A study of Confucianism in Japan, from the Meiji Period, which deals
with Japan's expansionist policy, is Warren Smith Jr.'s "Confucianism in
Modern Japan." A Study of Conservatism in Japanese Intellectual
History-2nd edition, 1973. (The Hokuseido Press 3-12, Kanda-Nishikicho,
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan)  The work is in English, but may be hard to
locate.  Smith's initial research was done at the U of Calif. Berkeley
in the 1950s. He specializes in Japanese and Korean history.  I don't
have time to re-read it, but remember it offering some non mainstream
perspective regarding Japan's economic (and expansionist) needs in
context of, particularly, British policies of expansion.  If any of the
listserv subscribers from Japan know it, and can comment on the work, I
would be very interested. Thank you.
Margaret