Explanation: In the 19th and early 20th century AD, lunatic antisemitic conspiracy theories were rampant in European countries - but few were as dedicated to the idea as the Russian Empire. Even forging the infamous “Protocols of the Elders of Zion”, still cited by antisemites today, the Russian Empire was very vocal about how there were JEWS EVERYWHERE, AND THEY RAN THE WORLD AND HAD TO BE STOPPED.

Japan, in this same period, was emerging from a period of isolation and trying to adopt the learning of Western countries in order to avoid being shelled and turned into a colonial concession. They were playing ‘catch up’, and were not exactly in a place where they were willing to hazard a serious cultural-level rebuttal on the issue of antisemitic conspiracies.

When the Russo-Japanese War started, a prominent Jewish-American banker, Jacob Schiff, actually extended a massive (much-needed) line of credit to Japan basically immediately. In part it was a gamble that Japan was in a better position, but it’s widely speculated, that as Jacob Schiff was deeply involved in international advocacy for Jewish rights, that the fact that Russia was infamously antisemitic played a role in his decision.

In addition, the small Jewish population already in Japan at the time - many of them emigrants from Russia - were very vocal and fervent about supporting the war effort against Russia; and American Jewish voices were likewise loud in expressing support for Japan and treating Japan as a peer-nation to Russia, rather than a backwater, which was a big desire for Japan in the period. Japan would go on to win the war.

So instead of “The Jews run the world and this is bad”, the Japanese Empire got “The Jews run the world, this is kind of cool, we should stay on their good side.” Despite Japan allying with the literal fucking Nazis in WW2, they would refuse to deport Jews from Japanese territory, and allowed immigration of Jews to Japan even during the war.

… of course, the Japanese Empire had other ethnicities that they abused horrifically. But the Jews weren’t one of them, for once!