ABSTRACT
THAT THE JAPANESE annexation of Korea was destined to take place was indicated as early as the Eighth session of the Diet. Thus, in reply to an interpellation made in the House of Representatives on February 22, 1895, Prime Minister Hirobumi Ito merely expressed his opinion that the powers had no objection to the continued existence of Korea as an independent state and purposely declined to commit the government upon the question of Korean independence.1 With the express recognition of the Korean independence by China under the Treaty of Shimonoseki, the Japanese position in Korea became even stronger. Accordingly, Prime Minister Ito, during the session of the Diet immediately following the close of the war, deliberately refused to state whether the cabinet was prepared to protect the independence of Korea by resorting to arms should such independence be threatened by the powers.2 Foreign Minister Okuma of the succeeding ministry likewise declined to commit the government on this question.3
