The road to the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905) was paved by imperial rivalries in East Asia. Both Russia and Japan sought to expand their influence over Korea and Manchuria, strategic regions with significant economic and military value. Japan, modernizing rapidly since the Meiji Restoration, aimed to assert itself as a dominant power in Asia. Meanwhile, Russia, an established empire, was extending its reach into the Far East through the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway and occupation