Japan

Beginning in the early 19th century, American merchants in China became interested in extending their activities to Japan. At this time, however, the shoguns that ruled Japan had implemented a policy of closed borders that made it very difficult for U.S. citizens and the Japanese to interact. There were, however, isolated cases of interaction. By the 1850s, a combination of growing U.S. interests in expanding a regional presence and internal shifts in Japan brought about a dramatic opening in U.S.-Japanese relations.

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