From sakoku to empire

Domestic reform Foreign Policy goals Revision of treaties Meiji Restoration Line of sovereignty

     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  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

   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

    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

    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

        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

     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

    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

      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

    Ito in a hurry to negotiate War had cost Japan financially So Japan in a hurry to negotiate Treaty in April 1895  Korea’s independence recognized by China  Formosa  Liaotung Peninsula of China  80 m Yen as war indemnity  MFN status for Japan in China

    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

      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

    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

 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

     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

    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

     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

     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

    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

     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

    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

     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

       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

     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

       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 39 th 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 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

      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

    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

    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

    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

  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