Aware that Britain opposed Japanese racial equality by way of the clause in Article 21 of the Covenant, conference chairman U.S. President Woodrow Wilson acted to prevent "de jure" racial equality among the nations of the world, with his unilateral requirement of a unanimous vote by the countries in the League of Nations. On 11 April 1919, most countries in the conference voted to include the Racial Equality Proposal to Article 21 of the Covenant of the League of Nations; only Britain and the U.S. opposed legislated racial equality. Moreover, to maintain the White Australia policy, the Australian government sided with Britain and voted against Japan's formal request that the Racial Equality Proposal be included to Article 21 of the covenant of the League of Nations; that defeat in international relations greatly influenced Imperial Japan to confront the Western world.