Editing Twenty-One Demands (section)

== Background ==
{{main|Japanese expansionism}}
Japan had gained a large [[sphere of influence]] in [[Northern and southern China|northern China]] and Manchuria through its victories in the [[First Sino-Japanese War]] and the [[Russo-Japanese War]], and had thus joined the ranks of the European [[imperialist]] powers in their scramble to establish political and economic domination over Imperial China under the [[Qing dynasty]]. With the overthrow of the Qing dynasty in the [[Xinhai Revolution]], and the subsequent establishment of the new Republic of China, Japan saw an opportunity to further expand its position in China.<ref>Roy Hidemichi Akagi, ''Japan Foreign Relations 1542–1936'' (1936) pp 282–335.</ref>

The German Empire was in control of [[Shandong province]] as part of the [[Kiautschou Bay concession]] since 1898. With the onset of the First World War, Japan declared war against Germany on 23 August 1914. Japanese and British forces quickly seized all German holdings in the Far East, after the [[Siege of Tsingtao]].{{cn|date=January 2021}}