In January 1915 the government of Prime Minister Okuma Shigenobu presented Yuan Shikai with a set of territorial and political demands that would give Japan immense advantages in everything from trading rights to the placement of Japanese “advisers” within the Chinese government. Yuan’s position was still weak, and in May thirteen of the original demands were formalized by treaty. Yuan remained president until 1916, when he died of uremia. For the next decade, China was split among warring militarist factions. Although the international community recognized whichever government was installed
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