Browsing by Author "Suzuki, Yu"

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    Modern Japan, episode zero: Japan's struggle for diplomatic equality, 1859-1894
    (2010) Suzuki, Yu; Ferris, John R.; Wright, David C.
    From 1858 to 1894, Japan was not an independent state, because of the unequal treaties. These treaties forbid the Japanese to possess the freedom to set the tariff rate as they wished, and also the Western nationals in Japan were immune from Japanese laws. Naturally, Japanese elites resented the unequal treaties, and considered this as the most important diplomatic problem that they had to solve. Since the British were the most powerful Western nation that was against treaty revision, negotiation with them was prioritized. From 1858 to 1885, Japan was seen as a semi-civilized nation that did not deserve equal diplomatic status, but from the mid-1880s this started to change. Japan's successful Westernization impressed British decision makers, and by 1890 they concluded that Japan had become a nation that was more civilized than any other non-Western nation, and consequently decided to sign a treaty on equal terms in 1894.