Since the end of the Sino-Japanese War of 1895, Japan's Far-Eastern policy had been primarily concerned with South Manchuria and East Inner-Mongolia. Its principal objective was aimed at the enhancement of the “special rights and interests” in those areas. Against this background, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the process of signing Twenty-One Demands, which touched off the Japan-U. S. conflicts in the era of World War I.
From the standpoint of Sino-Japanese relations, the Demands was regarded as an inevitable consequence, stemming from Japan's territorial expansion policy toward continental China. Japan, which was victorious in both the Sino-Japanese War and Russo-Japanese War, attempted to make the special rights and interests in South Manchuria and East Inner-Mongolia as
fait accompli. The imposition of Japan's influence on China in fact was a vital part of its over-all mainland subjugation policy, because its colonial aspirations dictated such a grand scale expansionist policy.
From an economic standpoint too, the treaty was one of the important events in the history of Japan-China relations which we should not overlook whenever we examine the relations in the era of World War I. The Nishihara Loans (1917-1918), which is considered an economic means of Japan's expansion policy toward China in that period, also requires our close examination.
In this paper, the writer carefully examines the process of signing the Twenty-One Demands, because it vividly reveals both the political and economic aspects of the Japanese expansionist policy, which, in turn, led Japan to claim special rights and interests in the region. The paper also shows how the Japanese imperialism was accelerated since the Okuma cabient, which made the Twenty-One Demands successful, had been installed.
Furthermore, the Demands had a far-reaching significance and impact on the Japan-U. S. relations, mainly because it became a prelude to Ishii-Lansing Agreement (1917). The primary goal of American foreign policy toward Asia during World War I period was to expand the sphere of her influence in China. In fact, American policy toward Asia totally depended on her China and Japan policy. Given the overlapping foreign policy objectives of Japan and the United States in China, a diplomatic conflict between the two countries was inevitable.
Numerous researches on the subject have been carried out from the perspective of policy-making processess, using different analytical frameworks. From a benevolent viewpoint of Japan's China policy, Japanese policy objective is viewed as inevitable to promote her national development at that time. On the other hand, some other scholars tend to consider it as a part of the Japanese imperialists' scheme during the First World War. However, the writer, favoring neither approaches, attempts to analyze the matter on the basis of historical materials and data, which would finally leads towards an “objective” evaluation. In this study, Japan, China, and the United States are considered independent rational actors. More specifically about the level of analysis, the goals and objectives pursued by these three actors in relation to one another are investigated.
The paper consists of six brief parts, excluding the introduction. In the first section, scrutinizing the nature of the special rights and interests claimed by Japan in both Manchuria and Mongolia, the writer examines the initial stage in Japan-China relations, refering to the specific demands made by the Okuma cabinet upon Yuan Shi Kai Regime in the second section. The writer also describes the negotiation process between the two governments, especially China's response to the Japanese demands, in the third section. The Wilson Administration's reaction to the Japan's foreign policy behavior on the Demands, which had ultimately developed into America's Asian policy, is analyzed in the fourth section. In an attempt to avoid a di
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