ABSTRACT
In this final chapter explaining Japanese motivations, we shall examine the applicability of the explanatory category of great power status. The argument put forward is as follows. As the only non-white great power of the time, Japan had insecurities regarding its status vis-a-vis the other great powers, which were all Western in origin. Although the source of this insecurity may not be immediately obvious, it derived largely from the cumulative result of Japan's historical experience of foreign relations with the Western powers since the late nineteenth century. Hence, in spite of the fact that the Western powers generally acknowledged Japan as one of the great powers, Japan felt that it was not treated equally by the other powers. The Japanese perceived that the difference between them and the Western great powers lay in the intangible aspect of their national characteristics, namely in their racial and cultural origins. In the light of this, the Japanese were especially sensitive about their status, not only in terms of how they perceived themselves but also of how others perceived them. Therefore, Japan sought to demand recognition of the racial equality of the Japanese to the other Western great powers. In doing so, they effectively challenged the status quo by making an important implicit claim that great power status should also explicitly include the racial equality of great powers.
