Le Japon pendant la Première Guerre mondiale : fonctionnement de l’État et politique extérieure

Abstract

Unprecedented in its scope, the First World War was also unique in the Western efforts it triggered to find the “meaning or direction of history”, a desire to see war as the secret to a peaceful world. But for Asia, how could this “direction of history” mean anything other than decolonization combining modernization and pre-modern roots? In 1914, this was achieved only by Japan, something made possible by its military victories but also by its immunity to external influences and its remoteness. Japan was a “Far Asia”, hence its view of China: a strong China would weaken the protection afforded by Japan’s distant location; weak, it would attract Westerners. For Japan, the war was less an opportunity to act than it was a period of self-interrogation.

Keywords

• China
• Russia
• Treaty of Versailles
• Yamagata Aritomo
• Hara Takashi (Kei)