The Russo-Japanese War was the first time an eastern Asian power had won a war against a European imperial power. The Japanese launched a surprise attack against Russian Port Arthur in 1904, destroying the Russian navy, and they invaded the area of northern China that Russia controlled. The war ended in 1905 with the Treaty of Portsmouth, in which U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt played a major role in negotiating. Japan gained respect in the world as a major power, continuing to influence China and eastern Asia until World War II.
