JAPAN

Japan is a highly developed country, and a great power in global politics. Alone among non-
Western peoples, the Japanese maintained full political independence during the golden age of
imperialism.

In the wake of World War I, Japan shifted its foreign policy stance, particularly with
regard to China, turning away from imperialism and seeking to act in concert with the other great
powers. Historian Sakurai Ryōju explains the events and thinking behind this shift.

When the World War I ended in 1918 to 1920’s, Japan shifted from its earlier
imperialistic foreign policy line approach based on efforts at international cooperation and
restraint from intervention in China’s domestic affairs. During this time, Japan leads a more
activist Japanese Policy toward China increase its influence on the Chinese mainland. Japan
adopted an independent and more activist approach toward China to have a free hand in pursuing
policies of its own in China.

Japan followed the global trend and adopt the perspective member of a global
organization in the Paris Peace Conference. US President Woodrow Wilson advocated moral
diplomacy grounded in justice and humanity. Wilson proposed to end secret agreement between
nations, freedom of the seas, disarmament, matters relating to colonial issues and national self-
determination, and the establishment of an association of nations grounded in the ideal of
international democracy. This has a massive impact to Japan’s foreign policy. Japan adopted a
policy of striving to cooperate with Britain and the United States. This cooperative stance served
as the basic tone of Japan’s foreign policy through the 1920s.

Due to the actions of Japan during the World War I, the first article of the Nine-Power
Treaty “respect the sovereignty, the independence, and the territorial and administrative integrity
of China” amounted to rejection of actions of Japan. The Japanese Government accepted the
rejections by limiting its capital ship tonnage to 60% levels set for Britain and United States.

Japan experienced diplomatic isolation and failure of the Siberian Intervention. The
Anglo-Japanese Alliance was not renewed, Tsarist Russia, which had effectively been an ally
during the war, collapsed, and differences between Japan and the United States with respect to
China intensified. All of these affected Japan’s stance.
 Although after all this changes, Japan was experiencing industrial revolution and
advancing status of a great power. They improved their standard of living, consolidated their
natural resources, and began to urbanize and accumulate capital. Japan sustained period of
economic and population growth. Although real economic problems of Japan happened in
international scale. The Japanese economy faced depression and worldwide disruption of
international trade. Problems of providing food and work for the population arise.

Japan is seeking to solve these problems by imperial expansion by following a pattern set
up by the West and they were also following a path marked out by Japanese officers and
politicians.

References:

1. https://www.nippon.com/en/in-depth/a03301/?pnum=2
2. https://bigsiteofhistory.com/japan-after-world-war-one-the-non-western-world/