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Events on Friday 8 July 1853 1
1853Commodore Perry arrives in JapanUS Navy squadron reaches Edo BayCommodore Matthew Perry led a squadron of US Navy ships into Edo Bay on 8 July 1853, demanding that Japan open itself to trade after more than two centuries of enforced isolation. He delivered a letter from President Fillmore and promised to return the following year for an answer. The visit set in motion the end of Japan's sakoku policy and its rapid opening to the West.