Kanto region

Located in northeastern China, at the southernmost tip of the Liaodong Peninsula, this region includes the cities of Port Arthur, Dalian, and Jinzhou. This leased territory was taken over by Japan from Russia in September 1905 (Meiji 38), and was called Luda Leased Territory in China. Japan once took possession of it under the Treaty of Shimonoseki (1895) after the First Sino-Japanese War, but it was returned to China for compensation due to the Triple Intervention by Russia, Germany, and France, and Russia leased it as a result of their intervention. However, after Japan's victory in the Russo-Japanese War, Japan took over the lease from Russia, and it became a bridgehead for Japan's control over Manchuria thereafter. The Russian lease was revised to a 25-year term in 1898, but Japan extended the term by 99 years in 1915 (Taisho 4) with the Twenty-One Demands. (It expired in 1997.) The initial Japanese governing body was the Kwantung Government-General, which was established in 1906 to take over the military administration during the Russo-Japanese War. It had a strong military character, and the Governor-General was a lieutenant general of the army who had command authority over the military. In the government reform of 1919, the Kwantung Government-General was abolished and separated into the Kwantung Army and the Kwantung Agency. The civilian Governor-General of Kwantung was given the authority to request the use of military forces from the Kwantung Army Commander-in-Chief when necessary, in addition to administering the Kwantung Leased Territory and guarding the South Manchuria Railway. However, the boundaries between the administrative authority of the Kwantung Agency and that of the Kwantung Army were confusing, and friction between the two was often seen, leading to criticism of inconsistent policy toward Manchuria.

After the outbreak of the Manchurian Incident (1931), the control of the Kwantung Army was strengthened, and in the organizational reform in Manchuria in 1934 (Showa 9), the Kwantung Bureau was established, with the Japanese ambassador to Manchuria and commander of the Kwantung Army as its chief, and the Kwantung Leased Territory Office under its command was in charge of administration. After the Soviet Union occupied the territory following Japan's defeat in the war, it was returned to the People's Republic of China with the conclusion of the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance in 1950.

[Awaya Kentaro]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国東北、遼東(りょうとう)半島最南端で、旅順(りょじゅん)・大連(だいれん)・金州(きんしゅう)などの都市を含む地域。1905年（明治38）9月のポーツマス条約により、日本がロシアから引き継いだ租借地で、中国では旅大租借地とよんだ。日清(にっしん)戦争後の下関(しものせき)条約（1895）でいったん日本が領有したが、露・独・仏の三国干渉で清国に有償返還、ロシアが干渉の成果として租借した。しかし日露戦争の勝利により、日本がロシアの租借権を引き継ぎ、以後日本の満州支配の橋頭堡(きょうとうほ)となった。ロシアの租借権は1898年に25年の期限で改定されたものであったが、日本は1915年（大正4）の対華二十一か条要求で、期限を99年延長させた（満期は1997年）。当初の日本の統治機関は、日露戦争中の軍政を引き継ぎ1906年に設置された関東都督府で、軍事的性格が強く、都督には軍隊指揮権をもつ陸軍大・中将が就任した。19年の官制改革で関東都督府は廃され、関東軍と関東庁に分離し、文官の関東長官は、関東州の管轄、南満州鉄道の警護のほか、必要に応じて関東軍司令官に兵力の使用を要請できることになった。しかし関東庁の行政権限と関東軍の権限の境界は錯綜(さくそう)しており、両者の摩擦がしばしばみられ、対満国策不統一の非難を浴びた。

　満州事変勃発(ぼっぱつ)（1931）後は関東軍の支配力が強化され、1934年（昭和9）の在満機構改革で、駐満大使兼関東軍司令官が長官となる関東局が置かれ、この指揮下にある関東州庁が行政を担当した。日本の敗戦によりソ連が同地を占領後、50年の中ソ友好同盟相互援助条約の締結により中華人民共和国に返還された。

［粟屋憲太郎］

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