Taft-Katsura Agreement
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The Taft-Katsura Agreement (桂・タフト協定 Katsura-Tafuto Kyotei?) was a secret diplomatic memorandum signed between United States Secretary of War William Howard Taft and Prime Minister of Japan Katsura Taro on 29 July 1905. In the agreement, the United States recognized Japan's sphere of influence in Korea; in exchange, Japan recognized the United States's sphere of influence in the Philippines. The agreement was not publicized until 1924, and was not a bilaterally signed document or secret treaty, but only a meeting memorandum meant to smooth over Japanese-American relations.
[edit] Details
The Taft-Katsura Memorandum (also commonly called the Taft-Katsura Agreement) consists of the meeting notes containing portions of a long, confidential conversation between Japanese Prime Minister Katsura and US Secretary of War Taft held in Tokyo on the morning of 27 July 1905. The memorandum detailing these discussions was dated 29 July 1905.
Three significant issues discussed during the meeting. First were Katsura's views on peace in east Asia which he stated formed the fundamental principle of Japan's foreign policy and was best accomplished by a good understanding between Japan, the United States and Great Britain.
The second issue concerned the Philippines. On this, Taft observed that it was in Japan's best interests to have the Philippines governed by a strong and friendly nation like the United States; Katsura confirmed in the strongest terms that Japan had no aggressive designs on the Philippines.
Finally, regarding Korea, Katsura observed that Korea was a matter of absolute importance to Japan, as Korea was the direct cause of the just concluded Russo-Japanese War. Katsura stated that a comprehensive solution of the Korea problem would be the war's logical outcome. Katsura further stated that if left alone, Korea would continue to improvidently enter into agreements/treaties with other powers which created the original problem. Therefore, Japan must take steps to prevent Korea from again establishing the conditions which would force Japan into fighting another foreign war.
For his part, Secretary Taft concurred that the establishment of a Japanese protectorate over Korea would directly contribute to stability in east Asia. Taft also presented his belief that President Roosevelt would concur in his views in this regard.
[edit] Korean reaction
Many Korean historians believe that the Taft-Katsura Agreement violated the “Korean-American Treaty of Amity and Commerce" signed at Incheon on 22 May 1882. The Joseon Government considered that treaty constituted a defacto mutual defense treaty while the Americans did not. As the Agreement paved the way for recognition of Japanese interests in Korea as later stated in the Treaty of Portsmouth, it can also be considered on of the direct causes of Korean colonization by Japan. Even today, while the Taft-Katsura Agreement is all but an obscure footnote in history, the Agreement is raised, in the present day (2006), by Korean activists in the media as an example of how the United States cannot be trusted with regards to Korean security and sovereignty issues.
