Japan and the Post–World War One Balance of Power in Eastern Europe: The Use of Diplomatic Tools in the Ratification Process of the October 1920 Paris Treaty on Bessarabia .

Mihail Dobre

Abstract.World War One changed dramatically the political and strategic map of Europe and the world. The Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920) drew the essential features of the new international system with the participation of all the great powers of the winning coalition, Japan included. At the end of the Peace Conference another treaty was signed, on October 28, 1920, still in Paris, with reference to Bessarabia. The signatory parties were, on the one hand, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Japan, and on the other hand, Romania. The Soviet Russia was not a party to that treaty since the Bolshevik government was not recognized internationally at that time. The October 1920 Paris Treaty did not enter into force because there was one ratification missing, the one of Japan. Different elements prevented the Japanese side to ratify the treaty, and they were related to the very complex relationship the Government in Tokyo developed in the interwar period with Moscow, which in turn had a specific effect on its relationship with Bucharest. Romania acted diplomatically for the Japanese ratification, but was not careful enough to ensure a diplomatic presence in Tokyo and to create a critical mass for its relations with Japan. In the end, Romania lost the diplomatic momentum, by not using the window of opportunity that was before the 1925 Soviet– Japanese convention for establishing diplomatic relations.

Keywords: End of World War I; 1920 Paris Treaty on Bessarabia; Soviet– Japanese relations; Soviet actions for Japan’s non-ratification; Romania’s diplomatic failures.