A conspiracy against the life of the emperor was discovered in September, 1910. The same year saw the passing of a bill enabling foreigners to own land in Japan proper, under certain restrictions. But the principal event of 1910 in Japanese history was the formal annexation of Korea, the treaty with the emperor of Korea being promulgated on August 29. According to the new commercial treaty with the United States, ratified by the Senate on February 24, 1911, the clause in the old treaty was omitted, wherein each side reserved the right of regulating immigration from one country to the other. In 1910 and 1911 important agreements were also made with Russia with special reference to Manchuria.
Japan entered the European war on August 23, 1914, on the side of the Entente Allies, and immediately began the blockade and siege of the German colony at Kiao-Chow on the Shantung promontory of China. In November, 1915, the present emperor, Yoshihito, was crowned.
THE COLONIAL DIVISIONS OF THE WORLD
The following tables show how the colonies of the world have been divided among the various nations:
| COLONIES IN AFRICA | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Colony | Governing Country and Form of Government | Area Sq. M. | Population |
| Algeria | French Colony | 184,474 | 4,739,300 |
| Algerian Sahara | French Possession | 123,500 | 50,000 |
| Angola | Portuguese Possession | 484,800 | 4,119,000 |
| Ascension | British Crown Colony | 35 | 430 |
| Azores and Madeira Islands | Portuguese Province | 1,510 | 407,002 |
| Basutoland | British Crown Colony | 10,293 | 264,100 |
| Bechuanaland | British Protectorate | 286,200 | 100,500 |
| British East Africa | British Protectorate | 1,000,000 | 2,500,000 |
| British Central Africa | British Protectorate | 42,217 | 900,615 |
| British South Africa (Rhodesia) | British Protectorate | 425,728 | 1,075,000 |
| Canary Islands | Spanish Province | 2,808 | 334,521 |
| Cape Colony | British Protectorate | 276,775 | 2,433,000 |
| Cape Verde Islands | Portuguese Province | 1,480 | 147,424 |
| Ceuta | Spanish Province | 13 | 5,090 |
| Comoro Islands | French Protectorate | 620 | 47,000 |
| Congo Inland Straits | Belgian Protectorate | 900,000 | 30,000,000 |
| Dahomey | French Possession | 60,000 | 1,000,000 |
| Egypt | Turkish Tributary | 400,000 | 9,734,405 |
| Eritrea, etc. | Italian Possession | 42,000 | 329,516 |
| Fernando Po, etc. | Spanish Possession | 850 | 23,709 |
| French Congo | French Possession | 1,160,000 | 10,000,000 |
| Gambia | British Crown Colony | 69 | 13,500 |
| German East Africa | German Protectorate | 384,180 | 8,000,000 |
| German Southwest Africa | German Protectorate | 322,450 | 200,000 |
| Gold Coast | British Crown Colony | 40,000 | 1,500,000 |
| Guinea, French | French Possession | 95,000 | 2,200,000 |
| Guinea, Portuguese | Portuguese Possession | 4,440 | 820,000 |
| Ivory Coast | French Possession | 116,000 | 2,000,000 |
| Kamerun | German Protectorate | 191,130 | 3,500,000 |
| Lagos | British Crown Colony | 3,460 | 85,600 |
| Madagascar | French Possession | 227,950 | 2,505,240 |
| Mauritius, etc. | British Crown Colony | 729 | 378,040 |
| Mayotte | French Possession | 140 | 11,640 |
| Military Ter’s | French Possession | 700,000 | 4,000,000 |
| Portuguese East Africa | Portuguese Possession | 301,000 | 3,120,000 |
| Natal and Zululand | British Institutions | 34,019 | 902,365 |
| Nigeria | British Protectorate | 400,000 | 25,000,000 |
| Nossi-Be | French Possession | 130 | 9,500 |
| Orange River | British Possession | 48,330 | 207,500 |
| Princes and St. Thomas Islands | Portuguese Possession | 360 | 42,103 |
| Reunion | French Possession | 966 | 173,200 |
| Rio de Oro and Adrar | Spanish Possession | 243,000 | 100,000 |
| Sahara | French Possession | 1,544,000 | 2,550,000 |
| St. Helena | British Crown Colony | 47 | 3,342 |
| St. Marie | French Possession | 64 | 7,670 |
| Senegal | French Possession | 80,000 | 1,800,000 |
| Seychelles | British Crown Colony | 148 | 19,343 |
| Sierra Leone | British Crown Colony | 4,000 | 77,000 |
| Somali Coast, British | British Protectorate | 75,000 | ... |
| Somali Coast, French | French Possession | 45,000 | 200,000 |
| Somali Coast, Italian | Italian Possession | 100,000 | 400,000 |
| Togoland | German Protectorate | 33,700 | 900,000 |
| Transvaal Colony | British Possession | 119,140 | 1,094,100 |
| Tripoli | Turkish Tributary | 398,000 | 800,000 |
| Tristanda Cuhna | British Crown Colony | 45 | 100 |
| Tunis | French Protectorate | 51,000 | 1,900,000 |
| Uganda | British Protectorate | 140,000 | 3,000,000 |
| Zanzibar and Pemba | British Protectorate | 1,020 | 200,000 |
| COLONIES IN ASIA | |||
| Colony | Governing Country and Form of Government | Area Sq. M. | Population |
| Aden and Perim | British Crown Colony | 80 | 41,222 |
| Anam | French Protectorate | 52,100 | 6,124,000 |
| Bahrein Islands | British Protectorate | 273 | 68,000 |
| Baluchistan | British Protectorate | 130,000 | 500,000 |
| Bokhara | Russian Dependency | 92,000 | 1,250,000 |
| Cambodia | French Protectorate | 37,400 | 1,500,000 |
| Ceylon | British Institutions | 25,365 | 3,578,333 |
| Cochin China | French Possession | 22,000 | 2,968,600 |
| Cypress | British Administration | 3,584 | 227,900 |
| East Turkestan | Chinese Dependency | 550,340 | 1,200,000 |
| Formosa | Japanese Dependency | 13,455 | 2,745,000 |
| Goa | Portuguese Possession | 1,390 | 494,836 |
| Hong Kong | British Crown Colony | 407 | 386,159 |
| India, British | British Crown Colony | 1,087,404 | 231,898,807 |
| India, French | French Possession | 196 | 273,000 |
| India, Portuguese | Portuguese Possession | 1,558 | 572,290 |
| Jungaria | Chinese Dependency | 147,950 | 600,000 |
| Kiauchau Bay | Japanese Possession | 200 | 60,000 |
| Khiva | Russian Possession | 22,320 | 800,000 |
| Kwang Tung | Russian Possession | ... | ... |
| Macao | Portuguese Possession | 4 | 78,627 |
| Malay Federated States | British Protectorate | 27,500 | 512,342 |
| Manchuria | Chinese Dependency | 363,610 | 8,500,000 |
| Mongolia | Chinese Dependency | 1,367,600 | 2,580,000 |
| Pescadores Islands | Japanese Dependency | 85 | 52,400 |
| Samos | Turkish Tributary | 180 | 54,830 |
| Sikkim | British Protectorate | 2,818 | 30,458 |
| Straits Settlements | British Crown Colony | 1,472 | 572,249 |
| Tibet | Chinese Dependency | 463,200 | 6,430,000 |
| Tonquin and Laos | French Possession | 144,400 | 7,641,900 |
| COLONIES IN EUROPE | |||
| Colony | Governing Country and Form of Government | Area Sq. M. | Population |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Austro-Hungarian Protectorate | 23,262 | 1,568,092 |
| Crete | Turkish Suzerainty | 3,326 | 303,543 |
| Faroe Islands | Danish Colony | 512 | 15,230 |
| Gibraltar | British Crown Colony | 2 | 27,460 |
| Iceland | Danish Province | 39,756 | 78,470 |
| Malta and Gozo | British Institutions | 117 | 188,141 |
| COLONIES IN NORTH AMERICA | |||
| Colony | Governing Country and Form of Government | Area Sq. M. | Population |
| Alaska | United States Territory | 599,446 | 63,592 |
| Bahamas | British Institutions | 4,470 | 54,358 |
| Barbadoes | British Institutions | 166 | 195,600 |
| Bermudas | British Institutions | 20 | 17,535 |
| Canada | British Dependency | 3,048,710 | 5,371,315 |
| Curacao, etc. | Dutch Possession | 403 | 52,301 |
| Danish West Indies | United States Possession | 138 | 32,786 |
| Greenland | Danish Possession | 46,740 | 10,516 |
| Guadeloupe, etc. | French Possession | 688 | 182,110 |
| Honduras, British | British Crown Colony | 7,560 | 37,650 |
| Leeward Islands | British Institutions | 700 | 127,440 |
| Jamaica and Turks Islands | British Crown Colony | 4,370 | 771,900 |
| Martinique | French Possession | 380 | 203,780 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | British Dependency | 162,200 | 217,100 |
| Porto Rico | United States Possession | 3,606 | 953,243 |
| St. Pierre and Miquelon | French Possession | 92 | 6,250 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | British Crown Colony | 1,868 | 279,700 |
| Windward Islands | British Institutions | 500 | 162,800 |
| COLONIES IN SOUTH AMERICA | |||
| Colony | Governing Country and Form of Government | Area Sq. M. | Population |
| Falkland Islands | British Crown Colony | 7,500 | 2,076 |
| Guiana, British | British Institutions | 104,000 | 294,000 |
| Guiana, French | French Colony | 30,500 | 32,910 |
| Guiana, Dutch | Dutch Possession | 46,060 | 68,968 |
| COLONIES IN OCEANIA | |||
| Colony | Governing Country and Form of Government | Area Sq. M. | Population |
| Bismarck Archipelago | German Possession | 20,000 | 188,000 |
| Borneo, British N. | British Protectorate | 31,106 | 175,000 |
| Borneo, Dutch | Dutch Possession | 212,737 | 1,180,578 |
| Caroline Islands and Palaos | German Possession | 810 | 42,000 |
| Celebes Islands | Dutch Possession | 71,470 | 1,197,860 |
| Fiji and Rotumah Islands | British Crown Colony | 7,740 | 120,950 |
| Guam | United States Possession | 150 | 9,000 |
| Hawaii | United States Territory | 6,449 | 154,000 |
| Java and Madura | Dutch Possession | 50,554 | 28,745,698 |
| Kaiser Wilhelm Land | German Protectorate | 70,000 | 110,000 |
| Marianne Islands | German Possession | 250 | 2,000 |
| Marquesas Islands | French Possession | 480 | 4,280 |
| Marshall Islands | German Possession | 150 | 13,000 |
| New Caledonia | French Possession | 7,650 | 51,415 |
| New Guinea, British | British Crown Colony | 90,540 | 350,000 |
| New South Wales | British Dependency | 310,370 | 1,397,700 |
| New Guinea, Dutch | Dutch Possession | 195,653 | 599,208 |
| New Zealand | British Dependency | 104,470 | 787,660 |
| Philippine Islands | United States Possession | 119,542 | 8,000,000 |
| Queensland | British Dependency | 668,500 | 510,520 |
| Samoan Islands (Savaii and Upolu | German Possession | 1,000 | 29,100 |
| Samoan Islands (Tutuila and Manua | United States Possession | 79 | 5,800 |
| Society Islands, etc. | French Possession | 1,520 | 29,000 |
| Solomon Islands | German Possession | 4,200 | 45,000 |
| South Australia | British Dependency | 903,700 | 364,800 |
| Sumatra | Dutch Possession | 161,612 | 3,209,067 |
| Tasmania | British Dependency | 26,215 | 174,230 |
| Timor, Dutch | Dutch Possession | 44,374 | 978,267 |
| Timor, Portuguese | Portuguese Possession | 7,458 | 300,000 |
| Victoria | British Dependency | 87,890 | 1,208,710 |
| West Australia | British Dependency | 975,920 | 194,800 |
Note.—Practically all the German colonial possessions throughout the world are at this date (1917) in military possession of the Entente Allies, and will be so held pending the terms of the final treaty of peace at the close of the present European war.