From sakoku to empire
Domestic reform
Revision of treaties
Meiji
Restoration
Foreign Policy goals
Line of sovereignty
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Treaty of Kanagawa opens up two ports to
Western powers
This was followed by a series of unequal treaties
1858 treaty of Edo was a blow to the power of
the Shogun and led to the eventual downfall of
the Shogunate
1864 Confrontations between the British and
Choshu clan and the Shogun is forced to
intercede
1868 downfall of the Shogun, the Meiji
Restoration
Japan’s foreign policy goals
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The Emperor is a figurehead with little or no
control over foreign policy
 Aim of the Oligarchs: to rid Japan of the Unequal
treaties
 A search for security and removal of the western
restriction on Japanese sovereignty
 Foreign policy success hinged on success of
domestic reform
Attempts to invade Korea in 1863 were cancelled
This was partly responsible for the Satsuma rebellion
in 1878
 1867 Japan creates a ‘situation’ in Japan , an example
of ‘gunboat diplomacy’ whereby Korea is forced to
sign the Treaty of Kanghwa – an unequal treaty
 Attempt to take Taiwan fails.
 Japan sent a mission to China in 1870 to secure an
Unequal treaty, it failed but at least secured a treat y
of friendship which placed Japan and China on an
equal footing, diplomatic representation…etc
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In the 1870’s Japan begins a more assertive
foreign policy albeit under the watchful eyes of
western powers
 Japan begins expansion to the North…beyond
Hokkaido
 To secure diplomatic recognition of the new
northern border, in 1875 Japan signed a treaty
with Russians. Japanese claims over Hokkaido
accepted in return for abandonment of
Japanese claims over Sakhalin
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Taiwan invaded in 1874 to punish Taiwanese
fisherman for their attacks on Ryukyu Islands
Taiwan accepted suzerainty of China but also
accepted to be as vassal of the Satsuma
In 1874 China recognized Japan’s claims to
Taiwan and agreed to pay an indemnity
In 1879 Ryukyu islands annexed by Japan
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Wanted to do to Korea what the US had done to
Japan
Pretext: Korea attacks the crew of a Japanse
survey boat
Gunboat despatched to establish normal
diplomatic and trade relations
Korea chose negotiation over war and signed
the Treaty of Kanghwa
 Recognised Korea as an independent sovereignty
▪ Diplomats exchanges
▪ 3 Korean ports opened Pusan, Ichon and Wonsan
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Japanese foreign policy becomes more aggressive
Japan sees Korea as its zone of expansion
It tries to minimize China’s influence on Korea
In 1882 it gets involved in Korea when the refoms of
Kojong affect the army
1884 Japan tries to engineer another coup but fails
In 1884 Japan signs the Convention of Tientsin or the
Li-Ito convention
China maintains its troops in Korea, and the resident
is Yuan Shih Kai
A foreign policy failure for Japan
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Japan seen as the role model for the reform
faction
Japan chose to support this, Japans minister
in Korea was involved
Japan deliberately chose to antagonise China
It was a way for the Japanese government to
divert attention away from domestic tenisons
Russian presence in Manchuria also worried
the Japanese
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Yamagata felt Japan needed to play an
assertive role
He saw Russia as the threat and not China
He saw in victory a chance to abrogate the
Unequal treaties
Also it would prove to be a test for the new
national army
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Korea the prize for Japan and China
Korea is also targeted by Russia who sees it
an area to gain access to the Pacific Ocean
Murder of Kim Ok Kyun also raised tensions
Tonghak rebellion in Korea a factor that led
the Chinese to take action to quell the
rebellion
Japan protested and used this to attack China
China defeated on land and in the naval
battle
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Ito in a hurry to negotiate
War had cost Japan financially
So Japan in a hurry to negotiate
Treaty in April 1895
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Korea’s independence recognized by China
Formosa
Liaotung Peninsula of China
80 m Yen as war indemnity
MFN status for Japan in China
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Marks the beginning of Japan’s dominance in
East Asia and the beginning of the end of
China’s dominance
Japan had clearly come of age.
Japan was not yet in control but clearly a
contender here
The other contender was Russia and Japan
was not yet strong enough to deal with
Russia
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Russia was intervening in this region for political gain
and GB was suspicious of Russia
GB ambiguous about Japan’s role here vis-a-vis Russia
USA was involved in the region too..Hawaii and the
Philippines
Germany wanted an empire and was willing to grab
lands in China and also because it wanted to weaken
the newly formed Russia and French alliance against it
GB wanted to preserve the integrity of China as it had
been there the longest and had investments in China
Japan wanted to be regarded as an equal of the great
powers and also gain lands at the cost of a weak China
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Japanese public were furious
Felt cheated and let down by its politicians
The public did not recognize that the war was
a huge drain on Japan’s resources
This impact led to some instability in
Japanese politics
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By 1895 GB began to see Japan as a pawn against
Russia
Russia did not want to see Japan in mainland China
IN this Russia had the support of other European
powers. Each was uneasy at Japan’s power
 Russia, France and Germany joined in the Triple
Intervention a week after Shimonoseki had been
signed
 Japan had to give up the Liaotung Peninsula. It
wanted Port Arthur but failed to keep it
 Japan not strong enough to take on three powers
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Despite Triple Intervention, Japan recognised
as a rising power
The balance of power in East Asia began to
shift
Russia and Japan now in China
Domestically TI sparked off a huge protest
They saw the TI as yet another humiliation
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Japan wanted to weaken China further, hence
it encouraged the Hundred Days Reform in
China and gave asylum to its leaders when
the reform collapsed
Was willing to support western powers to
quell the Boxer rebellion
This gave it the much needed recognition as
an equal of the western powers
Alliance with GB
Phase 2 of Japan’s Foreign policy
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Russian view that China would fall to the
Russians
Russia would build its railway and Port Arthur
would be its Pacific terminus
Russia preferred to have China and leave
Korea to Japan
Japan especially Ito favoured peace with
Japan and therefore compromise
Japan’s confused policy of this period a result
of its tumultous politics
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Anger at Triple Intervention
Confirmation of Japanese rights over Korea
Nishi Rosen agreement only recognized
Korea’s independence and non interference
in Korea’s affairs
British occupation of Weihaiwei provided
Japan with an ally
Increasingly Britain seen as an ally in its fight
with Russia
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Drift towards an alliance with England
Britain recognizes Japan’s right to Taiwan in
return for occupation of Weihaiwei
Also during this time US occupies Hawaii and
thus stakes a claim as a Pacific power, Japan
accepts this
Likewise Japan accepts American control of
the Philippines
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In 1900 Russia acquire Masampo from Korea
and this angered Japan
In the Boxer Rebellion, Japan deliberately
supported England, in the hope that Russia
alone could not do much mischief
Thus with Japanese meddling it was an allied
force that led the fight against the Boxers
Germany wants Russia to be busy, so that
French Russian alliance is weakened
GB does not want China to be partitioned
Splits in the political parties
Okuma withdraws from Kenseito
New party called Kenseihonto is set up
Yamagata Aritomo becomes PM and there is a
return to genro influence
 Yamagata no friend of political parties and
struggled to limit their influence
 Key members of cabinet. from army and navy
 Senior members of govt. to be selected by exam
system
 Yamagata marks the beginning of the patronage
that is so typical of Japanese politics
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Yamagata allinace with Kenseito worked
Patronage system helped to secure military
defence budgets
Yamagata did this because he was certain
that Russia was a major menace
Japan wanted rights to build railways in Korea
more to prevent Russia from doing so
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Aid to Allied efforts to deal with Boxers in
China to prevent anti Japan coalition
Japan was clearly planning empire and power
China and its plight did not figure in Japan’s
calculations
Japanese felt that they must have recognition
from Western powers
US and GB Open Door Policy not popular with
Japan because it did not get much indemnity
payment
Russians had manoeuvred themselves into
Northern Manchuria and occupied it
 This annoyed the Japanese who wanted to
contain Russia
 However in Japan the party politics intervened
 Yamagata afraid that Ito would negotiate with
Russia in return for Korea
 Also Japan afraid that once the Railway was built
Russia too strong for Japan to fight
 Also Japan saw GB as an ally
 So Japan now protested the treaty with China,
Russia backed down
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Japan capitalised on growing Russiana nd British
tensions
 In London negotiations were opened
 The treaty that followed was that each was to
remain neutral in the event of a fight, but if two
or more were involved then the alliance would
work
 Marked the end of unequal treaties
 Recognition of Japan’s military and naval
prowess
 Recogniton of Japanese imperial aims
 Japan now has great power status
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Became the mainstay of Japanese diplomacy for
20 years
 Recognition of Japan on the international stage
 Gave Japan the security to engage in serious
negotiations with Russia and stand up to them
 Russians underestimated Japan, the genro
favoured caution while the younger generation
wanted action
 In 1904 Japan attacked…the horrors of the war
are dwarfed by the scale of WW 1
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In 1903 Russia refused to withdraw troops from
Manchuria
Japan makes a Korea-Manchuria exchange offer
Russia’s railway now complete, next plan to
connect Vladivostok with Seoul
Russia then proposed a division of Korea along
39th parallel
Russia meantime continued to fortify Manchuria
and placed battleships in port of Niuchuang
Russia occupies Mukden
Japan tries to negotiate by offering Yalu river as
a boundary between Japan and Russian interests
Japan had to placate UK and US who wanted no
division of China
 Russia was not expecting Japan to fight back
 Japan attacked Port Arthur
In
 China remained neutral
 Mukden fell to Japan
 Japanese leaders aware that they could not
sustain a long drawn out war
 Japan sealed the war with the defeat of the
Russian Baltic fleet in the Battle of the Tsushima
Straits
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Theodore Roosevelt of USA keen to negotiate
peace
 Japan financially exhauated but did not want to
have that revealed
 The treaty consolidated Japanese influence on
the Asian continent
 Russia recognizes Japanese influence in Korea
 Japan received southern Sakhalin, Liaotung
peninsula, and the raliway line between Mukden
and Port Arthur
 Japan came of age. This was a sigificant and
decisive victory for Japan
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1905 Ito negotiated with the Korean court for
a protectorate
Japanese took charge of Korea’s diplomatic
efforts
Japanese advisors despatched to Korea
Japanese settlers poured into Korea too
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Sino Japanese war marked the position of the
Emperor as the country’s paramount military
leader
In 1904 too , the Emperor played a visible role
as war leader
Military victory first over China and Russia fed
a new surge of national pride
Feeling that ‘Japan’ had joined the ranks of
the civilized
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Japanese attitudes towards its neighbours
changed too…arrogance towards China and
Korea
Japanese began to disavow Chinese heritage
However, failure of massive gains in the
treaty of Portsmouth angered the Japanese
and this led to serious rioting
Growing feeling in Japan was in a positions to
help its backward neighbours
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The treaty marked Japan as a regional power
and as a major player
The establishment of formal empire had
begun with the process of acquiring Taiwan,
Acquisition of Southern Sakhalin and finally a
protectorate over Taiwan