Sharpe

Japan was pushed to fight the first Sino-Japanese War due to the growing influence of Russia in Korea which threatens Japan's national security and and international duty to help the Korean to gain independence.

As a newly-emergent power Japan turned its attention toward Korea. In order to protect its own interests and security, Japan wanted to either annex Korea before it was seized by another power, or at least ensure Korea's effective independence by developing its resources and reforming its administration. As Prussian advisor Major Klemens Meckel put it to the Meiji army, Korea was "a dagger pointed at the heart of Japan". Japan felt that another power having a military presence on the Korean peninsula would have been detrimental to Japanese national security, and so Japan resolved to end the centuries-old Chinese suzerainty over Korea. Moreover, Japan realized that having access to Korea’s coal and iron ore deposits would benefit Japan's growing industrial base.

On February 27, 1876, after certain incidents and confrontations involving Korean isolationists and the Japanese, Japan imposed the Treaty of Ganghwa on Korea; forcing Korea to open itself to Japanese and foreign trade and to proclaim its independence from China in its foreign relations.

Korea had traditionally been a tributary state and continued to be so under the influence of China's Qing dynasty, which exerted large influence over the conservative Korean officials gathered around the royal family of the Joseon Dynasty. Opinion in Korea itself was split; conservatives wanted to retain the traditional subservient relationship with China, while reformists wanted to establish closer ties with Japan and western nations. After two Opium Wars against the British Empire and the Sino-French War, China had become weak and was unable to resist political intervention and territorial encroachment by western powers (see Unequal Treaties). Japan saw this as an opportunity to replace Chinese influence in Korea with its own.

Jake10

The one thing I would agree with is that Japan saw a weakness in China which made them believe they could replace Chinese influence in the region. It also seemed like a good opportunity for Japan to test her new military muscle. In terms of threats, however, I see Japan as representing the larger one to the other countries in the region at the time.

sylla1

You can't be serious

"Being pushed" by any own imperialistic ambition, strategy & competition with any third party is light years away from being "defensive" by any standard.

Far as I can tell, there has not been any single war all along History that couldn't be perfectly justified as a "pre-emptive strike" from any attacking side, not even from the III Reich (in fact, such was Herr Hitler's standard excuse).

blowe46

How much influence did China have? they were facing Russian and Japanese influence.

Jake10

Let's keep in mind that up until the Opium Wars China was highly revered throughout the world, to the point that the Americas were discovered while trying to find a route to China. Following the Opium Wars, a number of events weakened China, but she was still seen as the strongest power of the east. Japan wanted to change that. Call it competition in the region or trying to gain more face, the point is Japan wanted to take the lead in the east.

Bismarck

By who? Certainly not by Europeans, surely?

Jake10

I would say otherwise. Of course, they didn't consider China the center of the world like some other societies did, and there was discrimination, but China had what the Europeans wanted and could not come up with on their own. The silk road had been cut off following the fall of the Mongol Empire, but the Europeans were still willing to risk life and limb to get those goods. I mean, we've seen these debates about 'who was more advanced China or Rome' and the answers are very subjective, but following the fall of Rome China became the world's most advanced civilization, right?

Bismarck

That's as maybe, but by the seventeenth century Europeans, while valuing Chinese products, regarded China as somewhat of an anachronism. Their attitude was less reverential and more like condescension - as it was to all non-Europeans. The fact that you can admire and respect the achievements of China doesn't mean those of 17th/18th/19th century Europeans did. We should be careful not to overstate what little respect there may have been at that time.

pablo668

I can't see anything defensive about it at all.
I've come to look at Japans actions of this time as merely questing for an equivalent to the (relatively) new German Empires 'Place in the Sun'.
It just happened to be at a time when the idea of forging empires was becoming passe'.

Jake10

Everybody in the world was racist at that time. I would compare it to today's feeling of patriotism, which cause people from all around the world to badmouth America, even though the know the US is the top dog. That's basically what I mean by revered China. While the prejudice was there, and, not just Europeans, but everyone else had bad things to say about the Chinese, they all knew China had the most.