He was firmly against Korea falling into the hand of China and Russia, which would cause a grave threat to Japan's national security. However, he was actually against the annexation, instead advocating that Korea remain a protectorate. When the cabinet eventually voted to annex Korea, he insisted and obtained a delay, hoping that the decision of annexation could be reversed in the future.[8] His political nemesis, the politically influential Imperial Japanese Army, led by Yamagata Aritomo, whose main faction was advocating annexation forced Itō to resign on June 14, 1909.
