History

• After President Theodore Roosevelt intervened to stop the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, tensions between the United States and Japan remained high, according to U.S.-history.com. Japan continued its expansion into neighboring territories, including Korea and Manchuria. Americans on the West Coast were particularly concerned about the influx of Japanese immigrants.
  
  In 1907, the United States and Japan entered into a pact known as the "Gentleman's Agreement." The agreement stated that Japan would take steps to slow the rate of immigrants leaving Japan for America, but it did not address tensions in the Pacific.
  
  

Root and Takahira

• In 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt asked Secretary of State Elihu Root to find a way to calm tensions in the Pacific and increase the likelihood that the United States could hold on to its possessions in the Phillippines against Japanese attack. Root exchanged a number of notes with Japanese Ambassador Takahira Kogoro, who was then living in Washington, D.C. The result was the Root-Takahira Agreement, which was committed to paper on November 30, 1908.
  
  

Provisions

• The Root-Takahira Agreement covered three basic points. First, the United States and Japan would each recognize each other's current holdings in the Pacific. Second, the two nations would work together to maintain their Pacific holdings, with neither one seeking to dominate Pacific trade routes. Finally, the United States would be allowed to continue its open-door trade policy with Manchuria, which was then under Japanese possession.
  
  

Policy

• Although the Root-Takahira Agreement somewhat defused tensions between the United States and Japan, not everyone was happy with its provisions, according to Encyclopedia.com. Many Americans on the West Coast felt the agreement did not go far enough to curb Japanese immigration into West Coast states. Also, although the agreement claimed to affirm China's "integrity and independence," Chinese officials felt it allowed Japan to continue expansion into Chinese territories.
  
  

Imperialism

• The Root-Takahira Agreement also aimed to help both Japan and the United States keep their territories in the Pacific, according to "The China White Paper: August 1949." In order to win agreement from the Japanese that would allow the United States to keep its territories in the Phillippines, the United States agreed to recognize Japan's claim to Korea and Manchuria. This agreement also implied that the United States would recognize further Japanese expansion on the Japanese side of the Pacific.