34 Chapter 3Koreans) and 2.3 million prisoners of war (POWs such as Austrians, Hun-
garians, Germans, Czechs, Poles, Serbs, Bulgarians, Turks), the so- called
“bacilli of Bolshevism.”^2 The Bolsheviks had already earned a reputation for
“Red Terror” through their requisitioning of food and grain and for the
arrests and executions of those who disobeyed their policies. Somewhere
between ten to fifteen thousand had been executed by the Cheka (without
trial) within one year of the October Revolution.^3 The Allies, especially the
Americans, wanted a demo cratic Rus sia that would block Japa nese expan-
sionist aspirations, maximize Siberia’s great wealth of natu ral resources, and
offer favorable trade terms and concessions to them. Japan tipped off others
to her dreams of expansion by sending a force (73,000 soldiers) five to seven
times larger than those of the other Allied Powers (Poland, 12,000; the
United States, 9,000). It seemed that upon arrival to the “new Siberian world”
Japan feigned amnesia regarding her slogan of “Asia for Asians,” Pan- Asianism,
and anti- imperialism.^4 Previously, during the Russo- Japanese War, Japan
had not invaded Rus sia. This time, Izvestiia interpreted the Intervention as
a Japa nese invasion, stating in its April 7, 1918 issue, “Now the Japa nese
invasion is an accomplished fact.”^5
Japan intervened for all of same putative reasons as the other Allies:
the rescue of the Czech Legion, the protection of her citizens in the RFE,
the suppression of Bolshevik reprisals against the vari ous non- Bolshevik
movements and ideologies (Whites, SRs, Greens, zemstvo et al.), and the
expansion of Japa nese business interests and influence in Siberia.^6 However,
the Japa nese planned much more than the expansion of their influence. In
addition to having sent the largest of all Intervention forces, they actively
enforced their joint rule of the RFE with the FER government because their
ultimate goal was the incorporation of this region into the Japa nese Empire.
They also strove to root out anti- Japanese activity led by RFE Korean in de-
pen dence and partisan networks. Upon arriving, Japa nese troops treated
both Allies and the vari ous Rus sian forces as if her acquisition of these ter-
ritories was a foregone conclusion and the others were meddling in Japa nese
affairs.^7 Japa nese forces were among the first to arrive in Vladivostok
in April 1918. They arrived before the British, Americans, and Italians.
Initially, 73,000 Japa nese troops arrived alongside 12,000 Poles, 9,000 Ameri-
cans, 5,000 Chinese, 4,000 Serbs, 4,000 Romanians, 4,000 Canadians, 2000
Italians, 1,600 British, and 700 French soldiers.^8 They also were the last to
leave (October 1922), staying two years longer than any of the other Allied
forces (the Americans were the penultimate force to leave, on April 1, 1920).
Japan believed that regulating the rail lines would allow it to control
Siberia and the RFE,^9 regions that were essential to its “empire building”
due to their wealth of raw materials and resources (oil, natu ral gas, farming,