Terms of amity for Britain, Japan

LONDON — On Aug. 26, 1858, in Edo (now Tokyo), the Treaty of Yedo was signed by six Japanese commissioners and Britain's Earl of Elgin. This treaty, when ratified in 1859, opened diplomatic and trade relations between the two countries.

Lord Elgin, on the occasion of the signing, presented the shogun's representatives with a luxuriously fitted yacht named The Emperor. The ceremonial handover was marked by an exchange of gun salutes.

The British Treaty was modeled after the U.S.-Japan Treaty concluded several weeks earlier (July 29) via the auspices of Townsend Harris, the U.S. consul in Shimoda and a tough negotiator. The U.S. treaty in turn had come on the heels of Japanese treaties with Russia and the Netherlands, both of which were instrumental in reopening Japan to the Western world 150 years ago.

In his negotiations, Harris had alluded freely to the potential threat posed to Japan by British forces in China. The main purpose of Elgin's mission had been to conclude a treaty first with China (Treaty of Tienstsin), and then one with Japan if possible. In August 1858 he saw a window of opportunity and, with the help of Henry Heusken, Harris' Dutch interpreter, he concluded what seemed to be a mutually acceptable agreement. His instructions made it clear that Britain did not want to "impose a new Treaty on Japan by forcible means."

Elgin and his party enjoyed their brief stay in Japan, regarding it as a holiday from their disagreeable time in China. Elgin in particular was enchanted by what he saw in Japan (see the small volume "Britain and the Reopening of Japan, the Treaty of Yedo of 1858 and the Elgin Mission," set for publication this month by the Japan Society).

The five treaties concluded by Japan in 1858 — with the United States, Russia, Netherlands, Britain and France — set the pattern for the so-called unequal treaties, which would arouse much anger in Japan later in the 19th century until revised treaties came into force from 1899.

The treaties were indeed unequal and discriminatory, but it was the Tokugawa shogunate that readily agreed to grant extraterritorial jurisdiction to the treaty powers over their nationals in the ports opened to trade. The shogunate hoped to corral foreign merchants in restricted areas and to limit as far as possible their dealings with the Japanese. So the five powers were not entirely to blame.

Among the many problems encountered in the negotiations of 1858, one of the greatest was language. The only regular contacts with Westerners before the arrival of Commodore Perry's "Black Ships" had been with the Dutch at Nagasaki, so the Japanese interpreters were trained only in Dutch.

This meant that negotiations involved a three-way process — Japanese-Dutch -English. This inevitably led to misunderstandings that were complicated by the Japanese language, which at the time did not have equivalent words for many Western concepts and institutions. Undoubtedly the reopening of Japan was due to pressure arising from the presence of foreign warships in Japanese waters, but actual force was not used in the lead-up to the treaties.

Britain had played a secondary role to the U.S. in 1858, but once diplomatic relations were established, Britain became increasingly important for the modernization of Japan. This was due in part to the strong personality of Sir Harry Parkes (British minister from 1865-1883), British global power in the latter half of the 19th century, and the progress of British industrialization.

More than 40 percent of the foreign experts employed in Meiji Japan came from Britain. British shipyards built warships for Japan up to the beginning of the 20th century. Britain and Japan recognized at the end of the 19th century that they needed to be friends — if only to ensure a balance of power in East Asia.

This led to the Anglo-Japanese Alliance concluded in 1902 and twice renewed. The Japanese Navy played a useful role against Germany in World War I, and friendly relations were fostered between the British Royal family and the Japanese Imperial family.

Fortunately, the bitterness that many Britons bore toward Japan after World War II due to Japan's mistreatment of prisoners of war has largely dissipated. Once again there is a real spirit of friendship between Britain and Japan.

Although economic friction between the two was severe in the 1970s and '80s and Japan's economy still does not seem as open as Britain's to foreign companies, economic ties are increasingly close. Britain continues to welcome Japanese investment in manufacturing and services, while British companies look positively at opportunities to raise their scale of investment in Japan.

Both governments attach increasing importance to political cooperation, working closely together at the United Nations and in other international forums. Cultural exchanges have developed significantly in the last few decades.

With the British Council active in Japan, Britain would welcome an increased presence by the Japan Foundation in London if funds can be found for such expansion.

There have been major British manifestations in Japan as well as Japanese exhibitions and festivals in Britain including the Great Japan Exhibition in 1981-82, the Japan Festival in 1991, and Japan 2001. A number of events in both countries are planned for this year and next.

Despite the ups and downs in Britain's relationship with Japan over the years, on the 150th anniversary of the first treaty of friendship and commerce, we look forward to ever closer ties and increased exchanges. It is an anniversary well worth celebrating.