ABSTRACT
WHETHER the Anglo-Japanese Alliance put on Japan the obligation of participating in the Great War is arguable. For some days Japan maintained a neutral position, and offered Germany terms which would have ensured the maintenance of neutrality. Had Germany accepted these terms and continued to threaten British interests in Asia, it is difficult to see how Japan could have kept faith with both countries. But Germany sent no reply to the Japanese Note, and Japan came into the war “in accordance with the terms of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance.” The historic importance of this Alliance to Japan could hardly be exaggerated. It encouraged Japan to go to war with Russia in 1904, and ensured freedom from intervention during that contest. It furnished her with a pretext, which otherwise it would have been difficult to find, for capturing Kiaochau and the Pacific Islands. It also launched her on that career of expansion and militarism which caused other countries, including the British Dominions, to regard her with fear and suspicion.
