The reason why the Japanese received the letter from Perry in 1853 was because the Japanese were impressed with the stature of the US president.
Perry was a commodore in the United states Navy. He took the letter to the Japanese. The letter contained information from the president that the West wanted to trade with the Japanese.
From the letter the president wanted to break the seclusion policy that the Japanese had. Also it wanted to open it to trade with other nations.
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