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Their prayers were finally answered in the late 1850s after Commodore Perry's gunboats opened Japan to Westerners.
WSJ: Meghan Clyne: A Japanese Lesson About China for the Pope
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When Commodore Perry showed up with his warships back in 1853, he created a crisis that forced Japan to act.
FORBES: Magazine Article
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That was the famous Meiji emperor, and in his case the visiting American was Commodore Matthew Perry , who steamed into Tokyo Bay in 1853 with a powerful squadron and "suggested" that Japan abandon its feudal isolation and open relations with the outside world.
FORBES: Magazine Article