Japan, Race and Equality

This study explores the Japanese motivations in raising the proposal for racial equality at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference. Offering new insights, this is the first comprehensive analysis of an historically significant event which has not been given adequate scholarly attention in the past. The story which unfolds underlines the complexity of politics and diplomacy surrounding the racial equality proposal. Moreover, it highlights how the idea of racial equality was understood by contemporaries in 1919.