In what became known as "the opening of Japan," the two countries agreed to engage in limited trade and to agree to the safe return of American sailors who had become shipwrecked in Japanese waters. The treaty was accepted by the Japanese after a squadron of American warships anchored in the mouth of Tokyo Bay on July 8, 1853.
On March 31 1854 representatives of Japan and the United States signed a historic treaty. A United States naval officer, Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry, negotiated tirelessly for several months with Japanese officials to achieve the goal of opening the doors of trade with Japan.
Perry, on behalf of the U.S. government, forced Japan to enter into trade with the United States and demanded a treaty permitting trade and the opening of Japanese ports to U.S. merchant ships. This was the era when all Western powers were seeking to open new markets for their manufactured goods abroad, as well as new countries to supply raw materials for industry. It was clear that Commodore Perry could impose his demands by force. The Japanese had no navy with which to defend themselves, and thus they had to agree to the demands.
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