Acceptance of European Modern International Law in East Asia and a Conflict with the Traditional Idea of China as Central Empire

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We can say that Japan was a faithful and quick pupil of Western traditional "imperialistic" international law for a whole period of 1853-1945,although she began to entertain a strong suspicion about sovereign equality among civilized nations in the age of pseudo-equality, from 1905 to 1931. It was really a "proper" reception of Western international law. Japan continued to enlarge her territory by correctly using various theories of that international law : cession, occupation of terra nullius, conquest, protected state and annexation, leased territory, military occupation etc. The target of a territory enlargement was always the Asian region, especially Korea and China. It is criticized by Asian scholars that Japan was "a real accomplice of Western imperialism". In marked contrast to Japan's distinct success, the failure of the reception of modern international law in modern China and Korea is unequivocal. Several important issues in this field were thoroughly examined : balance of power in comparison with the traditional idea of "balance", independence and sovereignty in contrast to the Korean idea of "independence" (Jishu), the 1899 commerce treaty between China and Korea etc.