Before starting the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, the Japanese government ignored a tip that a Russian politician long considered a key war advocate was trying to avoid the conflict by proposing an alliance with Japan, according to papers uncovered by a University of Tokyo historian.
The finding could lead to a revision of the widely accepted view in Japan that it was goaded by Russia into starting the 1904-1905 war, which stemmed from the two countries' rival imperial ambitions over Manchuria and Korea, experts say.
It may also attract attention in Japan because NHK in November began airing a three-year TV drama series based on a saga by the late novelist Ryotaro Shiba that depicts the Russo-Japanese War as one of self-defense for Japan.