Editing Twenty-One Demands (section)

{{Short description|1915 Japanese set of demands to China}}
{{About|the Japanese demands on the Chinese government in 1915|Solidarity workers' demands of 1980|21 demands of MKS}}
{{Redirect|21 Demands}}
[[File:Okuma Shigenobu.jpg|right|135px|thumb|Japanese Prime Minister [[Ōkuma Shigenobu]], under whose administration the Twenty-One Demands were drafted]]
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The '''Twenty-One Demands''' ({{langx|ja|対華21ヶ条要求|Taika Nijūikkajō Yōkyū}}; {{zh|t=二十一條/廿一條|s=二十一条/廿一条 |p=Èrshíyī tiáo}}) was a set of demands made during the [[World War I|First World War]] by the [[Empire of Japan]] under [[Prime Minister of Japan|Prime Minister]] [[Ōkuma Shigenobu]] to the [[Government of the Chinese Republic|government]] of the [[Republic of China (1912–49)|Republic of China]] on 18 January 1915. The secret demands would greatly extend Japanese control of China. Japan would keep the former German areas it had conquered at the start of World War I in 1914 and would be strong in [[History of Manchuria#Russian and Japanese encroachment|Manchuria]] and [[South Mongolia]] while having an expanded role in railways. The most extreme demands (in section 5) would give Japan a decisive voice in finance, policing, and government affairs. The last part would make China in effect a [[protectorate]] of Japan, and thereby reduce Western influence.

Japan was in a strong position during the course of the war as the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]] were in a stalemate with their rivals, the [[Central Powers]]. [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Britain]] and Japan had [[Anglo-Japanese Alliance|a military alliance since 1902]], and in 1914 [[London]] had asked [[Tokyo]] to enter the war. [[Beijing]] published the secret demands and it had angered those in [[Washington,D.C| Washington]] and London. They were sympathetic and forced Tokyo to drop section 5 in the final 1916 settlement. Japan gained little in China and lost a great deal of prestige and trust from both Britain and the [[United States]].<ref>Arthur S. Link, ''Wilson, Volume III: The Struggle for Neutrality, 1914–1915'' (1960) pp 267–308; [https://archive.org/details/wilsonstrugglefo0003unse online].</ref>

The Chinese public responded with a spontaneous nationwide boycott of Japanese goods; Japan's exports to China fell drastically. Britain was affronted and no longer trusted Japan as an ally. With the First World War underway, Japan's position was strong and Britain's was weak; nevertheless, Britain (and the United States) forced Japan to drop the fifth set of demands that would have given Japan a large measure of control over the entire Chinese economy and ended the [[Open Door Policy]].<ref>(Gowen, 1971)</ref> Japan and China reached a series of agreements which ratified the first four sets of goals on 25 May 1915.