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Michael Schiltz, “To Dream the Impossible Dream: Ideological Controversy…
Michael Schiltz, “To Dream the Impossible Dream: Ideological Controversy in Manchukuo,” in The Money Doctors from Japan: Finance, Imperialism, and the Building of the Yen Bloc, 1895–1937 (Harvard University Asia Center, 2012), 155ff.
political dimension of Sino-Japanese relations
Manchukuo as a departure from international norms and consolidation of the self-enclosed political and economic zone of the yen bloc
establishment of colonies in Korea and Taiwan were political and military decision to varying degrees
in the case of China however: strong respect for its unique history and belief it would be impossible to assimilate the Chinese into a greater Japanese Empire, on top of the strategic importance being lesser than that of Korea and Taiwan
This respect for its historical past was also seen as a hurdle for China from the Japanese perspective
the Japanese believed that the currently 'backward' China could benefit from cooperation with the 'superior' Japanese in order to reach the common objectives of wealth, national strength and civilisation
This also accompanied the belief of the 'yellow man's burden' that Japan must lead unilaterally and become dominant for the benefit of all of Asia, showcasing a cultural or ideological dimension of the realtionship between Japan and China
Tokyo's dealings with china were crucially affected by the influence of Western colonial powers, leading to the emergence of a semi-imperialism or informal empire as a collective and cooperative effort
As the paper argues, Japan simply did not have the political or financial means to occupy, annex or administer all of China conventionally, so an informal approach was called for
The West was also impacted by the issue, leading to the establishment of unequal treates and neo-imperialist devices such as concession hunting as a form of informal colonisation
Japan howerver opted for a militarist appraoch in China in the 1930s, as the militarist factions gained more and more influence and political power, despite having joined the League of Nations in a political manoeuvre that was only short-lived
economic/monetary dimension of Japanese foreign relations (with focus on China)
in Korea: Bank of Chosen involvement due to trade surplus and accompanying balance-of-payment issues
addtitionally, unlike in China, Japan had invested massively in its colonial economy in Joseon
their respective economies were also vastly different, with China being seen as a supplier of raw materials for the heartland of the Japanese Empire, and a major consumer of added-value goods that would be produced in the heart of Japan, which would effectively transfer vast amounts of wealth from Chinese consumers to Japanese manufactorers, especially given the population disparity between both nations
another striking feature of this economic dimension is the importance of railway networks, especially the South Manchurian Railway company (SMRC) or Mantetsu
the railway had a profound economic, military, and political impact, as argued in the article
this also showed in the 'monetary imperialism', as the degree of integration of the Japanese colonies into the Yen's monetary sphere constitututed important factors that influence, or partially drove the imperial pursuits of Japan
the role of the YSB and the Banl of Chosen in supplying funds to the SMRC and its subsidiaires (JP businesses targetting the Chinese market), can be described as 'monetary imperialism' as argued by Shibata Yoshimasa
the history of Chinese-Japanese monetary relations can be seen as beginning as early as 1895, when Chinese ports were forced open by Western gunboat diplomacy
both banks the YSB and the BOC formed a rivalry during occupation due to ideological and business practice differences
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cultural dimension