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For the duration of a painful decade, the people of Japan have been tolerating the shame of being treated as "lesser" in the face of the Western advance. The black ships of centuries before should have served as a warning. A warning that the world was changing and that the people of Japan would have to either change with it or be overwhelmed by the wave known as progress. Yet, the shogunate foolishly implemented Sakoku, and tried to isolate the nation from the world. Thus, as the world continued to progress into the future. We ignorantly remained in the past. It should not be surprising that eventually other would take advantage of that. The Treaty of Constantinople is the product of Dai Nippon's mistakes.

However, the willingness that the members of the treaty to assign these so called "spheres of influence" is an oversight that I will not forgive. To the members of the world who disagree and fight against the treaty for the assignment of such an unsubtle attempt at establishing regional hegemonies, I applaud you. Unfortunately, the Tsar of Russia did not take upon the mantle as an opponent of the treaty until much later after the drafting of the treaty. By doing so, the Empire of Russia has acted in complicity since it was one of the few active drafters of the treaty. The Empire of Russia could have rejected the implementation of the spheres of influence, informed other related parties, or even outright reject the treaty. Still, it sickens me that the Empire of Russia allowed the create of the sphere of influence over Asia, presumably for personal gain. The Empire of Russia could have been a leader in the international community for the progress of the continent of Asia, but it appears that the Tsar would prefer to be the Tsar of Asia. Therefore, in accordance with the articles of the Eternal Vigil, the Empire of Japan hereby declares war on the Empire of Russia.