Georges Clemenceau of France (left) and U.S. President Woodrow Wilson (right) at the Paris Peace Conference.

As a member of the victorious Allied powers during World War I, Japan appeared to have attained not merely equality but eminence on the global scene. Seated as one of the "Big Five" powers at the Paris Peace Conference, Japan helped make the decisions about reapportioning the former colonies of the vanquished nations. As a result, the Japanese, despite American objections, obtained control over all the Pacific islands north of the equator formerly owned by Germany — the Marianas, Marshalls and Carolines.