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The Tsingtao Accord (German: Tsingtau-Abkommen) was the peace agreement that brought about the official end to the Weltkrieg in Asia and as a whole. This white peace was signed on November 6, 1921 between Japan and Germany.

Background[]

Japan had refused to sign the Treaty of Versailles in November 1919, their delegation having walked out of the negotiations when the United Kingdom refused to support their claim to the German-leased Chinese territory, the Kiautschou Bay concession, which they had occupied since 1914. Therefore, the Weltkrieg's hostilities remained officially ongoing in East Asia, albeit without actual conflict.

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Second China Consortium and Tsingtao Accord

The foundation for the Tsingtao Accord was laid during the formation of the Second China Consortium, when fear of international isolation and the risk of severance from Chinese investment brought Japan into agreement with Britain, Germany, Russia and the USA. The subsequent agreement, adopted in October 1921, declared a return to the pre-war territorial status quo in East Asia, included multilateral recognition of Japan's "existing special interests" in Manchuria, and committed Germany and Japan to the signing of a separate peace treaty within the next month.

The accord contained no specific written mention of Tsingtao, a face-saving measure included in the hopes of reducing public backlash in Japan.

Aftermath[]

In early November 1921, Japan withdrew from Tsingtao and Germany's Pacific territories.

The agreement was very unpopular among the Japanese civilian population, as a "free hand in Manchuria" was much less tangible than the very visible lowering of the Japanese flag over Tsingtao. The public believed Japan already had an iron-clad position in Manchuria, given its much-lauded victory over Russia in 1905, and the more recent war was seen as "lost" by Britain and France, not by Japan. From their perspective, Tsingtao was a well-earned prize of war, sacrificed to appease powers that were, at best, indifferent to Japan's struggles, and at worst openly hostile. When the terms of the treaty became clear, protests and riots broke out in urban centers across Japan. The accord was even derided by some as a "Second Triple Intervention", in reference to the successful limitation of Japan's Sino-Japanese War gains by Russia, Germany, and France in 1895.

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