Empire of Japan

====Boxer Rebellion====
[[File:Portrait_of_Komura_Jutaro.jpg|thumb|upright|Marquess [[Komura Jutarō|Komura Jutaro]]. Komura became Minister for Foreign Affairs under the first Katsura administration, and signed the [[Boxer Protocol]] on behalf of Japan.]]
{{Main|Boxer Rebellion|Boxer Protocol}}

In 1900, Japan joined an international military coalition set up in response to the Boxer Rebellion in the Qing Empire of China. Japan provided the largest contingent of troops: 20,840, as well as 18 warships. Of the total, 20,300 were Imperial Japanese Army troops of the [[5th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)|5th Infantry Division]] under Lt. General Yamaguchi Motoomi; the remainder were 540 naval ''rikusentai'' (marines) from the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2020}}

At the beginning of the Boxer Rebellion the Japanese only had 215 troops in northern China stationed at Tientsin; nearly all of them were naval ''rikusentai'' from the {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Kasagi||2}} and the {{ship|Japanese gunboat|Atago||2}}, under the command of Captain [[Shimamura Hayao]].{{sfn|Ion|2014|p=44}} The Japanese were able to contribute 52 men to the [[Seymour Expedition]].{{sfn|Ion|2014|p=44}} On 12 June 1900, the advance of the Seymour Expedition was halted some {{convert|30|mi|km|sigfig=1|order=flip}} from the capital, by mixed Boxer and Chinese regular army forces. The vastly outnumbered allies withdrew to the vicinity of [[Tianjin]], having suffered more than 300 casualties.{{sfn|Drea|2009|p=97}} The [[Imperial Japanese Army General Staff|army general staff]] in Tokyo had become aware of the worsening conditions in China and had drafted ambitious contingency plans,{{sfn|Drea|2009|p=98}} but in the wake of the Triple Intervention five years before, the government refused to deploy large numbers of troops unless requested by the western powers.{{sfn|Drea|2009|p=98}} However three days later, a provisional force of 1,300 troops commanded by Major General [[Fukushima Yasumasa]] was to be deployed to northern China. Fukushima was chosen because he spoke fluent English which enabled him to communicate with the British commander. The force landed near Tianjin on July 5.{{sfn|Drea|2009|p=98}}

On 17 June 1900, naval ''Rikusentai'' from the ''Kasagi'' and ''Atago'' had joined British, Russian, and German sailors to seize the [[Battle of the Taku Forts (1900)|Dagu forts]] near Tianjin.{{sfn|Drea|2009|p=98}} In light of the precarious situation, the British were compelled to ask Japan for additional reinforcements, as the Japanese had the only readily available forces in the region.{{sfn|Drea|2009|p=98}} Britain at the time was heavily engaged in the [[Boer War]], so a large part of the British army was tied down in South Africa. Further, deploying large numbers of troops from its [[British Indian Army|garrisons in India]] would take too much time and weaken internal security there.{{sfn|Drea|2009|p=98}} Overriding personal doubts, Foreign Minister [[Aoki Shūzō]] calculated that the advantages of participating in an allied coalition were too attractive to ignore. Prime Minister Yamagata agreed, but others in the cabinet demanded that there be guarantees from the British in return for the risks and costs of the major deployment of Japanese troops.{{sfn|Drea|2009|p=98}} On July 6, 1900, the 5th Infantry Division was alerted for possible deployment to China, but no timetable was set for this. Two days later, with more ground troops urgently needed to lift the siege of the foreign legations at Peking, the British ambassador offered the Japanese government one million British pounds in exchange for Japanese participation.{{sfn|Drea|2009|p=98}}

Shortly afterward, advance units of the 5th Division departed for China, bringing Japanese strength to 3,800 personnel out of the 17,000 of allied forces.{{sfn|Drea|2009|p=98}} The commander of the 5th Division, Lt. General Yamaguchi Motoomi, had taken operational control from Fukushima. Japanese troops were involved in the [[Battle of Tientsin|storming of Tianjin]] on July 14,{{sfn|Drea|2009|p=98}} after which the allies consolidated and awaited the remainder of the 5th Division and other coalition reinforcements. By the time the siege of legations was lifted on August 14, 1900, the Japanese force of 13,000 was the largest single contingent and made up about 40% of the approximately 33,000 strong allied expeditionary force.{{sfn|Drea|2009|p=98}} Japanese troops involved in the fighting had acquitted themselves well, although a British military observer felt their aggressiveness, densely-packed formations, and over-willingness to attack cost them excessive and disproportionate casualties.{{sfn|Drea|2009|p=99}} For example, during the Tianjin fighting, the Japanese suffered more than half of the allied casualties (400 out of 730) but comprised less than one quarter (3,800) of the force of 17,000.{{sfn|Drea|2009|p=99}} Similarly at Beijing, the Japanese accounted for almost two-thirds of the losses (280 of 453) even though they constituted slightly less than half of the assault force.{{sfn|Drea|2009|p=99}}

After the uprising, Japan and the Western countries signed the [[Boxer Protocol]] with China, which permitted them to station troops on Chinese soil to protect their citizens. After the treaty, Russia continued to occupy all of [[Manchuria]].