Ian Nish and Mizuyo Oyama

Published December 2008

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This discussion paper is a continuation of the two previous pamphlets which appeared under the title, ‘On the Periphery of the Russo-Japanese war’. A special symposium on this topic was held in the Morishima Room on 8 March 2008. The first paper is by Mrs Oyama, a researcher on Anglo-Japanese relations who is currently co-operating in a project to publish the papers of General Taro UTSUNOMIYA, the Japanese military attache in London, 1901-5. Utsunomiya observes the plight of the British army after the South African war and takes part in the debate in army circles about introducing universal military service. The second paper deals with the controversial topic of whether Japan went to war with Russia in 1904 because of her own national interest or was pushed into the war by her ally, Britain. It answers the question in the negative and argues that the British government were maintaining a policy of neutrality, both before and during the war. The paper was presented at the Fifty Year Anniversary Conference of Kokusai Seiji Gakkai (Japanese Association for International Relations, JAIR) which was held at Kisarazu, Japan in October 2006. It has already appeared in Japanese translation.