Washington Conference System, Essay Example

What was the “Washington Conference System”? How and why did Japan contribute to its breakdown?

The Washington Conference System was a conference, which the United States initiated in order to resolve far Eastern affairs that had not been settled during the Versailles Conference. Eight countries, including Japan, had been invited to attend. Three international treaties were signed as a result of the Washington Conference: Four Power Treaty, Five Power Treaty, and Nine Power Treaty. Each of these treaties had advantages and disadvantages for Japan.

The Four Power Treaty lessoned the stress between the US and Japan and ensured an amicable relationship among the four main world powers. The Five Power Treaty restored the balance of naval power in the Pacific, as it ended the likelihood among the main world powers of a naval race. This was extremely beneficial to Japan as it had become limited in resources and was not able to withstand continuous competition. The Nine Power Treaty saw Japan’s return of Shantung to China and, at least in so many words, guaranteed China’s integrity.

After the passing of the Japanese Exclusion Act by US Congress in 1924, the mutual relations between the United States and Japan soured. Domestic crisis began in Japan, with economic collapse, high unemployment, and ultimately social agitation coming to a head. In light of this, Japan realized the weaknesses of the Washington Conference Treaties and contributed to its failure in several ways.

The Four Power Treaty had failed to establish any structure to implement its requirements; further to that, nothing more than consultation with one another was required. Thus, for Japan to breach the Treaty if it decided not to abide by the terms, which it had agreed upon, would be easy. The Five Power Treaty, while limiting the amount of capital ships produced, had not extended the same limitations to the rest of the fleet of battle machinery. Also, while the calculation of five capital ships for each of the US and Britain and three capital ships for Japan may have appeared just, the reality was that the US and Britain had to spread their numbers over a far greater territory, thus thinning them. The Japanese navy, however, was concentrated exclusively in the Pacific Ocean. This left both the British and American military bases in this area particularly vulnerable to attack from a country growing in discontent. Finally, the members concerned interpreted the Nine Power Treaty differently. The Japanese interpreted the Treaty to mean that they were to be given particular privileges with regards to the areas of Inner Mongolia and Manchuria. Also, to the Japanese, the expression of an open door meant something different than to the Americans. They understood this in a more concrete way, and saw it as enabling the exploitation of China’s resources rather than the intended meaning of equal opportunity in the marketplace for the people of China. These issues with the Treaty made disregarding the terms easy for the Japanese. Once the militarists gained control in Japan, they began to contravene the Treaties, eventually leading to the Pacific War.

Works Cited

“Washington Conference 1921-22.” The circumstance leading to the Washington Conference 1921-22. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2010 <http://www.thecorner.org/hist/essays/japan/washington-conf.htm>.