ABSTRACT
By 1910 Japan believed she had succeeded in convincing the world of her changing status. The ‘Unequal’ treaties had been, or were in the process of being, renegotiated, and, in addition, the original Anglo-Japanese Alliance1
of 1902 had been renewed, in 1907, for a further five years. The diplomatic liaison between Britain, with its great empire, and emergent Japan was an astonishing achievement for Japanese diplomacy. Partly because of the support, implicit in the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, the Japanese had, in 1904, felt able to embark on a war against Russia, over the control of lands and resources of North China including Manchuria and Korea. Following the decisive naval battle of Tsushima, in May 1905, the Japanese had emerged victorious.
