Well, it was intended as an &quot;aside&quot; comment, but it&#x27;s still interesting, if controversial. I believe that there is an unbroken thread from the arrival of American ships in Tokyo bay in 1853 to the current day. If you look at the official US history of that event (it&#x27;s here: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;history.state.gov&#x2F;milestones&#x2F;1830-1860&#x2F;opening-to-japan" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;history.state.gov&#x2F;milestones&#x2F;1830-1860&#x2F;opening-to-ja...</a>), it is characterized as a great opening of Japan to the world. In fact, it was in the pursuit of an arrogant imperialist notion of &quot;Manifest Destiny&quot; that Commodore Perry humiliated the Japanese and scared them into thinking that they needed to get into the expansion and conquest game in order to survive. It was a clear message from the Americans: we&#x27;re coming in whether you like it or not.<p>Some call it a wake up call; others call it a provocation. Reasonable men and women can disagree about it. There&#x27;s no doubt that it directly led to the lowest and highest points of Japanese civilization in the 20th century, though.<p>I think if people looked into the context of events with more curiosity, we would ultimately all benefit from the inquiry.<p>(And yes, I do believe that America and much of Europe are still pursuing an imperialist agenda. Call me crazy, if you want.)