7 0 0 0 OA 日本海軍によるロシア金塊の輸送1916・17年
- 著者
- 斎藤 聖二
- 出版者
- JAPAN ASSOCIATION OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
- 雑誌
- 国際政治 (ISSN:04542215)
- 巻号頁・発行日
- vol.1991, no.97, pp.154-177,L14, 1991-05-25 (Released:2010-09-01)
- 参考文献数
- 104
Japanese warships transported five hundred million yen in gold bullion (about 450 tons) equivalent to about one trillion five or six hundred million yen at current prices, from Russia to Canada in the middle of the First World War. This bullion was the specie which was transferred to the Russian account at the Bank of England in Ottawa to supplement the overseas specie reserves. These reserves were for the purpose of purchasing munitions from America. Japan undertook to take part in this operation for the sake of showing cooperative unity with the Allied Powers. The supreme commander of the operation was the president of the Bank of England who oversaw allied finances. The operation was carried out according to a secret treaty between Russia and Britain which had been concluded at the urging of the American government.As the First World War developed into a major conflict, the Allied Powers relied heavily on imports of munitions from America which was at the time neutral. Russia had purchased vast amounts of munitions from America with the financial support of Britain. When the limit of this support was reached the trade finance situation between Russia and America reached an impasse. Britain wished to relieve the situation and enable the munitions trade to Russia to continue, as it was strategically vital that Russia maintain the Eastern front. The most effective method would have been for Russia to make one colossal transfer of specie. However, the threat of German U-boats in the sea near Europe had made that idea unfeasible. Therefore, a plan was worked out whereby Japanese warships would transport the gold across the Pacific Ocean to Canada. By taking on the role of transporter, Japan was able to impress upon the Allied Powers her cooperative attitude and turn Allied indebtedness to her advantage at the peace conference and in post-war deplomacy. Further, during the war the Japanese government had had difficulty in repatriating her foreign specie holdings. When Britain offered to sell Japan a part of the specie gold if she agreed to the transport plan, the Japanese government was more than happy to accept. In all, Japan imported a total of about 65 tons (worth about 80million yen)of gold in this way.During the First World War the center of international finance shifted from London to New York. The colossal specie transfer operation from Russia mentioned above was one of the events which symbolized the change. Japan played an unusual role in this event, a role which helps us to understand both Japan's position and in what ways she coped with international relations during First World War which pivoted on the international financial situation.In the first chapter, we look at the tight financial situation governing the munitions trade between Britain, Russia and America and consider how this gave rise to the necessity for the Russian specie transfer. In the second chapter, we discuss the process of the Japan-Russia munitions trade and the negotiations regarding the settlement of accounts. The third chapter gives a detailed description of the negotiations between Japan and Britain concerning the transportation of the gold and actual voyages of the Japanese warships.
- 著者
- 斎藤 聖二
- 出版者
- 公益財団法人史学会
- 雑誌
- 史學雜誌 (ISSN:00182478)
- 巻号頁・発行日
- vol.95, no.6, pp.1007-1042, 1133-1134, 1986-06-20
The first revision of the "National Defense Plan" in 1918 has not been analyzed sufficiently mainly due to lack of historical materials. This paper intends to make a comparative study of the Army's and the Navy's original plans by using new materials from the HAMAOMOTE Matasuke Papers and TAKESHITA Isamu Papers. First of all, we must understand why the Army and the Navy were able to agree to revise the National Defense Plan that affected their individual basic war plans, despite their sharp opposition on matters regarding the arms budget. Therefore, the first part of this paper examines the process of the dissolution of the arms budget problem in the second OKUMA Shigenobu cabinet that was shocked by the outbreak of the First World War. The First World War made the military even more aware of the importance of Chinese raw materials. At that time, Japan's support for the third Chinese revolution to destroy Yuan Shih-kai's monarchy added momentum to Japanese hopes for a stronger foothold in China. The Army was now joined by the Navy in urging a stronger military policy with respect to China. Therefore, it was the Chinese problem that initiated the first revision of the "National Defense Plan". When the plan was originally made in 1907, the Navy had refused to include provisions for war operations in China, because it feared that the Navy would then be made secondary to the Army. But due to the internal and external changes produced by the First World War, the Navy now accepted the stipulations to for operations in China. Although originally the Army and Navy had different opinions as what nation presented the strongest military threat, Russia or America, now their respective plans offered the possibility of joining together with the China-plan as a bridge. The appearance of this common target together with the internal political structural demands for the banding together of the Army and the Navy, made the first revision of the National Defense Plan possible.
1 0 0 0 宇都宮太郎関係資料からみた東アジアと近代日本
1、宇都宮恭三氏から拝借した宇都宮太郎(陸軍大将)の資料(日記15冊と書類約1700点、書簡約4600通、写真約300点等)をもとに、宇都宮太郎関係資料研究会を立ち上げ、平成15年度から1点毎の資料整理を行って、書類と書簡の目録・データベースを作成した。2、全日記の解読・翻刻(入力作業)を行い、書類や書簡と照合しながらその内容の分析を行った。その過程で、中国での情報収集活動をもとに、宇都宮が陸軍のアジア政策を立案し、中国革命への種々の関与・工作を行ったこと、諜報活動資金を陸軍機密費だけでなく岩崎久弥からも得ていたこと、二個師団増設問題で妥協工作を行ったことなど、新しい歴史事実が明らかとなった。中でも、朝鮮軍司令官時代の3・1独立運動時の対応(堤岩里事件等)や、「武断政治」的統治策を批判して「文化政治」的懐柔工作を行ったことなどは、従来知られていなかった事実でもあり、日本の植民地研究に大きく寄与することになるだろう。また陸軍中央の人事についても具体的背景が判明したことは収穫であった。3、書簡の一部(特に上原勇作書簡)の解読・翻刻を行い、「長州閥」と「反長州閥」との闘いの実態を明らかにすることができた。4、日露戦争期における英国公使館付武官としての役目や行動を、英国調査や書類の解読で明らかにすることができた。特に、英国の新聞に英国陸軍軍制改革案を投稿したことや、明石工作などの対露情報工作資金の実態が判明したことは、今後の日露戦争研究に寄与することになるだろう。5、佐賀県での調査により、宇都宮太郎の父の切腹事件が幕末維新期の佐賀藩の藩政改革に関係していることを確認できた。6、書類中の任命関係資料により、人物辞典等の誤りを訂正することができた。7、平成17年2月26日に日本女子大学で国際シンポジウム「宇都宮太郎関係資料から見た近代日本と東アジア」を開催し、招聘した英国や中国の研究者等と共に、宇都宮太郎関係資料の歴史的価値を、そのアジア認識を含めて、広く学会に紹介した。8、岩波書店から2007年4、7、11月に3巻本として宇都宮太郎日記を刊行することになった。