Twenty-One Demands
In 1915, Japan presented to China the Twenty-One Demands, resulting in the Sino-Japanese Treaty of 1915. It provided that Japanese subjects would be free to reside and travel in South Manchuria, and engage in business and manufacture of any kind and lease land that was necessary for erecting suitable buildings for trade, manufacturing, and agricultural enterprises. Japan loosely interpreted that to include most of Manchuria in the term "South Manchuria."