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IGNOU HISTORY NOTES : History Of China and Japan (1840-1949) - Meiji Japan - I

IGNOU HISTORY Study Notes for IAS, UPSC Exams

History Of China and Japan (1840-1949)

Meiji Japan - I

Structure

18.0 Objectives
18.1 Introduction
18.2 Territorial Issues
18.2.1 Kurile Islands
18.2.2 Ryukyu Islands
18.2.3 oni in Islands (Ogasawara)
18.3 The Korean Question
18.4 Revision of Unequal Treaties
18.5 Let Us Sum Up
18.6 Key Words
18.7 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises

18.0 OBJECTIVES

In this Unit we discuss the problems in foreign relations faced by the Meiji Government
from 1868-1893. After reading this Unit you will be able to know about the:

territorial issues related to Kurile Islands, Ryukyu Islands, and Bonin Islands,
attempts made by Japan to remove Chinese dominance over Korea, and
the revision of Unequal Treaties.

18.1 INTRODUCTION

The Meiji Government inherited the legacy of a country opened to the West on the
basis of such treaties which had granted extra-territorial rights to the Western nationals
in Japan and had also deprived Japan of tariff autonomy. These humiliating provisions
which made inroads into Japanese sovereignty had to be rescinded in order to win for
Japan a position of equality with the Western nations. This not only required a
programme of internal reconstruction, but Japan also had to become adept in
negotiations at the bilateral and multilateral levels. The northern frontiers of Japan
with Russia had to be reviewed and delineated to the advantage of Japan. Japan sought
to establish her sovereignty over Ryukyu Islands and have it accepted. Redress had to
be sought for the ~&ean "audacity" to thwart Japan's effortsto open Korea. Japan,
which had concluded a treaty of Amity with China in 1871 to face the Western threat,
found a conflict of interests with China over the issue of the Ryukyu Islands as well as
Korea. While the initial expedition to Korea proposed by Saigo Takamori was not
undertaken in 1873, Japan interfered in the internal affairs of Korea to establish her
own rights. Both these issues created distrust and hostility between China and Japan
which only increased over the years. USA indirectly helped Japan to establish her rights
vis-a-vis China as well as her territorial expansion in general. These are the various
aspects dealt with in this Unit.