한국일본학회

After the Russo-Japanese War, Japan established cooperative diplomatic relations with Western powers such as Britain, Russia, and France and expanded its power to secure stable interests in East Asia, including the invasion of Korea and Manchuria. This paper examines this process from the perspective of the formation process of the “1907 System” in East Asia. Before and after the Russo-Japanese Peace Treaty, the international situation in East Asia developed in Japan's favor. In 1905, when Britain requested an expansion and revision of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, the second Anglo-Japanese Alliance was signed, and through the Katsura-Taft Agreement and the Russo-Japanese Peace Treaty, Japan was able to protect Korea under the understanding of the powers. The 1907 France-Japan Convention, the Russo-Japanese Convention, and the Anglo-Russian Negotiations, in conjunction with the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, formed “1907 System”, which was a cooperative system of the powers in East Asia. This provided Japan with a free-hand on Korean control and acted toward allowing Japan's annexation of Korea through the 2nd and 3rd Russo-Japanese Conventions and the 3rd Anglo-Japanese Alliance, as well as creating an environment favorable for Japan to expand its invasion into Manchuria and mainland China. This diplomatic system was maintained until World War I and influenced East Asian international politics.