Japanese Diplomacy and East Asian International Politics, 1918–1931

Front matter

JAPANESE DIPLOMACY AND EAST ASIAN INTERNATIONAL POLITICS, 1918-1931

Japanese Diplomacy and East Asian International Politics, 1918—1931

This book provides an overall picture of East Asian international politics during the early interwar period and examines the various foreign policy trends of the major powers involved, including Japan, China, Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union. Based on extensive original research, it posits that East Asia experienced four waves of international change during the interwar period: the transition to the post-World War I international order; the appearance of Nationalist China and the Soviet Union as actors in East Asian international politics; the Japanese invasion of Manchuria; and Japanese implementation of the North China Buffer State Strategy. It considers the new challenges brought about by each of these waves, how the powers — particularly Japan, Britain, and the United States — were able to meet these challenges by working together, and how this became more difficult as time went on. It argues that the Washington System - the international order established at the 1921-1922 Washington Naval Conference — was not a break with the past, as is frequently argued, on account of new forms of foreign policy, including the ideological approaches of the United States and the Soviet Union, but that rather spheres of influence diplomacy continued as before. In addition, in discussing Japanese foreign policy, the book provides a comprehensive picture of the diversity of views towards China among Japanese actors and the ways these shifted over time.

Contents

List of illustrations vi Preface vil Usage Notes xil Name Equivalencies xiii Acronyms xiv

Introduction: Japanese Diplomacy and Interwar East Asia’s “Four Waves of International Change” 1

1 The First Wave of International Change and Hara Diplomacy: September 1918 to November 1921 — The Hara Government 17

Preface

This is a translation of my book Higashi Ajia Kokusai Kankyo no Hendo to Nihon Gaiko 1918-1931, which was published by Yühikaku in 2001. There was no significant rewriting of the text during this translation (which was undertaken by Dr. Graham Leonard), although there were some minor additions and significant English-language quotations were checked against their original sources to ensure accuracy of the original language. A considerable amount of research relevant to this book’s themes has been released in Japan over the past 20 years, and I would like to briefly introduce this research here for the benefit of the English-speaking audience.

Two symbols of the early interwar period were the creation of the League of Nations and the outlawing of war. The League has continued to be an active target of research, with notable works including: Shinohara Hatsue, Kokusai Renmei [The League of Nations] (Tokyo: Chüo Koron Shisha, 2010), Goto Harumi, Kokusai Shugi to no Kakuto — Nihon, Kokusai Renmei, Igirisu Teikoku [The Struggle Against Internationalism: Japan, the League of Nations, and the British Empire] (Tokyo: Chüo Koron Shinsha, 2016), Harumi Goto-Shibata, The League of Nations and the East Asian Imperial Order, 1920-1946 (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2020), Obiya Shunsuke, Kokusai Renmei — Kokusai Kiko no Fuhensei to Chiikisei [The League of Nations: Regionality and the Universality of International Bodies] (Tokyo: University of Tokyo, 2019), and Higuchi Mao, Kokusai Renmei to Nihon Gaiko — Shiidan Anzen Hosho no “Saihakken” [The League of Nations and Japanese Foreign Policy: Rediscovering of Collective Security] (Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press, 2021). Iko Toshiya, Kindai Nihon to Senso Ihoka Taisei — Dai Ichiji Sekai Taisen kara Nicchi Senso e [Modern Japan and the System for the Outlawing of War: From World War I to the Second Sino-Japanese War] (Tokyo: Yoshikawa Kobunkan, 2002) and Mimaki Seiko, Senso Ihoka Undo no Jidai [The Era of the Outlawing of War Movement] (Nagoya: Nagoya University Press, 2014) have also been published on the outlawing of war.

On the topic of the history of US-Japan relations, Izumi Hirobe, Japanese Pride, American Prejudice: Modifying the Exclusion Clause of the 1924 Immigration Act (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001), Minohara Toshihiro, Hainichi Iminhé to Nichibei Kankei — “Uehara Shokan” no Shinso viii Preface to Sono "Jüdai naru Kekka" [US-Japan Relations and the Anti-Japanese Immigration Act: The “Hanihara Letter" and its “Grave Results"] (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 2002), Minohara Toshihiro, Kariforunia-shi no Hainichi Undo to Nichibei Kankei [The Anti-Japanese Movement in California and US-Japan Relations] (Tokyo: Yühikaku, 2006) discuss the Anti-Japanese Immigration Act and the Anti-Japanese movement in the US. Takahara Shusuke, Wiruson Gaiko to Nihon [Wilsonian Diplomacy and Japan] (Tokyo: Sobunsha, 2006) examines the Wilson administration and its relations with Japan. A more macroscopic view of the relationship between the two countries is found in Takamitsu Yoshie, Amerika to Senkanki no Higashi Ajia — AjialTaiheiyo Kokusai Chitsujo Keisei to "Gurobarizeshon" [America and Interwar East Asia: *Globalization" and the Formation of the Asian-Pacific International Order] (Tokyo: Seikyüsha, 2008), Mitani Taichiro, Woru Sutori to to Kyokuto — Seiji ni okeru Kokusai Kinyu Shihon [Wall Street and the Far East: International Capital in Politics] (Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press, 2009), and Nakatani Tadashi, Tsuyoi Amerika to Yowai Amerika no Hazama de — Dai Ichiji Sekai Taisen-go no Higashi Ajia Chitsujo o Meguru Nichibeiei Kankei [In Between Strong and Weak America: US-Japan-UK Relations and the Post-World War I Order in East Asia] (Tokyo: Chikura Shobo, 2016).

On Sino-Japanese relations, Higuchi Hidemi, Nihon Kaigun kara Mita Nicchi Kankeishi Kenkyu [Research on the History of Sino-Japanese Relations as Seen by the Imperial Japanese Navy] (Tokyo: Fuyo Shobo, 2002) takes the naval perspective into account, and Kumamoto Fumio, Taisenkanki no Taichu Bunka Gaiko — Gaimusho Kiroku ni miru Seisaku Kettei Katei [Cultural Diplomacy Towards China in the Interwar Period: The Policymaking Process as Seen in Foreign Ministry Records] (Tokyo, Yoshikawa Kobunkan, 2013) focuses on cultural policy. There is also Koike Seiichi, Manshü Jihen to Taichiigoku Seisaku [The Manchurian Incident and Policy Towards China] (Tokyo: Yoshikawa Kobunkan, 2003), Kawashima Shin, Chügoku Kindai Gaiko no Keisei [The Formation of Modern Chinese Foreign Policy] (Nagoya: Nagoya University Press, 2004), and Taneine Shuji, Kindai Nihon Gaiko to "Shikatsuteki Rieki" — Dai Niji Shidehara Gaiko to Taiheiyo Senso e no Jokyoku [Modern Japanese Foreign Policy and “Vital Interests": The 2nd Era of Shidehara Diplomacy and the Prelude to the Pacific War] (Tokyo; Fuyo Shobo, 2014).

For research on the history of Anglo-Japanese relations, Goto Harumi, Shanhai o Meguru Nichiei Kankei 1925—1932-Nen — Nichiei Domei-go no Kyocho to Taiko [Anglo-Japanese Relations over Shanghai, 1925-1932: Collaboration and Confrontation after the End of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance] (Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press, 2006) was a further development of her earlier book Japan and Britain in Shanghai, 1925-1932 (London: Macmillan Press, 1995). Tomita Takeshi, Senkanki no Nisso Kankei 1917-1937 [Interwar Soviet-Japanese Relations, 1917-1937] (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 2010) provides a comprehensive account of Soviet-Japanese relations. Also, Izao Tomio, Shoki Shiberia Shuppei no Kenkyu — "Atarashiki Kyüseigun" Koso no

Preface ix

Tojo to Tenkai [Research on the Early Siberian Expedition: The Rise and Development of the “New Army of Salvation" Concept] (Fukuoka: Kyushu University Press, 2003) and Asada Masafumi, Shiberia Shuppei [Siberian Expedition] (Tokyo: Chüo K6éron Shinsha, 2016) are worth looking at for their discussions of the Siberian Expedition.

The following works look at developments in Japanese party politics, an element of domestic politics inseparable from the above foreign policies: Murai Ryota, Seito Naikaku-sei no Seiritsu 1918—27-Nen [The Establishment of the Party Cabinet System, 1918-1927] (Tokyo: Yühikaku, 2005), Kobayashi Michihiko, Seito Naikaku no Hokai to Manshü Jihen — 1918—1932 [The Destruction of Party Government and the Manchurian Incident: 1918-1932] (Kyoto: Mineruva Shobo, 2010), and Koyama Toshiki, Kensei Jodo to Seito Seiji — Kindai Nihon Ni Taiseito-sei no Kösö to Zasetsu [The Normal Course of Constitutional Government and Party Politics: The Idea of a Two-Party System in Modern Japan and its Collapse] (Kyoto: Shibunkaku, 2012). The past 20 years have also been greatly marked by the advancement of research on politicians and diplomats. Ito Yukio, Hara Takashi — Gaiko to Seiji no Riso [Hara Takashi: His Diplomatic and Political Ideals] (Tokyo, Kodansha, 2014), Ito Yukio, Shinjitsu no Hara Takashi — Ishin o Koeta Saisho [The True Hara Takashi: The Prime Minister who Surpassed the Restoration] (Tokyo: Kodansha, 2020), Shimizu Yuichiro, Hara Takashi (Tokyo: Chüo Koron Shinsha, 2021), Naraoka Sochi, Kato Takaaki to Seiji Seito — Ni Daiseito-sei e no Michi [Kato Takaaki and Party Politics: The Road to a Two-Party System] (Tokyo: Yamagawa Shuppansha, 2006), Sakurai Ryoju, Kato Takaaki — Shugi Shucho o Maguruna [Kato Takaaki: Don't Waiver in Your Principles] (Kyoto: Mineruva Shobo, 2013), and Kawada Minoru, Hamaguchi Osachi — Tatoe Shinmyo o Ushinau tomo [Hamaguchi Osachi: Even if I Lose My Life] (Kyoto: Mineruva Shobo, 2007) have been written on the prime ministers Hara Takashi, Kato Takaaki, and Hamaguchi Osachi.

Shidehara Kijüro has been most focused on in research on diplomats, as seen in Taneine Shuji, Shidehara Kijuro (Tokyo: Yoshikawa Kobunkan, 2021), and Kumamoto Fumio, Shidehara Kijuro (Tokyo: Chüo Koron Shinsha, 2021). There have also been books published on the important diplomats Komura Jutaro, Uchida Kosai, Ishii Kikujiro, Debuchi Katsuji, and Ashida Hitoshi: Katayama Yoshitaka, Komura Jutaro — Kindai Nihon Gaiko no Taigensha [Komura Jutaro: The Embodiment of Modern Japanese Diplomacy] (Tokyo: Chūō Koron Shinsha, 2011), Kobayashi Michihiko, et. al., eds, Uchida Kosai Kankei Shiryo Shüsei [Compilation of Materials on Uchida Kosai] (Tokyo: Kashiwa Shobo, 2012), Watanabe Kota, Ishii Kikujiro — Senso no Jidai o Kakenuketa Gaikokan no Shégai [Ishii Kikujiro: The Life of a Diplomat Who Made It Through an Age of War] (Tokyo: Yoshida Shoten, 2023), Takahashi Katsuhiro, ed., Debuchi Katsuji Nikki [The Diary of Debuchi Katsuji] (Tokyo: Kokusho Kankokai, 2022) and Yajima Akira, Ashida Hitoshi to Nihon Gaiko — Renmei Gaiko kara Nichibei Domei e [Ashida Hitoshi and Japanese Foreign Policy: From League Diplomacy to the US-Japan Alliance] (Tokyo: Yoshikawa Kobunkan, 2019).

x Preface

Many of these have not been translated into English. It is my hope that they one day will be, allowing for more international contributions to the research on modern Japanese history. While important in their own areas, these studies do not force significant changes in the interpretations provided in this book, which remains almost the only study that thoroughly discusses Japanese diplomacy in the 1920s. That does not mean, however, that this book has no shortcomings. If this book were to be written today, I would add two points.

The first is the transformation of diplomats’ foreign conceptions. Although cooperation with the US and UK had been dominant in the Japanese foreign ministry’s policy initiatives through the mid-1920s, arguments for Sino-Japanese partnership became influential from the late-1920s into the 1930s. The author has published the following studies on diplomats. Hattori Ryüji, ed., Manshü Jihen to Shigemitsu Chuka Koshi Hokokusho — Gaimusho Kiroku “Shina no Taigai Seisaku Kankei Zassan ‘Kakumei Gaiko'"" ni Yosete [The Manchurian Incident and Envoy to China Shigemitsu's Report: The Foreign Ministry Records “Miscellaneous Articles Related to China's Foreign Policy: On ‘Revolutionary Diplomacy""] (Tokyo: Nihon Tosho Senta, 2002), Hattori Ryūji, Hirota Koki (Tokyo: Chad Kéron Shinsha), Hattori Ryüji, ed., Oseitei Kaikoroku “Looking Back and Looking Forward” [Wang Zhengting’s Memoirs, “Looking Back and Looking Forward"] (Hachidji: Chüó University Press, 2008), and Ryuji Hattori, Japan at War and Peace: Shidehara Kijuro and the Making of Modern Diplomacy (Canberra: Australian National University Press, 2021).

The second is public diplomacy. While this book describes diplomatic negotiations, it does not devote much space to public diplomacy. In reality, however, soft power and propaganda can significantly impact the worldview of countries in the long run and change the international environment for Japan. A typical example is the “Tanaka Memorial,” a forged document concerning Japanese strategic goals that China spread worldwide and widely came to be seen as authentic. The author discusses this in Hattori Ryüji, Nicchu Rekishi Ninshiki: "Tanaka Josho Bun" o Meguru Sokoku, 1927-2010 [Japan-China Historical Recognition: Conflicts over the “Tanaka Memorial,” 1927-2010] (Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press, 2010), and Ryuji Hattori, “The Tanaka Memorial and China-Japan Relations,” Sogo Seisaku Kenkyu, No. 31 (March 2023), pp. 47-53. I would like to translate Hirota Koki and Nicchu Rekishi Ninshiki into English in the future.

Last but not least, Dr. Leonard has translated and/or edited the following of my books: Eisaku Sato, Japanese Prime Minister, 1964—72: Okinawa, Foreign Relations, Domestic Politics and the Nobel Prize (London: Routledge, 2021), China-Japan Rapprochement and the United States: In the Wake of Nixon's Visit to Beijing (London: Routledge, 2022), Japan and the Origins of the Asia-Pacific Order: Masayoshi Ohira's Diplomacy and Philosophy (Singapore: Springer, 2022), and Fighting Japan's Cold War: Prime Minister

Preface xi

Yasuhiro Nakasone and His Times (London: Routledge, 2023). This book, his fifth translation into English, developed from my doctoral dissertation and involved research in Japanese, English, Chinese, Russian, and Korean. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude that this book, the writing of which involved many difficulties, will now be available in English.

Hattori Ryüji June 30, 2023

Usage Notes e Japanese names are listed family name first.

e With the exception of Chiang Kai-shek and Sun Yat-sen, Chinese names are romanized using Hanyu Pinyin. A list of name equivalencies has been included for some prominent Chinese figures.

Name Equivalencies

Cao Rulin

Gu Weijun

Lu Zhengxiang Shi Zhaoji Wang Zhengting Wu Chaoshu Xu Shichang Yan Huiqing Zhang Zuolin Zhang Xueliang

Tsao Ju-lin Wellington Koo Lou Tseng-Tsiang Alfred Sao-ke Sze Chengting T. Wang C.C. Wu

Hsu Shih-chang W.W. Yen

Chang Tso-lin Chang Hsueh-liang

Acronyms

CCP CER KMT Mantetsu NRA

CSFR

CSR

DBFP

DVPS

Chinese Communist Party Chinese Eastern Railway Kuomintang

South Manchurian Railway National Revolutionary Army

Academia Sinica, Taipei

Academia Historica, Taipei

Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation, Moscow

Guoli Bianyiguan, ed., Zhonghua Minguo Waijiaoshi Huibian [Compilation of the Diplomatic History of the Republic of China], Vol. 1-15 (Taipei: Bohaitang Wenhua Gongsi, 1996)

Cheng Daode, Zheng Yueming, Rao Geping, eds., Zhonghua Minguo Waijiaoshi Ziliao Xuanbian, 1919— 1931 [Selected Materials on the Diplomatic History of the Republic of China, 1919-1931] (Beijing: Peking University, 1985)

Zhongguo Shehui Kexueyuan Jindaishi Yanjiusuo Jindaishi Ziliao Bianjishi, ed., Miji Lucun [Secret Book Records] (Beijing: Zhongguo Shehui Kexue Chubanshe, 1984)

E.L. Woodward and Rohan Butler, eds., Documents on British Foreign Policy, 1919-1939, Senes 1-2 (London: Her Majesty's Stationary Office, 1946-1947) Ministerstvo inostrannykh del SSSR, ed., Dokumenty vneshney politiki SSSR [Documents on the Foreign

FRUS

JANA

JDC

RG 59

RTsKhIDNI

SJR

Source Acronyms xv

Policy of the USSR], Vol. 1-14 (Moscow: Izd-vo polit. lit-ry, 1959-1968)

Office of the Historian, Department of State, ed., Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1930-1946)

John Young, ed., Checklist of Microfilm Reproductions of Selected Archives of the Japanese Army, Navy, and Other Government Agencies, 1868—1945 (Washington: Georgetown University, 1959)

Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ed., Nihon Gaiko Nenpyé Nami Shuyo Bunsho [Chronology and Major Papers on Japanese Diplomacy], Vol. 1-2 (Tokyo: Hara Shobo, 1965)

Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ed., Nihon Gaiko Bunsho [Japanese Diplomatic Records] (Tokyo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 1975-1992)

Diplomatic Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tokyo

Modern Japanese Political History Materials Room, National Diet Library, Tokyo

Military Archives, National Institute for Defense Studies, Tokyo

Public Records Office, London

Zhongguo Guomindang Zhongyang Weiyuanhui Dangshi Shiliao Bianzuan Weiyuanhui, ed., Geming Wenxian [Revolutionary Diplomacy] Vol. 1-117 (Taipei: Zhongyang Wenwu Gongyingshe, 1957-1989) General Records of the Department of State, Record Group 59, National Archives, College Park, MD Russian Centre for the Preservation and Study of Documents of Contemporary History, Moscow Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica, ed., Zhongri Guanxi Shiliao [Records on Sino-Japanese Relations] (Taipei: Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica, 1987-1996)

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