Formal relations between Japan and the U.S. began in 1853 when Commodore Matthew Perry and his smoke-belching fleet of warships arrived in then-called Yudo Bay near present-day Tokyo.  For the past 200 years, Japan's only (very limited) trade with the Western world had been with the Dutch. 

Spurred by whaling interests, President Millard Fillmore had dispatched Perry to deliver a letter to the Japanese Emperor, inviting free trade between the US and Japan and asking for improved relations.  Perry delivered his letter and then returned to Japan in March of 1854 to secure the Kanagwa Treaty between the United States of America and the Empire of Japan.  Since neither party to the treaty spoke the other's language, the treaty was negotiated through Dutch and Chinese interpreters. Treaty provisions allowed American ships access to the Japanese ports of Simoda and Hakodade, provided protection for shipwrecked sailors and gained provisions for American whaling ships.

The Treaty of Amity and Commerce Between the United States and Japan, signed four years (two years of negotiation) later, formalized trade regulations between the two countries. 

Even though Japanese national policy had been one of isolation, following these treaties and internal Japanese governmental changes, Japan lost no time in embracing modernization. By 1912, Japan had highly developed transportation and communications systems and a well-educated population free of class restrictions.  An industrial sector based on the latest technologies was well established and growing rapidly. And it was in 1912 that the Japanese presented the U.S. with the Yoshino Cherry Trees that line the DC Tidal basin.  The cherry blossoms remain a symbol of the relationship that has blossomed between the U.S. and Japan.

After World War II, the United States - Japan alliance became even more significant as Japan rebuilt itself as a leading manufacturer.  The two countries made progress in their efforts to understand each other's cultures, most significantly in the areas of business and markets.  Mike Mansfield, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, from 1977 until 1989, said, "The U.S.-Japan relationship is the most important bilateral relationship in the world, bar none."

At a commemorative ceremony held on March 31, 2004, at the National Archives in DC, Japanese Ambassador Ryozo Kato's speech contained these words:

" . . . over those 150 years, our two worlds have merged into one. As is so often said, we share values of democracy. We share a belief in the prosperity that comes from free markets. We share in the rightness of lifting up the community of nations. The world that Japan and the United States today inhabit is a world that would be much less stable if not for our relationship."

At Capitol Hill, that same day, Speaker Dennis Hastert hosted a Tree Planting ceremony.  Ambassador Kato, Madame Kato, event sponsors and Commodore Matthew Perry's descendants participated in planting a "First Lady" Cherry Tree to commemorate the 150-year friendship.

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