Nishihara Loan

Among the loans granted to the Beijing government in China in 1917-1918 (Taisho 6-7) under the Terauchi Masatake cabinet, loans arranged under the pretext of economic loans outside the regulations of the International Loan Consortium for China (at the time a quadrilateral consortium consisting of the UK, France, Russia, and Japan). The name comes from the fact that Nishihara Kamezo, private secretary to Prime Minister Terauchi, negotiated and concluded the contracts at the request of the prime minister and Finance Minister Katsuta Kazue, without going through regular diplomatic channels. Usually, it refers to the following eight loans totaling 145 million yen. First Bank of Communications loan of 5 million yen, second Bank of Communications loan of 20 million yen, wire telegraph loan of 20 million yen, Jilin-Hui (Jilin-Huining) railway loan advance of 10 million yen, Heilongjiang-Jilin mine (forest and mineral products of Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces) loan of 30 million yen, Manchuria-Mongolia Loans advanced for the Fourth Railway (Changchun - Taonan, Jilin - Kaiyuan, Taonan - Jehol, and from a single point in the Taoyuan railway to the seaport) of 20 million yen, loans advanced for the Second Shandong Railway (Jinan - Shunde, Gaomi - Xuzhou) of 20 million yen, and a war participation loan of 20 million yen. There is also a theory that this includes a separate weapons loan of 32 million yen.

At that time in China, the Duan Qirui government in Beijing was in conflict with the southern powers centered around the Canton military government. The loan was intended to invest the foreign capital that had flowed into Japan during World War I in China to assist the Duan Qirui government in unifying China, while at the same time securing economic interests. The original funds were provided by the Ministry of Finance's Deposit Department and income from government-guaranteed industrial bonds, and were provided through three banks: the Industrial Bank of Japan (now Mizuho Bank, Mizuho Corporate Bank), the Bank of Korea, and the Bank of Taiwan. However, most of the investment was used for the political expenses of the Duan government during the conflict between North and South Korea, and became unrecoverable with the downfall of the Duan faction. In Japan, it was criticized as a default loan with uncertain collateral, and in China as a loan of national shame with high interest rates (around 80%). In 1926, the default loan was shouldered by public bonds, becoming a burden on the Japanese people. Meanwhile, the Nationalist government was formed in China, and it claimed that it was not responsible for the debts of the Duan Qirui government and so set aside the claims, and the Nishihara loan was not repaid in full.

[Tokuko Omori]

"Kitamura Takanao (ed.), "Seventy Years of Dreams - Nishihara Kamezo's Autobiography" (Heibonsha, Toyo Bunko)" ▽ "Katsuta Tatsuo (1972, Diamond Inc.), "China Loans and Katsuta's Accounting"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

寺内正毅(まさたけ)内閣下の1917～1918年（大正6～7）に、中国北京(ペキン)政府に供与された借款のうち、対中国国際借款団（当時は英・仏・露・日の四国団）の規制の外で、経済借款の名目でまとめた借款。正規の外交ルートによらず、寺内首相の私設秘書の西原亀三(かめぞう)が、首相および勝田主計(しょうだかずえ)蔵相の意向を受けて交渉にあたり契約をまとめたので、この名がある。通常次の8件、総額1億4500万円をいう。第一次交通銀行借款500万円、第二次交通銀行借款2000万円、有線電信借款2000万円、吉会(きっかい)（吉林(きつりん)―会寧(かいねい)間）鉄道借款前貸し1000万円、黒吉林鉱(こくきつりんこう)（黒竜江(こくりゅうこう)・吉林両省の森林・鉱産物）借款3000万円、満蒙(まんもう)四鉄道（長春(ちょうしゅん)―洮南(とうなん)間、吉林―開原(かいげん)間、洮南―熱河(ねっか)間、洮熱線一地点から海港まで）借款前貸し2000万円、山東二鉄道（済南(さいなん)―順徳(じゅんとく)間、高密(こうみつ)―徐州(じょしゅう)間）借款前貸し2000万円、参戦借款2000万円。別に兵器代借款3200万円を含める説もある。

　当時の中国国内は、北京の段祺瑞(だんきずい)政権に対して、広東(カントン)軍政府を中心とする南方勢力が対立していた。この借款は、第一次世界大戦中に日本に流入した外資を中国に投資して、段祺瑞政権による中国統一を援助すると同時に、経済利権の確保をねらったものであった。原資には、大蔵省預金部資金と政府保証興業債券収入をあて、日本興業銀行（現、みずほ銀行、みずほコーポレート銀行）、朝鮮銀行、台湾銀行の3銀行を通じて供与された。しかし投資の大半は、南北争乱中の段政権の政費に費消され、段派の失墜で回収不能となった。日本では担保不確実な焦付(こげつき)債権として、また中国では高利（八分内外）の国恥借款として非難を浴びた。1926年、焦付債権は公債に肩代りされて日本国民の負担となった。一方中国では国民政府が成立し、段祺瑞政権の負債には責任がないと債権の棚上げを主張し、西原借款は全額回収されなかった。

［大森とく子］

『北村敬直編『夢の七十余年――西原亀三自伝』（平凡社・東洋文庫）』▽『勝田龍夫著『中国借款と勝田主計』（1972・ダイヤモンド社）』

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例