Wars with China and Russia

Japanese leaders of the late 19th century regarded the Korean Peninsula as a "dagger pointed at the heart of Japan." It was over Korea that Japan became involved in the first Sino-Japanese War with the Chinese Empire in 1894-1895 and the Russo-Japanese War with Russia in 1904-1905. The war with China established Japan's dominant interest in Korea, while giving it the Pescadores Islands and Formosa (now Taiwan).

Anglo-Japanese Alliance
To counter the powerful Russian influence in China, Japan sought an alliance with a western power. The British Empire, worried that Russia might endanger the interest it held in China and still burdened with the cost of the Boer War, shared common interest with Japan. The negotiations started in 1901. On January 30, 1902, the alliance was formally signed between Japan and the UK. Of the six major agreements, none is more important than the third article. This declared that in the event either of the nations was at war with two or more countries, the other must declare war on those countries. Surprised, Russia tried to counter this by allying with France and Germany. Germany backed down, however, and on March 16, a mutual pact was signed between France and Russia.

In 1905 Japan inflicted a stinging defeat upon Tsarist Russia, which woke up the whole world to the new power in Asia. The resulting Treaty of Portsmouth denied Japan an indemnity, leading to riots, but Japan replaced Russian economic influence in Inner Manchuria. Much anger was also felt at the denial of the whole of Sakhalin (Karafuto) which the Japanese felt Russia had extorted in 1875 in exchange for the Kurile Islands. Both wars gave Japan a free hand in Korea, which it formally annexed in 1910.