The was a

diplomatic note Diplomatics (in American English, and in most anglophone countries), or diplomatic (in British English), is a scholarly discipline centred on the critical analysis of documents, especially historical documents. It focuses on the conventions, pr ...

signed in Washington between the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Imperial Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

on 2 November 1917 over their disputes with regards to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. Both parties agreed to respect the independence and territorial integrity of China and to follow the principle of equal opportunity for commerce and industry in that country. The United States recognized Japan had special interests in certain areas, especially

Manchuria Manchuria is a historical region in northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day northeast China and parts of the modern-day Russian Far East south of the Uda (Khabarovsk Krai), Uda River and the Tukuringra-Dzhagdy Ranges. The exact ...

. The Chinese objected to the agreement and it was abrogated in 1923. In a secret protocol, which was attached to the public agreement, both parties agreed not to take advantage of the special opportunities presented by

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

to seek special rights or privileges in China at the expense of other nations that had been allied in the war effort against Germany. At the time, the Lansing–Ishii Agreement was touted as evidence that Japan and the United States had laid to rest their increasingly-acrimonious rivalry over China, and the agreement was hailed as a landmark in Japanese–American relations. However, critics soon realized that the vagueness and the differing possible interpretations of the agreement meant that nothing had really been decided after two months of talks. The agreement was abrogated in April 1923, when it was replaced by the

Nine-Power Treaty The Nine-Power Treaty () or Nine-Power Agreement () was a 1922 treaty affirming the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of China as per the Open Door Policy. The Nine-Power Treaty was signed on 6 February 1922 by all of the att ...

. For the Japanese, the Lansing–Ishii Agreement acknowledged Tokyo's special interests in part of China and recognized that Japan could not easily be ignored in international affairs.Walker, ''National Security and Core Values in American History'', page 78

Bibliography

* * Beers, Burton F. ''Vain Endeavor. Robert Lansing's Attempts to End the American-Japanese Rivalry'' (1962) * * * Vinson, J. Chal. "The Annulment of the Lansing-Ishii Agreement." ''Pacific Historical Review'' (1958): 57–69
Online
* Young, C. Walter. ''The International Legal Status Of The Kwantung Leased Territory'' (1931
online

External links

– Containing full public text of the Agreement

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lansing-Ishii Agreement 1917 in the United States 1917 in Japan Japan–United States treaties China–Japan relations Treaties concluded in 1917 Treaties of the Empire of Japan Eponymous treaties

See also

Bibliography

External links

Notes