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The Japanese historiography had an early beginning. Its tradition started with the chronicles Kojiki and Nihongi compiled for the Imperial Court in Kyoto in the 8th century. There were created a lot of other historical works – official histories, biographies, diaries etc. – during the Heian Period. However, with the rise of the samurai class and its seizure of political power, the character of Japanese medieval historiography changed. The new type of chronicle (gunki monogatari) was a combination of official histories, war tales and historical anecdotes written in a high literary language. Their goal was not only to record history but also to serve as a model of behaviour for the members of the military class. These chronicles therefore combined reality with fiction quite freely and can be considered not only as scholarly but also as literary works. Their popularity was at its peak in the Kamakura and early Muromachi Periods. Since the 15th century the changes in political and cultural climate in Japan lead to their gradual decline. They were replaced by a new type of historical works more corresponding to the taste of contemporary readership.

Japonská historiografie stojí na samém počátku japonské literární tradice díky kronikám Kodžiki a Nihongi vytvořené císařským dvorem v 8. století. Záhy vznikla řada dalších historických děl - oficiální dějiny, životopisy, deníky atd. Se vzestupem samurajské třídy a její politické moci se však charakter japonské středověké historiografie změnil. Nový typ kroniky (gunki monogatari) byl kombinací oficiálních dějin, válečných příběhů a historických anekdot sepsaných na vysoké literární úrovni. Jejich cílem bylo nejen zaznamenat dějinné události, ale též sloužit jako vzor chování pro členy vojenské vrstvy. Tato díla tedy kombinovala reálné události s fikcí a je třeba je považovat nejen za "odborná", ale též jako literární díla. Vrchol své popularity zaznamenala během období Kamakura a Muromači. Změny v politickém uspořádání v průběhu 15. století vedly k postupnému úpadku tohoto žánru a zrodu nového typu historických děl, jež lépe korespondovaly s očekáváním a vkusem jejich čtenářů. ; The Japanese historiography had an early beginning. Its tradition started with the chronicles Kojiki and Nihongi compiled for the Imperial Court in Kyoto in the 8th century. There were created a lot of other historical works – official histories, biographies, diaries etc. – during the Heian Period. However, with the rise of the samurai class and its seizure of political power, the character of Japanese medieval historiography changed. The new type of chronicle (gunki monogatari) was a combination of official histories, war tales and historical anecdotes written in a high literary language. Their goal was not only to record history but also to serve as a model of behaviour for the members of the military class. These chronicles therefore combined reality with fiction quite freely and can be considered not only as scholarly but also as literary works. Their popularity was at its peak in the Kamakura and early Muromachi Periods. Since the 15th century the changes in political and cultural climate in Japan lead to their gradual decline. They were replaced by a new type of historical works more corresponding to the taste of contemporary readership.

At the beginning of the 20th century Great Britain had to guard its interests in China against the competition of other Great Powers. The British diplomacy therefore payed close attention to the internal situation in China. It focused mainly on the enforcement of its economic (especially trade) interests and maintaining its concessions in China. In order to accomplish these tasks, the British diplomats followed closely the internal situation in China – especially its efforts to reform its government, military or law. They also payed close attention to the relation of China towards other Great Powers and their influence in the Middle Kingdom. Great Britain also had to solve several important problems in its own relations with China. The most important of these was the question of the opium trade and the effort of the Chinese government to supperss its consumption. China was able to accomplish this important task only with the help of Great Britain.

During their history the Ottoman Empire and Japan had almost no mutual contact and were hardly aware of each other. This situation changed at the end of the 19th century, when the Ottomans were interested in Japanese modernization according to the western model in order to apply the Japanese model on their own crumbling empire. On the other hand, some Japanese viewed the Ottoman Empire as an exotic oriental country and were eager to discover its history and culture. On this basis the relations between both countries were established. One of the most important proponents of Ottoman-Japanese relations was Yamada Torajirō, who came to Istanbul in 1892. He was to stay there for next 22 years. Although he wasn't able to secure any radical political or economic interests for Japan in Istanbul, his activity brought a period of intensifying contacts between both countries. He also introduced Japanese culture and customs to Istanbul and after his return to Japan he wrote a lot of books about Turkey, in which he promoted the idea of Japanese-Turkish friendship. His work is therefore considered to be the fundamental basis of the good relations of Japan and Turkey up to the present time.

The Young Turk revolution changed considerably the position of the Great Powers in Istanbul. The unexpected turmoil in the Ottoman Empire caused considerable anxiety in the European capitals – especially in Vienna. From the point of view of Austria-Hungary it imperiled the occupation of the provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Habsburg government. The change of the regime therefore compelled the foreign minister Alois Lexa von Aehrenthal to turn away from the traditional policy of maintaining status quo on the Balkans. However the Austro-Hungarian statesman viewed this situation as an opportunity to a rapprochement with Russia. At the end of summer 1908 he therefore started negotiations with his Russian counterpart Alexander Izvolsky concerning the status of Bosnia and Herzegovina.