The text states that after the Versailles Peace Conference, that Japan "learned the lesson that the West regarded imperialism very differently if it was the imperialism of an Asian nation rather than a European power." Explain what this means.

The text explains how imperialism developed in Japan. We learn that the Japanese decided to engage in imperialism when they realized that the wealth and success of European countries came from this practice. Japan began to consider itself a member of the elite class of imperial powers, and was even allied with the United States and Great Britain in World War I. However, we also learn that after the war, while Japan expected territorial gains at the Versailles Peace Conference, it realized that the other powers did not take it into account, or in the case of the United States, outright rejected its involvement. This showed that European powers considered themselves to be superior both to colonized people, and to colonial powers that were not Western. Even though Japan was politically similar to them, they considered Asian imperialism less worthy of consideration.