FOREIGN OFFICE FILES FOR JAPAN AND THE FAR EAST

Series One: Embassy & Consular Archives - Japan (1905-1940)
(Public Record Office Class FO 262)

Part 3: Detailed Correspondence for 1924-1926 (PRO Class FO 262/1602-1672)

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

Continuing our major series on Embassy and Consular Archives for Japan and the Far East, Part 3 makes available the subject files, for the years 1924 to 1926, from Foreign Office Class FO 262.  The Annual Reports for each preceding year are included and these comprise a central and detailed analytical document covering all the major issues of the previous twelve months.

The Annual Report for 1923 (released 1924) features an Introductory Survey, notes on Internal Affairs (Governmental and Parliamentary; Court; Social Conditions; the Earthquake) and Relations between Japan and Great Britain, China, Russia and the United States.  There are also good notes on Finance and Economics, Trade and Commerce, Reconstruction, the Army and the Navy.  Particularly valuable are the reports of the then Japanese dependencies of Korea and Formosa.

The Report comments with some concern upon Relations between Japan and Great Britain:

"I feel … that the two countries are drifting apart and that we ought to keep before our eyes the need for arresting this movement by active demonstrations of friendship."

On Korea, a large sub-section of the Report gives details on the Independence Movement, Frontier Raids, Education, Mission Schools, Police Methods, Relations with the Japanese, Relations with Foreigners, Russian Refugees, Railway Development and Mining.  The Report notes that:

"Echoes of the Independence Movement of 1919 continue to be heard from time to time and at the commencement of the year there was a bomb outrage in Seoul, the perpetrators of which were said to be in league with the Provisional government of Shanghai."

There are also substantial individual subject files on Korea and Formosa.  The 1925 file on Korea is especially useful for information on private hospitals, private schools, reports on the economic and political situation by Arthur Hyde Lay, and accounts of the severe floods to the south and east of the city of Seoul.  There is a 33 page Annual Report on affairs in Korea – for the index to this report see folios 390 and 408-9 of FO 262/1638.  Significant issues covered include the Korean Government’s resumption of active control of the Korean State Railways, previously operated by the South Manchurian Railway Company; trade with Japan; Banking; the dismissal of officials to simplify the large administrative bureaucracy; political agitation; labour relations and education.

The general state of feeling in Korea is summed up as “… quiet resignation on the surface, … unrest among the younger generation … divided into two schools, one anti-foreign and independent, the other frankly Bolshevik, both being strongly though secretly anti-Japanese.”

On the subject of Formosa, Sir C Eliot to Austen Chamberlain, a despatch dated Tokyo, March 12, 1925 contains some interesting comments:  “The administration of the island is, upon the whole, exceedingly efficient, but it affords little or no scope for the activities of the educated Formosan-Chinese, who feel that they have a right to some share in the management of their country.  The existing political unrest is of little consequence, but the Japanese dream of assimilation is probably unrealisable, and the day must come sooner or later when the situation in Formosa will resemble that in the Philippines today, and when the Japanese will be confronted by the ingratitude, as they will consider it, of those upon whom they have conferred the benefits of an administration much better than anything which existed in the time of Chinese sovereignty.”  See FO 262/1636, folio 157.

The subject files on the Japanese Political Situation are very thorough.  The file for 1925 includes minuted details, by the Ambassador and other Embassy Staff, concerning the new members of the Kato Cabinet, news cuttings and biographical information about key individuals.  Analytical accounts of the changes in the leadership of the Seiyukai, a diary of events, press comments and further background information build up an impressively documented picture of the political scene.

In June 1924, a coalition party cabinet was formed under Kato Takaaki, following only the second General Election since the First World War.  The leading political parties, headed by the Seiyukai and Kenseikai, decisively defeated the nominees of the Government.  Kato’s Kenseikai won the most seats.  Under Kato, and his successor Wakatsuki, Japanese politics seemed to be moving more firmly into an era of liberal reforms.  This trend was supported by Saionji, the last of the surviving Genro.  The power of the Army appeared to be diminishing.  Other signs, however, pointed in the other direction.  Scholars can study the observations made at the time and re-examine the shifting power balances.

Electoral Reform gave all male subjects, above the age of 25, the right to vote.  The new Bill added about 6.25 million voters to the Electorate and is described by the British Ambassador, in his introduction to the 1925 Annual Report, as “one of the most important pieces of legislation which modern Japan has seen and may prove a turning point in the development of the nation.”  Perhaps this goes a little too far?

The Bill for the Preservation of Peace aroused equal interest.  The debates were subject to violence inside and outside of the House, which was cordoned off by the police.  The Bill passed with help from some members of the Opposition, despite the disapproval of many members of the Coalition.  The new measure was not much welcomed by public opinion.  It gave the police even greater powers to deal with all those who cherished “dangerous thoughts” or “desired changes in the Constitution or the abolition of private property”.  This new legislation was used to deal with radical elements within the labour movement and to deter other opponents of the Government.

There are significant files on the Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Commerce and a wealth of detail on the visit of HRH Prince George (for the latter see under “Visits of the Fleet” FO 262/1646).  The Prince’s visit was a great success.  An officer on board the cruiser HMS Hawkins, he was a guest of the Imperial Family at two functions and enjoyed social gatherings organised by the British Association, the British Society and the British Embassy.

There is also very good material on Arms Traffic.  A file note referring to a consignment of arms and ammunition which actually arrived at Dairen on November 17th, 1924 in the German Steamship “Sophie Rickmers” states that “it seems probable that this material may be intended for the belligerent forces in China and, should this be the case, a breach of the China Arms agreement will be involved.”

At this time Australia was developing many interests in common with Japan.  Dr Page, Acting Prime Minister of Australia observed “We have mutual responsibilities in the Pacific.  Around the shores of that huge ocean are gathered a great bulk of the people of the earth.  Each day they become stronger, more numerous, and wealthier.  It needs little vision to see that the centre of the world’s political and commercial gravity is shifting towards the Pacific.”

The 1923 Annual Report emphasises the conciliatory policies, including the abolition of postal agencies, employed by Japan in its relations with China.  The anti-Japanese boycott, which started in May 1923, had a considerable impact upon trade.  The Japanese Government was careful not to further inflame the situation and the Great Earthquake disaster brought further support from the international community.

For a time, in China, it was no longer the Japanese, but the British who bore the brunt of nationalist ill-will.  A dangerous situation was brewing in China, with much internal confusion, and in 1927 the forces of Chiang Kai-shek (now also referred to as Jiang Jieshi) would sweep northwards to gain control of the Yangtze valley.  One of his aims was the abolition of extra-territoriality and the eventual recovery of full Chinese sovereignty over such alien enclaves as the Chinese Eastern Railway (under Russian control) and the Japanese zone and leased territory in Southern Manchuria.

There are detailed files on the developing situation in China – see FO 262/1629, FO 262/1652 and FO 262/1653 – whilst the China Tariff Conference is covered in FO 262/1654 and FO 262/1655.

The Report from the Military Attaché in Peking, 14 November 1924, to Sir Ronald Macleay, Her British Majesty’s Minister, Peking warns that “Few residents in China will believe in Japanese neutrality and the Chinese themselves are unanimous in the opinion that Japan has dispersed the Chihli Party so as to reinstate their Anfu friends.”

A confidential note of 23 December 1925 says “that it was a great mistake to suppose that in Manchuria the Japanese were supporting Chang who is Feng’s enemy against Kuo who is supposed to be Feng’s friend … there is no proof whatever that they are friends.”

A note of 28 December 1925 concludes:  “Chang’s victory is complete and his position in Manchuria is secure, except for the fact that his territory and Feng’s are now conterminous, since the latter is in possession of Tientsin and all Chih-li.”

There is wonderful source material in the lead up to the Shanghai Incident and the China Crisis.  Events are analysed from the Japanese, Russian, Chinese and British standpoints.  Scholars can study at first hand the conflicts which later culminated in the severe fighting of 1937.  The files are full of the latest information reports and evaluations: a good example is the following:

“Danger of outbreak of hostilities is confirmed by HM Consul, General Mukden and by Sutton, military adviser to Chang Tso-lin who came to see me March 28th … said that Chang, though wavering from day to day, might move at any moment and was anxious to know whether HMG would be annoyed if he opened hostilities ...” relayed by Tokyo to Foreign Office, 30 March 1925.

Key files on the Chinese Eastern Railway and the South Manchurian Railway complete the picture.  FO 262/1664 contains a 32 page report on the “Political and Commercial History of the Kwantung Leased Territory and the South Manchuria Railway Zone in 1925” – see folio 312 et seq.

See FO 262/1642 for details of the Railways in Manchuria, especially folios 58-63 which is a  6 page letter, by Oswald White, from the British Consulate in Dairen, dated December 1, 1925 and addressed to Sir Charles Eliot, British Ambassador in Tokyo:

“Baron Okura said that he had had a long talk with Mr Karakhan during the latter’s recent visit to Dairen.  He had explained that Japan must have liberty of economic expansion in Manchuria.  She was shut out of other countries.  If she was to be shut out from north Manchuria also, then she was ringed round and must break a hole somewhere ...”

Oswald White concludes:  “The situation is complicated by the fact that China, as represented by the Mukden Government, also nurses the natural ambition of resuming sovereignty.  As it is in a sense Japan which is invading Russia’s sphere of influence, the South Manchuria Railway is usually to be found exercising the role of the friend behind the scenes encouraging the Mukden Government to pull the chestnuts out of the fire and the Chinese Eastern Railway fulfilling the ungrateful task of blocking progress.”

There are very full, detailed files on the Economic Situation in Japan.  An anecdotal record for 1924 gives a flavour of some of this material:

“I called today upon Mr Sháda, the new Finance Minister, to return the visit which he paid me upon his assumption of office.  He was very ready to talk – much more so than is usual at ceremonial interviews of this nature – and opened the conversation by stating that he would, he expected, have to ask for the friendly offices of England, since not only was there a sterling loan due for repayment in England next year, but also it was probable that the Japanese Government would desire to borrow money abroad to finance the purchase of reconstruction materials.”  The new Finance Minister was also more than usually forthcoming on the subject of China, as the rest of this entry goes on to detail.

For 1925 and 1926 the economic situation reports focus on improvements in efficiency, Japan’s requirements for further foreign loans, the extra burden of reconstruction after the Great Earthquake, and the debate on Japan’s population and the food supply.  On this latter subject there is a detailed memorandum by W J Davies, dated November 1926.  Extensive coverage of this topic can also be found in the newspaper cuttings.  The reports incorporate a synthesis of interviews with leading Japanese businessmen and Government officials.  By 1926 there is growing optimism, from the British Ambassador and from the Commercial Secretary at the Tokyo Embassy, about the Japanese economy.  The 1926 file contains their comments on the “unjustified pessimism” of some recent newspaper articles.

The following extract from an interview with Mr Kadono is typical of the data collected:

"As regards the industrialization of the country, Mr Kadono thought it was making good progress.  The import returns showed increasing imports of raw materials, and of machinery required for new industrial processes.  The phenomenal pace of development witnessed during the war has not of course been maintained, and some of the weaker concerns have dropped out …”

To supplement the findings of numerous interviews, there is also much statistical data and analysis.

Much reconstruction work was required after the Great Earthquake.  Various files include plans for rebuilding Consular buildings in Yokohama.  Reconstruction requirements also feature in discussions on Consular Staff, Trade and Commerce, as well as the Construction Industry.

A few further highlights are worth mentioning here.  The thoughts and endeavours of leading members of the British Fabian Society have always been held in great interest in Japan.  The 1924 file for the Fabian Society records its first meeting in Japan at the Shiba Park on 27th September at 6pm with an attendance of 1,000 people.

The Proceedings of the London Reparations Conference, July-August 1924 are also reported in full.

With regard to the League of Nations, Japan’s opposition to any increase in the number of permanent members of the Council is made clear.  Poland, Spain, Brazil and China receive no support from Japan in their claims for greater representation.

There is an abundance of material on the United States and Japan which usefully complements the offerings of US State Department files for this period.  The only issue that caused real concern in Japan was the decision by Congress in 1924 to prohibit oriental (including Japanese) immigration into the United States.  The British Ambassador comments that “the Japanese have kept their temper admirably” and suggests that Bancroft’s advice has been heeded:  “ … if they wished to have the 1925 Immigration Act repealed, their only chance of success was to keep quiet in the hope that the matter might cease to be a question of party politics at Washington and be considered impartially.”

There is also much interesting material on the Strike of the Japanese Cotton Mills, in particular see FO 262/1639, and also on the subject of Labour in Japan, see FO 262/1664.

The Annual Report for 1925 which is to be found in FO 262/1649, folios 149-179, contains the conclusions of Sir Charles Eliot at the end of his six year term as British Ambassador in Tokyo.  In one passage he says:  “I greatly regretted the termination of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, while recognising that the attitude of the dominions made its continuance almost impossible.  In the sphere of Eastern politics it seems to me increasingly important that we should be on terms of close friendship with Japan and endeavour to guide her policy, for I must again call attention to the fact that she has often deferred to us in the course of last year.”

Such considerations give added weight and importance to the Embassy and Consular files reproduced in this microfilm project.  The files covered here reflect the intercourse between the two powers, on a day-by-day basis, discussing, reporting and understanding the vast array of issues fundamental to the course of events throughout the Far East.

These British archives fully document Japan’s changing relations with Britain and the Commonwealth, and as Dr Gordon Daniels, President of the European Association of Japanese Resource Specialists, suggests "they provide invaluable analyses of Japan’s social, economic and political development”.  All centres of research on Modern Japan should have this microform set.

This paperback guide to Part 3 contains contents of reels information, a detailed listing (also reproduced in full on Reel 63) and additional background material.  Please see the combined guide to Parts 1 & 2 of this project for lists of British Embassy and Consular Staff, 1905-1958 and for a list of all major Japanese Ministers and Officials, 1901-1960.

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