Expenditures of the Russo-Japanese war / by Gotaro Ogawa.

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION
CAUSES OF THE RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR
In studying the expenditures and economic effects of the
Russo-Japanese War, we must first make clear the causes
that led to these results. At the outset, therefore, an outline
of the origin of the conflict, of its progress and consequences,
should be introduced.
The Russo-Japanese War of I904-I905 was no more and
no less than a collision of influence between Russia and Japan
in Manchuria and Korea. From geographical propinquity
and historical relations, Japan always had a vital interest in
Korea, both politically and economically; and in order to
maintain and develop this interest, she felt constrained to
prevent the intrusion of exclusive power on the part of any
other country, and thereby to uphold the independence and
territorial integrity of the peninsular Kingdom. Manchuria
bordering on the northern frontiers of Korea and bearing
close relations to the latter, Korea's safety also depended upon
the territorial integrity of Manchuria under the Chinese sovereignty and the expulsion of exclusive influence of any other
power. Russia, however, had long entertained the idea of
acquiring an ice-free port in East Asia, in order to have access
to the Pacific Ocean. For this purpose she improved every
opportunity of extending her activity in Manchuria and
Korea, so that territorial integrity for these countries became
absolutely impossible at last and an armed collision of Japan
and Russia no longer avoidable.
The Sino-Japanese War of I894-I895, it must be admitted,
though it added to the strength of Japan, exposed the weakness of China to the world. After the triple intervention of
Russia, France and Germany succeeded in I895 in compelling Japan to return the Liaotung peninsula to China, which
had been ceded to Japan in the Shimonoseki Peace Treaty,
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