 Many Japanese remained convinced, throughout the war, that the Sphere was idealistic, offering slogans in a newspaper competition, praising the sphere for constructive efforts and peace.During the war with China, the prime minister announced on radio they were seeking only a new order to ensure the stability of East Asia, unfortunately prevented because Chiang Kai-shek was a Western puppet.The failure to win the Second Sino-Japanese War was blamed on British and American exploitation of Southeast Asian colonies to supply the Chinese, even though the Chinese received far more assistance from the Soviet Union.