The Japanese and the Jews

We don't normally think of Jews and Japan having much to do with each other, but there is in fact a storied history. Back in 1904, while Europe was slowly tensing up and preparing for war, Russian and Japan had already gotten into it (It started with a sneak attack by the Japanese, if that is not foreboding enough).

Anyway, Japan was holding its own but probably losing, and to make matters worse was running low on funds. So a man was sent to London (the financial center of the world at the time), to procure a substantial loan. Days passed; no significant European bank or group of investors was interested. The prevailing wisdom was that Russia was going to win the war, and any money paid to Japan would be unpaid (and would engender hostility from Russia).

One man, however, had a different take on things. Jacob Schiff invited the Japanese emissary to New York, where he provided the entire requested amount, a fantastic sum of 200 million dollars (in 1904). The Japanese asked, why, after everyone else had rejected his requests out of hand, that Schiff would agree so readily and thoroughly. Schiff replied that indeed, the investment was a bad one and a banker should not make it; however he was not extending this credit as a banker interested solely in profit. Jacob Schiff was a devout Jew, and was concerned about the plight faced by Jews in Tsarist Russia. One presumes a decrease in the strength of the central government of Russia would result in lessened pressure and scrutiny of mostly poor, rural Jews.

Japan went on to win the war. The origin of this crucial money was popularly known, and it created a grossly exaggerated conception of the Jewish People in Japan.