A
conference of major naval powers met in
Washington in November 1921 at the
initiative of the US Secretary of StateCharles Evans Hughes putting forward
proposals for naval disarmament.

1. Japanese imperialism in Asia - during and after World
War One, Japan had expanded her influence in the Far East
tremendously. During the War, Japan had obtained valuable
concessions from China through the Twenty-One Demands.
She had strengthened her hold in Manchuria and Mongolia.
In the Pacific area, Japan secured mandatory power over
former German islands north of the Equator - the
Marshalls, Carolines and Marianas. This chain of Pacific
islands gave Japan potential bases for expansion. In Russia,
Japanese troops took part in upholding Admiral Kolchak’s
White government in Siberia during 1918-19. Later, the
other Allies (Britain, France, and the United States)
withdrew, but the Japanese still remained in the Maritime
Provinces. In 1920, Japan seized Sakhalin as a result of
incidents involving the killing of Japanese soldiers. Thus,
Japan’s imperial expansion had given her “naval
dominance” in the western Pacific and “political
dominance” in China.
 Japan’s
political dominance in China tended
to exclude other countries and openly
challenged America’s Open Door Policy in
China. Other factors intensified the feeling
of uneasiness. There was a post-war revival
of anti-Japanese agitation on the West coast.
For example, California demanded the
exclusion of Japanese immigrants from the
West coast. Also the treatment of Japan’s
emigrants in the States antagonized Japan.
 Besides,
Japan and the United States were
building up their naval strength, and
unrestrained arms race would lead to
possible wars. The United States Department
of Navy had a plan of building a total of fifty
capital ships. The American public was very
much concerned with the consequences that
would happen as a result of naval
competition with Japan. Besides, the heavy
naval expenditure was not acceptable to the
public (taxpayers) and the American Congress
 the
Anglo-Japanese Alliance which was
originally anti-Russia was due to expire in
July 1921. The possibility of further renewal
alarmed the United States and the British
Dominions such as Canada and Australia.
They believed that the Alliance would help
rather than restrain Japan’s ambitions.
Moreover, any conflict between the United
States and .Japan might involve Britain on
Japanese side. There was increasing
opposition against renewal of the Alliance. A
substitute was most needed to replace the
Alliance
 the
Versailles Conference had unfairly
treated China which was one of the victors.
The Japanese possession of Shantung, with
the reluctant consent of the western powers,
had aroused the Chinese and sparked off the
May Fourth Movement. Meanwhile, the
Russian Bolshevik government had voluntarily
given up the Tzarist unequal treaties with
China. This action gratified the Chinese and
so originated the communist movement in
China. The western powers felt it necessary
to appease the Chinese.
 in
December 1921, the United States invited
eight countries to attend a conference:
Britain, France, Italy, Japan, China, Belgium,
Portugal, and the Netherlands
 Its
main purpose was to settle Far Eastern
affairs which had not been settled during the
Versailles Conference. As a result of the
conference, three international treaties were
signed: Four Power Treaty, Five Power Treaty,
and Nine Power Treaty.
 Four
Power Treaty - the Four Power Treaty
was agreed to in December 1921. This was a
consultative agreement among the four
powers (Britain, Japan, United States,
France) to replace the essentially military
Anglo-Japanese Alliance. It was “a
multilateral pledge whereby they agree to
respect each other’s right in insular
possessions in the Pacific and to consult each
other in case these rights should become the
subject of controversy or the subject of a
threat by an outside power.”

Five Power Treaty - the Five Treaty was signed
in February 1922. The American proposal that
the United States, Britain, and Japan should not
build any capital ships for the next ten years was
accepted. A ratio for the total tonnage of capital
ships for each power was established. The ratio
was to be 5 (Britain), 5 (the United States), 3
(Japan), 1.67 (France), 1.67 (Italy). In return,
the Japanese proposal for the non-fortification
of the Pacific islands of the signatory powers was
accepted. This meant that the Philippines,
Guam, Hong Kong, the Ryukyus, Taiwan, and the
Pescadores were not to be fortified any further
 Nine
Power Treaty - the Nine Power Treaty
was signed in February 1922. It announced
four principles with regard to China:
guarantee of China’s integrity, equality of
opportunity to all, opportunity to China to
develop herself, and abstention from special
privileges in China. In a sense, the Treaty was
an international (America, Britain, Japan,
France, Italy, China, Belgium, Portugal, the
Netherlands) agreement to abide by
America’s Open Door Policy in China
 Other
settlements - under the pressure of
the powers, Japan agreed to return Kiaochow
to China and to withdraw from the Shantung
Peninsula. She was to retain the TsingtaoTsinan Railway for fifteen years. The powers
refused to put their subjects under Chinese
law but limited concessions were made.
Foreign post offices were closed.
Commissions were set up to study the issues
of extraterritoriality and tariff autonomy
 The
Four Power Treaty ensured peaceful
relationship among the four powers and
eased the tension between Japan and the
United States. Japan, with “inferior” naval
strength and an obligation to respect the
other power’s insular possessions, thus lost
her preponderant influence in the Far East.
At any rate, the more cordial relation
between America and Britain would help to
restrain Japan’s ambitions in the area.
 The
Five Power Treaty put an end to the
possibility of naval race among the powers. It
was particularly beneficial to Japan because
her limited resources were not able to stand
continuous competition. All in all, such naval
limitation restored a balance of naval power
in the Pacific.
 The
Nine Power Treaty at least verbally
guaranteed China’s integrity. Nevertheless,
the powers did not surrender
extraterritoriality and tariff autonomy and
they were able to establish once again their
respective influence in China. Together with
Japan’s return of Shantung to China, China
was again open to all
 In
sum, the three treaties restored a balance
of power in the Far East. The pre-war
equilibrium which had been disturbed by
Japan was now restored, apparently, to the
disadvantage of Japan. These treaties
worked well for a decade in the 1920s
because the main potential trouble maker,
Japan, had entered her liberal twenties
 The
Treaties had defects which were
revealed in the 1930s.
 With
regard to the Four Power Treaty 1. it did not establish any machinery to
enforce its provisions.
 2. It did not obligate the signatory powers to
do anything more than consult one another.
Thus, it would be easy for any power,
especially Japan, to defy the Treaty if she
did not want to abide by its terms.
Five Power Treaty, it had several defects.
 1. the failure to extend the limitations on capital
ships to the cruisers, auxiliary ships and
aircrafts.
 2. the equation of 5-5-3 had only apparently
established a balance of naval power in the
Pacific. It was harmful to both the U.S. and
Britain because their fleet had to be scattered
throughout the world, whereas the Japanese
fleet concentrated only in the Pacific.
 3. non-fortification of the American and British
bases in the Pacific was equally fatal. This made
the bases extremely vulnerable to Japanese
attacks.





The Nine Power Treaty was somewhat differently interpreted by the
powers concerned.
1. According to the Japanese interpretation, they thought that the Treaty
had guaranteed her special interests in Manchuria and Inner Mongolia.
2. The term Open Door meant different things to the Japanese and the
Americans. Many Japanese understood “the term in the tangible and
material sense of throwing China’s resources for their exploitation rather
than in the sense of equality of commercial opportunity for the citizens
and subjects of all nations in China.”
With all these defects within the treaty system, it would be easy for the
Japanese to disregard its terms. In fact, after 1931, the Japanese
militarists gained power in Japan and began to violate the treaties. She
started invading China after 1931 (violating the Nine Power Treaty). In
December 1934, Japan gave notice that she intended to withdraw from
the Five Power Treaty and began to build up her Pacific navy. Finally in
1941, she invaded the Pacific possessions of the United States and
Britain. (violating the Four Power Treaty) The Pacific War thus began.