IB HL History PP3: Japan – The Impact of WW1 and the Post-War Conferences
Area of Impact Impact
International Short-term positive impact:
Politics/Foreign Policy Japan saw itself being treated on the same level as other nations after having fought alongside the British in
the war. They were invited to the Paris Peace Conference as part of the Big 5 (America, Britain, France, Italy,
Japan), which signalled to the world that Japan was now a world power. Japan was a step closer to achieving its
aims of becoming an empire that rivalled that of the Western powers, however this came at a cost. (their
experience at the conference was mostly negative)
Long-term negative impact:
Japan could not achieve their goals of being a dominant power in Asia following the PPC – the Conference saw
a rise and acceptance of Wilsonian pacifism which condemned imperial democracy and colonisation. Now that
Japan was a partaker in world politics and was seen as a world power, they found it hard to pursue their
national interests (becoming the dominant power in Asia) with such world sentiment. They were not powerful
enough to oppose the Western nations yet, although they did not buy into Wilson’s idealism.
This impacted Japanese foreign policy by ushering in a new period of peaceful diplomacy known as the
Shidehara Diplomacy, where Japan would pursue a liberal and cooperative foreign policy. (contrast this with
their aggressive foreign policy towards China during the war itself)
However, it was not long before Japan found itself to be receiving racial discrimination from the Western
powers following the pursuit of a liberal foreign policy. They proposed to include a racial equality clause in the
Charter of the LON, but was rejected. The post-war conferences that would follow also reflect such racial
discrimination:
Washington Naval Conference (1920s): their naval size was downgraded to be lower than that of the US
and Britain (5:5:3) and were forced to recognize the sovereignty of China in the 9-power treaty. This
meant that they could not expand into China as they pleased and had to retract the 21 Demands that
they gave to China in 1915, which made China a protectorate of Japan.
Their foreign policy towards China took a drastic turn – following the signage of the 9-power treaty, they
decreased intervention in China by providing China with loans, which led to an improvement in Sino-
Japanese relations.
Moreover, the US passed an Immigration Law in 1924 that banned Japanese immigrants into the USA
due to “yellow fever.”
The Kellogg-Briand Pact that was signed in 1927 that renounced war hindered Japanese national
interests in possible expansion into China.
London Naval Conference (1930) reviewed the terms of the Washington Naval Conference. Battle
tonnage was limited to 10:10:7 (US:UK:Japan)
IN ADDITION: Japan was told that they had to partake in ‘respectable imperialism’ – this didn’t resonate
1
Area of Impact Impact
International Short-term positive impact:
Politics/Foreign Policy Japan saw itself being treated on the same level as other nations after having fought alongside the British in
the war. They were invited to the Paris Peace Conference as part of the Big 5 (America, Britain, France, Italy,
Japan), which signalled to the world that Japan was now a world power. Japan was a step closer to achieving its
aims of becoming an empire that rivalled that of the Western powers, however this came at a cost. (their
experience at the conference was mostly negative)
Long-term negative impact:
Japan could not achieve their goals of being a dominant power in Asia following the PPC – the Conference saw
a rise and acceptance of Wilsonian pacifism which condemned imperial democracy and colonisation. Now that
Japan was a partaker in world politics and was seen as a world power, they found it hard to pursue their
national interests (becoming the dominant power in Asia) with such world sentiment. They were not powerful
enough to oppose the Western nations yet, although they did not buy into Wilson’s idealism.
This impacted Japanese foreign policy by ushering in a new period of peaceful diplomacy known as the
Shidehara Diplomacy, where Japan would pursue a liberal and cooperative foreign policy. (contrast this with
their aggressive foreign policy towards China during the war itself)
However, it was not long before Japan found itself to be receiving racial discrimination from the Western
powers following the pursuit of a liberal foreign policy. They proposed to include a racial equality clause in the
Charter of the LON, but was rejected. The post-war conferences that would follow also reflect such racial
discrimination:
Washington Naval Conference (1920s): their naval size was downgraded to be lower than that of the US
and Britain (5:5:3) and were forced to recognize the sovereignty of China in the 9-power treaty. This
meant that they could not expand into China as they pleased and had to retract the 21 Demands that
they gave to China in 1915, which made China a protectorate of Japan.
Their foreign policy towards China took a drastic turn – following the signage of the 9-power treaty, they
decreased intervention in China by providing China with loans, which led to an improvement in Sino-
Japanese relations.
Moreover, the US passed an Immigration Law in 1924 that banned Japanese immigrants into the USA
due to “yellow fever.”
The Kellogg-Briand Pact that was signed in 1927 that renounced war hindered Japanese national
interests in possible expansion into China.
London Naval Conference (1930) reviewed the terms of the Washington Naval Conference. Battle
tonnage was limited to 10:10:7 (US:UK:Japan)
IN ADDITION: Japan was told that they had to partake in ‘respectable imperialism’ – this didn’t resonate
1
