Even in the eyes of racist Europeans, the Japanese held a privileged place, having defeated the Russians -- a "white" race -- in a war in 1905. (Later, South Af

Even in the eyes of racist Europeans, the Japanese held a privileged place, having defeated the Russians -- a "white" race -- in a war in 1905. (Later, South African apartheid would also make a special exemption for the Japanese.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honorary_whites http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honorary_whites