Japanease Forces in WW1

[Cronos Impera]

I've read the Japanease Empire faught alongside the Antante during WW 1. I heard Japan conquered some German colonies during the Great War but......
Why did Japan join the Antante and fight alongside the Russian Empire, defeated during the Russian-Japanease War. What would have happened if Japan joined the Central Powers against Britain and Russia?

[Csargo]

I dont think i would have helped much but you never know.

[Franconicus]

Cronos Impera,
Excellent question!

As far as I know there were two reasons for them to join the Entend:
- You know that Japan used to be very German friendly. When they were forced to open to western civ, they did it completely and they took Germany as idol. (Today an averadge Japanes pupil knows more traditional German songs than a German pupil!). However there was a political affair some years before. The Japanese asked the German Kaiser to lend them money; but he refúsed and the Japanese were really angry. That cooled the relationship.

- Japanese used WW1 to increase their power in Asia. http://users.lac.uic.edu/~dturk/japanhistory/taishohistory.html
World War I breaks outand Japan enters on the side of the allies in accordance with the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, although they play a very minor role. They do, however, seize Germany's holdings in China and the North Pacific. They occupied the German colony at China (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qingdao) (Qingdao-'the German HongKong' - they still make famous German beer);
January 18, 1915 Japan presents a list of 21 demands to China, in effect demanding China's acceptace of Japan's takeover of German rights in China and the acceptance of Japan's expanding economic position in China..
May 1916 China signs the list of Japanese demands, but refuses to sign the most controversial section on hiring Japanese advisors, buying arms from Japan, etc. In the end, Japan gains little other than animosity from these concessions.
July 1918 Japan and the US send troops to Siberia to assist Czech troops trying to get to the Western front. While US troops only grow to 7,000 men, Japan eventually sent 72,000. (do not understand this!)

What would have happaned if they joined Germany? Why should they? There was not much to win in Asia if you support the Germans.

[TinCow]

July 1918 Japan and the US send troops to Siberia to assist Czech troops trying to get to the Western front. While US troops only grow to 7,000 men, Japan eventually sent 72,000. (do not understand this!)

This was part of the general Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War. There were two expeditions, one from Archangel south towards Moscow that actually fought Bolshevik forces for a short time and a second from Vladivostok west. The latter one was the force supported by the Japanese. It's objective was to assist the Czech Legion. The Czech Legion was a large division of Czechs and Slovaks who had deserted from the Austro-Hungarian army or volunteered after being captured by the Russians. They served as part of the Russian army on the eastern front until Russia surrendered.

At that point, the Bolsheviks gave them free passage east to the Pacific via the Trans-Siberian railroad. The eventual intention being that they would then be shipped to France to continue the fight on the Western Front. Due to the general chaos inherent in the Russian Civil War, things didn't go as planned. The Czech Legion eventually found themselves unable to continue to the Pacific and wound up fighting with the Whites. The US expedition was originally sent to help rescue this group of stranded Czechs.

[Meneldil]

AFAIK, the Japanese intervention during WWI proper was almost non existent, militarily speaking. They lost a bit more than 1000 men during the whole war (that's including the intervention in Russia after the Revolution, but I don't know if the fights with China are counted).

It was fairly obvious that the Germans couldn't have protected their 'colonies' on the eastern coast of China. There was basically no way they could send fleet and men there, while on the other hand, the allied (and especially the UK) could have fought back rather easily.
Allying with the Entente (basically, the "good ones") also allowed Japan to start its war with China with the UK and France blessing.

[Watchman]

The Germans actually had a squadron of warships in the Far East at the outbreak of hostilities, who duly had to take a hike so as not to get confiscated by the Japanese. They tried to make it to the Atlantic to act as commerce raiders the South American route, expended much of their ammunition and suffered some damage in the process of demolishing the hopelessly outmatched British squadron operating from the Falklands that intercepted them, and were hunted down by the much stronger up-to-date force the Brits sent to deal with them. A few sought refuge in South American harbors and were confiscated by the host governements.