Consular jurisdiction abolition of unequal treaty signed by Edo Shogunate with Western countries And restoration of tariff autonomy Is an important diplomatic issue for the Meiji government, aiming to become a wealthy soldier. It was.
Negotiations to revise the unequal treaty
This unequal treaty was 1872 From Iwakura Tomomi Iwakura Mission Departs Japan as a treaty revision negotiator. However, the treaty revision negotiations that took place in the United States did not progress at all and ended in failure.
Full-scale negotiations began in 1876 Foreign Minister Terashima Munenori It is done by.
Restoration of tariff autonomy As a result of diplomatic bargaining for the purpose of, the United States, which was thinking of strengthening relations with Japan, agrees. However, Britain, which was the center of trade with Japan, opposed it, and treaty revision requires consent from other countries . Therefore, the treaty revision did not come to fruition.
Inoue Kaoru became Foreign Minister after Terashima resigned Is 1882 In Tokyo, we gathered the ministers of each country in Japan and held a preliminary meeting to proceed with the drafting of the treaty revision.
The content is to open all of Japan, which was only partially open, to foreigners [ Mixed residence ] Instead, consular jurisdiction is abolished in principle What to do and partial recovery of tariff autonomy It was a content that included.
However, abolition of consular jurisdiction Has compiled the codes of Western countries and has been criticized as a violation of national sovereignty within the government, with the condition that more than half of foreign judges should be hired when trying a foreigner for a defendant. ..
Further criticism was the extreme Europeanization policy of Inoue, which was Kanarukan as a national social gathering place to promote negotiations with foreign countries. And promoted an extreme Europeanization policy to sell to foreigners. Beginning with socialization and the westernization of the lifestyle and customs of the high society, the national character improvement movement aimed at improving customs and romanizing the national language was carried out, and even the theory of racial improvement due to marriage with foreigners came out. ..
Opposition to this Inoue method has increased from inside and outside the government.
1886 Normanton Incident Inoue's opposition to Inoue, who did not aim to completely abolish the consular jurisdiction, increased, and Inoue decided to cancel negotiations and resign as Foreign Minister.
Treaty revision after half a century
It was Shigenobu Okuma who became Foreign Minister after Inoue. was.
Okuma will partially revise Inoue's proposal and start negotiations with other countries. However, when the amendment that allowed the appointment of a foreign judge to the Supreme Court is revealed, there will be a fierce opposition movement among the people again. If Okuma is attacked and injured by a nationalist group, the treaty revision negotiations will be suspended again.
After that, UK was also the key man in the revision of the treaty. However, Russia's southward policy is wary and approaches Japan To do. Taking this as an opportunity, Foreign Minister Shuzo Aoki at that time Has begun negotiations to amend the treaty.
Negotiations went smoothly, but Russian Crown Prince Nikolai during his visit to Japan Was injured by a guarded police officer Otsu Incident Will occur. As a result, Aoki resigned as Foreign Minister, and negotiations to revise the treaty failed again.
However, Mutsu Munemitsu became Foreign Minister after that. Suppressed the voices of domestic amendment opponents with the support of the Liberal Party, and 1894 just before the Sino-Japanese War. Abolition of consular jurisdiction And tariff increase Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Commerce and Navigation I will get to the signing of.
Similar treaties have been signed with other Western countries, and the treaty came into force in 1899 . Will be done.
The remaining tariff autonomy was restored in 1911 . At that time, the Foreign Minister, Komura Jutaro After half a century since the opening of the country, Japan amended the unequal treaty and was able to obtain an equal status with the great powers under the treaty.