In August 1914, when World War I began, Japan sent Germany a ultimatum. Germany was to remove it's ships from Chinese and Japanese waters and transfer the German administered port city of Tsingtao to Japanese control. The ultimatum expired on the 24th of August and Japan declared war on Germany, conquering Tsingtao on the 7th of November that same year.
Over the course of the war, Japan also conquered German-controlled Micronesia.
At the end of the war, however, Japan was shafted. Their proposed Racial Equality Clause to the Treaty of Versailles was at first approved, but then was overturned due to opposition by Australia and the United States. This overturning essentially branded them as inferior to the rest of the Allied representatives. This led to increased nationalism on the home front and soured tensions between Japan and the rest of the world.
The final nail in the coffin came in 1921 when that year's Imperial Conference shelved the Anglo-Japanese Alliance and Japan, believing that Britain no longer cared for Japanese interests, annulled the agreement.
But what if Germany gave into the Japanese ultimatum and ceded Tsingtao to them, thereby removing any reason for Japan to become involved in the war?
Over the course of the war, Japan also conquered German-controlled Micronesia.
At the end of the war, however, Japan was shafted. Their proposed Racial Equality Clause to the Treaty of Versailles was at first approved, but then was overturned due to opposition by Australia and the United States. This overturning essentially branded them as inferior to the rest of the Allied representatives. This led to increased nationalism on the home front and soured tensions between Japan and the rest of the world.
The final nail in the coffin came in 1921 when that year's Imperial Conference shelved the Anglo-Japanese Alliance and Japan, believing that Britain no longer cared for Japanese interests, annulled the agreement.
But what if Germany gave into the Japanese ultimatum and ceded Tsingtao to them, thereby removing any reason for Japan to become involved in the war?