RELATIONS WITH THE United States had deteriorated, in large part over the immigration issue, but it was the actions of Japanese in China, rather than in California, that exacerbated the situation. United States policy, especially after the Paris peace talks ending World War I, had become decidedly pro-China, and the tensions between Japan and China spilled over into Japan's relationship with the United States. Anti-Japanese demonstrations and boycotts of Japanese goods in China were continuing, and the future of trade between the two countries had become a serious concern.

Japanese industrialists launched efforts to try and improve relations with China as well as with the United States. In January 1920, representatives of Japanese businesses trading with China, banks, and eight chambers of commerce in various parts of Japan met to discuss the formation of a nationwide association for that purpose. In June, leading figures from the January gathering founded the Nik-Ka Jitsugyō Kyōkai (Japan-China Business Association) and Eiichi was asked to be its chairman.

The fact that the business community had formed a group to have a say in Japan's diplomatic affairs and actively lobby the government was proof that commerce enjoyed a higher social status than it had in the past and that businessmen were becoming more aware of what they could do. The move was also an expression of business leaders’ concern about the increasing militarization of Japan's foreign policy, especially since World War I.

During the long reign of the Meiji emperor, from 1868 to 1912, Japan's military and economic interests had generally coincided, so it had been easy to adopt a consistent foreign policy. But after World War I, government policies became highly strategic, and as plans to create spheres of influence in Manchuria, Siberia, and other areas, or to use the country's strong navy to establish control of the western Pacific came to be seen as urgent matters of national defense, government policies became more aggressive. Japan's actions caused great tensions in relations with China and the United States. Where economic interests were concerned, however, Japanese exports to the United States during World War I had grown four-fold, and imports from America had quintupled. A contradictory situation had arisen whereby Japan's ability to develop as an independent economic power in the future depended on a more cooperative relationship with the United States.