Paper short abstract:

The purpose of this research is to analyze as completely as possible the diplomatic relations between Japan and Italy regarding the treaty revision during the management of the Japanese Foreign Ministry by Inoue Kaoru (1879-1887), using in particular the Japanese primary sources.

Paper long abstract:

It is well known that, in the early Meiji Period, one of the main objectives of the Japanese government's foreign policy was the revision of the so-called "Unequal Treaties", i.e. the treaties that the Tokugawa Shogunate had concluded with Foreign Powers at the end of the Edo Period. In particular, in the early 1880s, Foreign Minister Inoue Kaoru, unlike his predecessor Terashima Munenori, who had given priority in his revision policy to the acquisition of tariff autonomy, sought to include in the negotiations with Foreign Powers also the abolition of extraterritoriality. In this context, the Kingdom of Italy had a considerable strategic importance in the Inoue foreign policy, since the Italian diplomats in Tokyo had previously shown a strong interest towards the treaty revision, in order to obtain the possibility for the Italian traders to circulate freely in Japan inland areas in exchange for the renunciation of their extraterritorial rights.

Since the Japan-Italy Treaty Revision Relations during the management of the Japanese Foreign Ministry by Inoue Kaoru has not been considered enough by both Italian and Japanese historiographies, I'll try to examine it in detail. In particular, analyzing mainly documents kept at the Diplomatic Record Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, I'll try to bring to light the following unclarified issues:

1- What was Inoue's strategy to convince the Italian government to sign a new commercial treaty with Japan?

2- How did the treaty revision negotiations between the Japanese diplomats and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs proceed?

3- How did Japanese side consider the international role of the Kingdom of Italy and its attitude toward the treaty revision problem?

Answering to the questions mentioned above, my paper aims to clarify the degree of importance that Italy had for the Japan government in the 1880s.