Title: Reflections on the History of U.S.-Japanese Relations
Abstract: As have international a Japanese often noticed scholar relations certain who and particularly teaches assumptions and of writes and American perceptions about foreign the held history relations, by my of I international relations and particularly of American foreign relations, I h ve often n ticed certain assumptions and perceptions held by my Japanese audience regarding U.S.-Japanese relations. These perceptions have also been evident in many Japanese writings. They tend to color Japanese attitudes toward current issues in U.S.-Japanese relations. In this essay, I would like to mention these assumptions and perceptions that I have encountered and explain why many Japanese entertain them. While doing so, I would also like to present my own views of the history of U.S.-Japanese relations. The relationship between Japan and the United States began with the arrival of Commodore Matthew Perry's fleet in the Edo (Tokyo) Bay in 1853. This first U.S.-Japanese encounter was also the first crisis in the relations between the two countries. The United States used forceful diplomacy backed by naval power to demand the opening of Japan. But Washington directed Perry not to resort to force unless in self defense. Perry gave the Japanese eight months to decide their response to the American demands. The Shogunate leaders had only a limited, though not negligible, knowledge of world affairs, but understood that the time was coming for them to change the traditional policy of national seclusion. They did not make a vain attempt to use force against the fleet, and succeeded in deciding on the acceptance of the minimum American demands within less than one year. Satisfied with the Shogunate's acceptance of the minimum American demands, Perry developed the first U.S.-Japanese treaty in 1854. This episode of the first U.S.-Japanese encounter is usually written as a matter of course. But both sides should be commended for their political realism. Both sides acted with realism and restraint, making it possible for U.S.-Japanese relations to start in peace. Townsend Harris, the first U.S. consul and minister to Japan, acted with tact and patience in negotiating for a commercial treaty with the reluctant Japanese officials. He gradually gained their trust for himself and his country, persuaded them with American friendliness, and finally succeeded in developing a commercial treaty between the two countries. The Shogunate sent its first overseas mission to the United States in 1860. Thus, Japanese knowledgeable about foreign affairs came to regard the United States as the most friendly, or at least the most benign, Western country. When the Meiji government sent its first overseas mission in 1872-73 with a hope of negotiating a treaty revision with the Western countries, Ambassador Tomomi Iwakura and his company visited the United States first.
Publication Year: 2016
Publication Date: 2016-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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