The modernization of Japan was the effect of western intervention, as China did not adopt western imperialist foreign policies. Nowadays (in 1911) Japan is incredibly powerful- both in regard to its economics and its military, though still behind Northern China. Though Japan still claims to regard the Qing dynasty as official government of China, Tokyo enjoys formidable relations with the Hou Ming regime. As it was impossible to wage war with the two powerful Chinas, Japanese imperialism has turned its attention toward the Pacific and South Eastern Asia. The short Dutch-Japanese War backed by Southern Chinese military aid of 1901 led to the conquest of various islands in the Dutch East Indies; though independent kingdoms, they are de facto colonies. The conference of Shimonoseki of 1901 le