I personally tend to be a bit skeptical of W.E.B. Du Bois considering during the first half of the 20th century…he completely bought into Imperial Japan’s propagandist portrayal of its colonialist policies being an effort to create the “Great East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere” and thus, publicly supported Imperial Japan’s colonialist invasions in Asia and felt the Chinese and other colonized peoples were “ungrateful” for resisting.
Imperial Japan also gave him a specially arranged tour of the Japanese Empire in the 1930’s where among other things…he felt it right for him to lecture colonized locals that they should be “grateful” and “stop resisting/being resentful” of the Japanese invaders. Ironic considering several other AA academics like Rayford Logan realized very well the dubious underlying motives of Imperial Japan’s efforts to give them specially arranged tours, financial and other forms of support.
- He completely ignored the fact the Imperial Japanese were not only the oppressors in this situation, but also deeply racist policies regarding treatment of other Asians. Factors which are still bitterly remembered in many countries which were formerly colonized/invaded by Japan...especially considering recent administrations like that of PM Shinzo Abe have cabinet members who have not only felt they've "apologized enough"...but also ones who ignored repeated requests from families of Asian and Allied POW prisoners** who were worked to death in the factories their families owned.
** Deputy PM and Finance Minister Taro Aso whose family owned mines and factories which used Asian and Allied POWs as slave laborers during the war. He and his family ignored several requests for an apology for their role in their wartime enslavement as late as 2009:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aso_Mining_forced_labor_controversy