Jewish Schiff helped Japan win the Russo-Japanese War through economic aid. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
In 1904, Japan and Russia went to war over conflicting interests in northeastern China and Korea, and Japan, which was at a military disadvantage at the time, ended up winning the war. Yoko Kato, a professor at the University of Tokyo, says that the Russo-Japanese War was a pivotal moment for modern Japan, which became one of the world powers as a result of the victory.
So how did Japan win the Russo-Japanese War? Schiff, the Jewish man behind the victory, became the first foreigner to be awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, First Class, and was unprecedentedly invited to have lunch with the Emperor at the Japanese Imperial Palace.
Kiyoshi Takahashi meets Schiff in New York
In 1904, when Russia and Japan went to war because of the conflict of interests between Manchuria and Korea, Japan sent Kiyoshi Takahashi, vice president of the Bank of Japan, to New York to raise money, but failed to do so. Lend money to Japan, it must be a dog in a bag, there is no return.
Takahashi was extremely frustrated, ready to pack up and return home, when someone suddenly visited, calling himself Schiff. Takahashi said, “I don’t know you,” and Schiff said, “I sat next to you at the dinner yesterday, and I want to lend you money. What? What a nice thing to do! From then on, a deep friendship developed between them, and their descendants remained close to each other until Schiff’s death in 1920. Takahashi later became the Minister of Finance and the Prime Minister of the Cabinet.
Hating the Tsar’s persecution, Shifu was determined to avenge the Jews
Why did Schiff take the risk when everyone thought it was a sure thing? Later, Schiff’s daughter Frieda said, “We are Jews, and my father took the opportunity to take revenge for the persecution of Russian Jews by the Russian Tsar.”
And Takahashi came at the right time, for only 10 months earlier, there had been a massacre of Jews in Russia, the “Kishinev”. Schiff’s Kuhn&Loab bank quickly took on 200 million in floating bonds (worth $4.5 billion in 2016), raising a total of $410 million.
With this money, Japan was able to procure enough weapons and military supplies. This money was a decisive factor in winning the war. But Russia insisted on not paying reparations and threatened to renew the war. Japan’s finances were so tight that it was difficult to sustain the war, and Chief of Staff Aritomo Yamagata suggested accepting the peace proposal. Several years after the war, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Kokovtsov said: “We will never forget the harm done to us by Schiff.
Schiff became a family friend of Takahashi and helped Japan to issue Tokyo bonds
In February 1906, Schiff accepted an invitation from Japan and went on a ship with some Jewish tycoons from Germany, France and New York. Schiff’s visit to Japan was a big event, and was widely reported in the newspapers, and was warmly welcomed by the great business and political leaders, including three former or future prime ministers.
Finance Minister Sakaya said at a banquet: “I cannot express in any words the highest gratitude of the nation to you. Takahashi said at another banquet: Japan has never succeeded in borrowing money in the United States, so we would like to express our special thanks to the Kuhnrob Bank for its efforts. Takahashi added: I consider Schiff to be a true friend of ours.
In 1905, Takahashi was the first guest of honor to stay at Schiff’s vacation home in New Jersey, which Schiff called the “Takahashi Room”. When Takahashi’s 15-year-old daughter Kazuko came to the United States to study, she stayed at Schiff’s house for three years, and this kind of friendship for generations was just a phone call away.
He later married Toshimichi Okubo, the son of Toshimichi Okubo, one of the three great men of the Japanese Restoration (the other two were Takamori Saigo and Takayuki Kido), and the president of the Shogin Bank moved to England, and was linked to Schiff’s Jewish bankers in England, because Schiff’s daughter Frieda married Felix, the son of Warburg (a Jew from Hamburg, Germany), the owner of Schiff’s former job. He lived in England and later moved to the United States. Felix’s brother, Marx Warburg, is married to another German Jewish banker, the Oppenheimer family. Another brother, Paul Warburg, immigrated to the United States and became one of the Federal Reserve Board members, becoming more influential.
Important Japanese figures came to New York, including the entrepreneur Eiichi Shibusawa (the father of modern Japanese business, the head of Japan’s 10,000 yen banknote) who visited in 1915, and the daughter of another zaibatsu, Soichiro Asano, who came to the United States to study, were also all received by Schiff.
A friend of Schiff, Lilian Wald, an influential Jew, visited Japan and was received by Kiyoshi Takao. The network of contacts grew wider and closer, and business became more and more profitable.
The Bank of Japan also hosted a banquet for over 300 people, including Prime Minister Kōbō Saionji and the hero of the Russo-Japanese War, Heihachiro Togo. After the Russo-Japanese War, Schiff continued to work as a private financial advisor to Japan. After the Russo-Japanese War, Japan’s military expenditures were still huge and finances were tight, so Schiff invited Takahashi to his vacation home in New Jersey to discuss measures and help issue Tokyo bonds.
In 1908, Schiff wanted Takahashi to sell the Manchurian Railway, which Japan had taken over, to Harriman (the Jews), but Japan had greater ambitions and refused. Japan defeated Russia with Jewish funds, and after the war, through the process of interacting with Jewish financial forces, it mastered the mysteries and operational skills of modern finance, laying the foundation for its rapid rise after the war, and the Jews were the mentors of Japanese finance.
Schiff, a Jew, was a fish out of water in America
Shortly after the end of the American Civil War, Schiff first received short-term banking training in London from Rothschild, and then took instructions to seek opportunities in the United States. He was only 18 years old at the time. At that time, after the American Civil War, there were many things to be done, such as oil, steel, minerals and textiles. However, the development of these industries required enormous capital, and Schiff took the opportunity to bring in overseas Jewish gold sources such as Rothschild.
Soon after his arrival in New York, Schiff became the son-in-law of the founder of the Kuhn Rove Bank, and soon became its president. With his overseas connections, unique vision, shrewdness and innovative business ideas, he expanded the company into the second largest after JPMorgan Investment Bank (also Jewish). Schiff loaned money to Japan to help connect himself with the US to the Pacific countries. He took ownership of Kuhn & Loeb Bank, bringing in important European contacts and gold connections, such as Ernest Cassel (Jewish) in London, England, Edouard Netflix (Jewish) in Paris, France, and Warburg (Jewish) in Hamburg, Germany.
His connections were not only in business, but also in high political circles, and in 1912, when Wilson won the presidential election, Schiff played an important role, meeting with Wilson and President Roosevelt on several occasions, as well as personally with King Edward VII of England. He knew (and Jews know) that to achieve great things, you have to start at the top. You have to get into the top social circles first, then make friends with the top people and accomplish your vision through them.
If he was strong enough, he would make alliances with Rockefeller (the oil king), Harriman (the railroad king, a Jew), Carnegie (the steel king), and so on. With Rothschild’s strong financial power and support for Lehman Brothers (Jewish), Goldman Sachs (Jewish), etc., Schiff had unshakable power on Wall Street. Therefore, the Russian-Japanese war, Schiff lending to Japan, also used all his strength to prevent Russia from borrowing a dime from Wall Street.
Jewish terror? It is better not to be an enemy of the Jews. Why do Jews love money so much? So good at making money? Because, as history has taught them, without money, life can not be saved.
In 1918, Forbes magazine published for the first time the 100 richest people in the United States, Rockefeller was the first, Schiff ranked 23. 1920, Schiff died, known as the greatest Jewish leader, and even called the years 1880 to 1920 “Schiff years”. Because almost all the railroad companies had loans from him, the American railroads were able to reach almost everywhere. That’s why the United States became an industrialized nation so quickly. He also lent money to various companies such as Westinghouse, Wells Fargo, and Hancock Life Insurance Company.
Schiff and the Jewish “Jewish Consciousness”
Almost all Jews have a very strong “Jewish consciousness” that cannot be denigrated by anyone, and Schiff was no exception. When he heard anti-Semitic remarks, he immediately fought back. Because of his strong “Jewish consciousness”, he was able to survive for a thousand years, despite the destruction of his country, and was restored in 1948. He refused to do business with anyone who openly denigrated Jews because, “I would be ashamed in front of my children if I didn’t do so.
In 1913, Schiff organized the “Anti-Defamation League,” which imposed sanctions on department stores, television, radio stations, and hotels for anti-Semitic speech, not giving advertisements, not reading them, and not staying. Once Schiff heard Shigenobu Okuma (who later became Prime Minister of Japan and founded Waseda University) express anti-Semitic remarks in an interview in Russia, and Schiff immediately wrote to him in protest.
The “national identity” of defending the country did not allow any murmurings. If you are not tough enough with your enemies, you will be criticized. The former Prime Minister Rabin, who was the Minister of Defense, was assassinated by a radical young man simply because he thought that for the sake of Israel’s longevity he should reconcile with the Palestinians.
In 1890, when Russia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and other countries persecuted the Jews, Schiff helped them immigrate to the United States, and then scattered them to Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, Detroit, Philadelphia and other metropolitan areas. These Jewish immigrants soon acquired American citizenship and were mostly Democrats. These people, later, became an important part of the “key states” in the U.S. elections. Schiff’s influence on Japan is only a microcosm of the influence of the world’s prominent Jews.
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