambassador and the Japanese delegations were not always taken seriously in Berlin (although what little I have found about Japanese officers as observers with the German army in the field indicates a level of respect not afforded to the diplomats).The Nazis had a strong racist propaganda campaign going against the Jewish-Bolsheviks and Asiatics of the Soviet Union by 1940, so it was difficult to dismiss the Asiatic nature of their Japanese allies. That being said, the German high command had hoped that the Japanese would distract Soviet forces in the Far East as well as tie down British resources and keep the Americans focused on the Pacific and China rather than Europe. Also, part of the "tolerance" had to do with Nazi war aims -- they didn't seek world domination as much as they did European domination, and as long as the Japanese stayed in their sphere, there would be a balance of power. Hitler had eyed conquest of continental Europe (to include Russian Europe, the trans-Caucuses, Iraq, and Persia. Strategically, he didn't want / need North Africa but was sucked into that theater to bail out his Italian allies.There was even exchange of technology and resources by late in the war, but one has to wonder if shipping jet engines to Tokyo was a sign of alliance or a desperate gambit to increase Japanese pressure on the Western Allies in hopes of lessening pressure on Germany.So, largely I agree with Scout -- it was a marriage of convenience, and as long as their national / imperial ambitions did not come into conflict, it could be mutually beneficial, and racial issues were tolerated.
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