Takao SAKAMOTO, a former professor of the Faculty of Law of Gakushuin University explained that, with the background of the failure of the Gapsin Coup and China's strong army, "'Datsu-A Ron' was not written from an assumption for Japan to go against other Asian countries with the same position of superiority as European countries, but was written because he felt deeply disappointed by the incident in Korea and was concerned about China."
また、坂本多加雄元学習院大学法学部教授は、甲申事変の失敗と清国の強大な軍事力を背景にして、「「脱亜論」は、日本が西洋諸国と同等の優位の立場でアジア諸国に臨むような状況を前提にしているのではなく、むしろ逆に、朝鮮の一件に対する深い失望と、強大な清国への憂慮の念に駆られて記された文章ではないか」と説明する。