Seikanron

The Seikanron (Japanese: 征韓論; Korean: 정한론; lit. 'Advocacy of a punitive expedition to Korea' or 'Proposal to Punish Korea' or 'Argument for a Conquest of Korea') was a major political debate in Japan during 1873 regarding a punitive expedition against Korea. The Seikanron split the Meiji government and the restoration coalition that had been established against the bakufu, but resulted in a decision not to send a military expedition to Korea.

After the Meiji Restoration and the overthrow of the Shogunate in 1868, the newly formed Meiji government embarked on reforms to centralize and modernize Japan. The Imperial side did not pursue its objective to expel foreign interests from Japan, instead adhering to the treaties signed during the bakumatsu period with the ultimate goal of revising them and building up the nation's strength by continuing with reforms begun under the shogunate. In foreign affairs, the government had taken steps to establish a foreign affairs bureau to take over Japan's external relations which was previously conducted by the bakufu.

Although the shogunate had been overthrown, the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei, an alliance of northeastern domains continued resistance to the new government. Enomoto Takeaki, a former shogunate naval officer, had taken control of eight of the best warships of the Shōgun's navy and joined the northeastern alliance. After the defeat of the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei, he had fled farther north to Hokkaido where he occupied the city of Hakodate and set up the Republic of Ezo. In the spring of 1869, the central government began operations against the last stronghold of military opposition and in May 1869 opposition forces surrendered. Enomoto Takeaki's refusal to surrender and his escape to Hokkaido with a large part of former Tokugawa Navy's best warships embarrassed the Meiji government politically. The imperial side had to rely on considerable military assistance from the most powerful domains as the government did not have enough power, especially naval power, to defeat Enomoto on its own. Although the rebel forces in Hokkaido surrendered, the government's response to the rebellion demonstrated the need for a strong centralized government. Even before the incident the restoration leaders had realized the need for greater political, economic and military centralization.

During the Edo period Japan's relationship and trade with Korea were conducted through intermediaries with the Sō family in Tsushima, A Japanese outpost, called the waegwan, was allowed to be maintained in Tongnae near Pusan. The traders were confined to the outpost and no Japanese were allowed to travel to the Korean capital at Seoul. The bureau of foreign affairs wanted to change these arrangements to one based on modern state-to-state relations. In late 1868, a member of the Sō daimyō informed the Korean authorities that a new government had been established and an envoy would be sent from Japan.

In 1869 the envoy from the Meiji government arrived in Korea carrying a letter requesting to establish a goodwill mission between the two countries; the letter contained the seal of the Meiji government rather than the seals authorized by the Korean Court for the Sō family to use. It also used the character ko (皇) rather than taikun (大君) to refer to the Japanese emperor. The Koreans only used this character to refer to the Chinese emperor and to the Koreans it implied ceremonial superiority to the Korean monarch, which would make the Korean monarch a vassal or subject of the Japanese ruler. The Japanese were however just reacting to their domestic political situation where the Shōgun had been replaced by the emperor. The Koreans remained in the Sinocentric world where China was at the centre of interstate relations and as a result refused to receive the envoy.

Unable to force the Koreans into accepting a new set of diplomatic symbols and practices, the Japanese began to change them unilaterally. To an extent, this was a consequence from the abolition of the domains in August 1871, whereby it meant that was simply no longer possible for the Sō family of Tsushima to act as intermediaries with the Koreans. Another, equally important factor was the appointment of Soejima Taneomi as the new minister of foreign affairs, who had briefly studied law at Nagasaki with Guido Verbeck. Soejima was familiar with international law and pursued a strong forward policy in East Asia, where he used the new international rules in his dealings with the Chinese and the Koreans and with the Westerners. During his tenure, the Japanese slowly began to transform the traditional framework of relations managed by the Tsushima domain into the foundation for the opening of trade and the establishment of "normal" interstate, diplomatic relations with Korea.

The south western domains of Satsuma, Chōshu, Tosa and Hizen were the backbone of the Meiji regime and that gave the government its power, authority and its money. The daimyo of these domains were still very much a factor, and the domain elders were jealous of their institutional and parochial interests. As a consequence, local and national loyalties were frequently at odds.

Many in the restoration coalition had recognized the need for centralized authority. Although the imperial side was victorious against the bakufu, the early Meiji government was weak, so the leaders had to maintain a strong standing with their domains whose military forces were essential for fitting the government's needs. Political divisions in the form of feudal domains, lord-vassal relations within the samurai elite and separation of social classes within Japanese society were major impediments to centralization. However, in Japan's historical memory there was an era of unification under a central government headed by the emperor and the Tokugawa years had spurred economic and cultural integration. For the Meiji regime it was also fortunate that personal relations had usually been established during the years that preceded the Restoration and by cooperation between the various domains during the military campaigns against the bakufu and hold-out domains, a high level of education and social skills also helped to lubricate and cement friendships between the member of the domains.