Japan's Twenty-One Demands

 The Big Brother Relationship

February 12, 2021

Following Japan's role as a member of the Allied Powers in World War I, Japan sought to grow its hegemonic role in East Asia. While countries like Britain and France picked apart and apportioned sections of the crumbling Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires, Japan turned its sights towards its neighbor to the West— China. 

On January 18, 1915, the Japanese Prime Minister Ōkuma Shigenobu submitted a list of 21 demands to the Chinese President Yuan Shikai. These demands could largely be divided into 5 sections: 1) Japanese occupation of German ports and operations in the Shandong province; 2) Continued leasehold over a larger portion of Manchuria; 3) Ownership of mining and metallurgy complexes in Central China; 4) Barring China from giving concessions to any other foreign power; 5) Japanese control of Chinese finances and political affairs.

Ultimately, when these demands were leaked by the Chinese to the Western Powers, outrage over Chinese sovereignty led to the final section being scrapped. However, President Shikai still approved the other 4 sections, which many Chinese citizens saw as a humiliation and an affront to Chinese strength. This humiliation still reflects strongly in current Sino-Japanese relations.

In Japan, the approval of the first 4 sections in their demands changed relatively little in their relationship with Japan. However, the western backlash prompted a surge of nationalism, as the Japanese felt that they had as much of a right to imperial ownership as the Western world did. The divide between the "rights" of European Countries and Japan added fire to the flame that was Japanese Fascism. In this context, further attempts by Japan to seize power in China, ultimately reaching a climax in the Mukden Incident, can be seen as Japan vying for what they believed was rightfully earned during their role in WW1.

The reason I wanted to bring light to this event leading up to the Mukden Incident is to raise the possible motives behind Japan's hegemonic intents, especially considering the actions of other Allied nations at the same time. The Chinese response to these intents, namely their stance of appeasement, is also something to consider in trying to understand how the situation escalated to such a volatile state.