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26/3/04 – The Day America First Backed Japan’s Expansionist Policies

Posted: March 26th, 2014 | No Comments »

On March 26 1904 Secretary John Hay held talks with Japan’s Baron Kentaro Kaneko in the State Department in DC. The Russo-Japanese War was underway and TR liked the American-educated Kaneko. Kaneko believed that TR was siding (secretly) with Japan against Russia though  Hay had to remind TR that America was technically neutral in the conflict. Kaneko later went to the White House for a reception where TR made a byline to pump his hand and proceeded to talk in decidedly neutral terms about Japan’s role as a “civilising” nation in Asia. Kaneko suggested TR read Inazo Nitobe’s Bushido to better understand Japan. According to the Japanese ambassador to DC at the time, Kogoro Takahira, summarised the conversation saying that TR expressed confidence that Japan would win the war and become Asia’s leading nation.

Arguably this is the point at which America decided to back Japan against Russia and also detach itself from Korea leading to Korea’s later colonisation by Tokyo as well as encouraging Japan’s aggression towards China. An important meeting largely forgotten now.

NH_0705_Location1TR stands between the leaders of the Russian (left) and Japanese delegations at the 1905 Portsmouth Naval Conference (the Treaty of Portsmouth). Kenaro is to TR’s right. 



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