In 1853, Commodore Perry sailed into Tokyo Bay and demanded that Japan's quasi-military government allow foreign trade. The resulting interactions with the West and the ensuing trade agreements led to the downfall of the Tokugawa government in 1868 and the restoration of the Meiji Emperor as the head of the Japanese state.
During the Meiji Period (1868-1912), Japan underwent a radical transformation from a feudalistic state to a modern, industrial state. Japan adopted a Civil Code, Commercial Code and a host of other laws heavily influenced by France and Germany. As such, many consider the Meiji Period to be a blossoming of Japan and an opening of its markets to the West.
In fact, the initial motivations for the Meji Restoration were anti-West and xenophobic in nature. The "modernization" of Japan that occurred in Meiji was done largely to level the playing field so that Japan would not be colonized by the West.