The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-09-22
JAPAN INVERSE TO PARTICIP ALTON
 IN GREAT WAR
Japanese Military Opinion Dominated By German
 Thought.
DIDN'T LIKE SUPPORT
 GIVEN TO CHINA
Believed England Only Ben efitted by Anglo-Japa-
 nese Alliance.

The opportunity for the great coup.
 which had been the dream of the Japanese mi1itarists since 1894. came when the European war broke out in
 1914. There was a general recogni- tion in Japan that the opportunity
 was at hand, though the actual man
 ner in which it was to be utilized
 necessarily depended on the course of
 events. It will be remembered that whilst Great Britain declared war on Germany on August 4th, it was not until two weeks later that Japan sent an ultinfatum to Germany.
 In truth, any participation in the
 war was distastefuI to Japan. The l reasons for this were three.
 i. Japanese military opinion was l largely dominated by German thought. the Japanese army being as much a product of Germany as the navy is of Great Britain.
 2. Japanese official circles were and had been since 1912, displeased
 at the tacit support given by Great Britain to the Chinese Republic, and consequently to Yuan Shih-<ai, Jap ans arch enemy.
 8. The AngIo-Japanese Alliance had been, especially since it's emas- 1 culation fin 1911, regarded in Japan as "unilateral." its only benefits being to Great Britain. Intervention in a war which was pOpuIarly considered as a European squabble over the Bal ! ance of Power appeared to Japanese | public opinion as an exploitation of ! the Alliance, for which Japan would | receive no return.
 The action of the German naval ! forces based on Tsingtau created that | prejudice to the peace of the Far East. which came within the scope | of the Alliance, and Japan was re- | qucsted to implement that agreement. | A further cause for intervention, | which was not it may be assumed, | without influence, was that negotia- l tons between Yuan Shih-kai and l Germany, having for their object the | direct retroCession to China of the | leased territory of Kiaochow, on the | basis of clause of the lease of March | 6, 1898. It Is obvious that the sue | cessful conclusion of these negotia- | tions would have immensely increas- | ed the prestige of Yuan Shih-kai and | China and correspondingly diminish 1 ed Japanese influence. On August | 18th therefore. Japan sent an ulti- | matum to Germany, demanding the surrender of KiaOchow flor eventual | restorat ton to China" This step per | SC ended the ChinO-German negotia- | tions; but Yuan Shih-Kai, realizing g ! the menace of a Japanese army in l neutral China, formally offered to the | Allies to join China to any operations | against the German base. This offer | was rejected at Japan's instigation. | The British forces were landed at | Laoshan, within the leased territory. | The Japanese army disembarked at l IIunEhow on the north coast of the | Shantung peninsula, 15O miles distant | from Tsingtau. This was an infringe l ment of Chinese territory, and, to 1 safeguard as far as possible her neu- l trality, China proclaimed a war zone. ! This was regarded by Japan as an
 expression of indifference and suspi- l cion-
 Her army refused to recognize the | zone, drove the Chinese out of Weih- l sieng and other places, and occupied the whole length of the Shantung 1 railway to Tsinanfu, as well as other l places in the province.
 On November 7th Tsingtau surren- 1 dered, and has been occupied since l by Japan, now far more firmly es- l tablished there than Germany ever l was Military operations being con- ] cluded, Marquis Okuma himself hay
 ing declared "Japan's share in the
 war has ended,'' China revoked the
 zone proclamation early in January
 and requested the withdrawal of the
 Japanese troops then outside of the
 leased territory, the evacuation of
 Lungchow, and the removal of mil
 itary railways and telegraphs- On
 January sth Japan replied refusing
 to acquiesce under any circumstan- ! ON V~- Tn f1r
 warded a further request for with
 drawaI. to which Japan replied by the
 '~Twenty-one Demands." which were
 presented directly to the President bJ
 the Japanese Minister, M HiOki.
 There are two versions of these
 demands. the original ten presented
 on January 18th varying slightly from
 the Revised" version, presented or April 26th. Groups I, II, III, and IN were accepted by China under thu pressure of a forty-eight hours ulti
 matum, delivered by M. Hiok on May I. 1915. Group V, with the exception ], 1 of a declaration of non-aHenation O any part of the coast of Fukien, wa! withdrawn by Japan under pressur rl from Great Britain and the United , States The victory thus obtained b,
 Japan was Pyrrhic one, for GrouI , V, the very existence of which wa
 for so long denied at Tokio, mean the administrative and military su
 pervision of the whole of China II , that Japan failed to obtain accept
 ance of Group V, she failed in thu
 contest, for she disclosed to the worl
 her whole hand.
 , Group I dealt with the situation
 which had arisen owing to the evic
 l ton of Germany from Shantung
 China had to agree to endorse what l ever settlement Japan might mak
 with Germany. In addition she had t grant a railway concession for a lin
 i from Chefoo to join the Shantun
 | line, and undertake to grant no lease 5 on or off the coast to a third power For all practical purposes Shantun was to follow Manchuria and to be come Japan's perquisite for ''main
 who offered his all and who, as tn l | battle ragged on, sacrificed either al - or part
 l 1a4izIafioT SIlhStantia