In 1942 the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor, were successful in the Phillipines, took over Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. It was proposed, not widely, that the Pacific Ocean be renamed as “New Sea of Japan [Shin Nipponkat]. Indeed, some Japanese believed that the Indian Ocean should be included in the name change. Stephan, John, Hawaii Under the Rising Sun, University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, 1984, p. 128.

Me thinks, the Japanese counted their chickens before they were hatched, like President Trump who wants to rename anything and acquire more.