[1] The Japanese Empire details the history of Japan, in particular, its attempts to become a great power, from the beginning of the Meiji era in 1868, to the end of the Pacific War in 1945, and how this can be applied to contemporary American foreign policy.

It extends far beyond military power to encompass economic influence, co-ordination with allies, intelligence gathering and analysis, propaganda, institution building, international law, etc.

[5] Tonio Andrade of Emory University praised The Japanese Empire's "clear and vibrant prose", and called it "a vital contribution not just to the history of Japan, but to the study of global geopolitics and grand strategy".

[6] Similarly, Louis G. Perez of Illinois State University gave attention to Paine's "sophisticated and nuanced scholarship", and suggested that the book "should be required reading for any scholar of modern Japanese history".

[6] Strife Journal praised the focus on grand strategy, saying that it "offers readers a unique vantage point" and "presents not only a coherent, but also a compelling narrative, of how the Japanese went from the ascendant Meiji Restoration to suffering the devastation of the atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.