The unequal treaties imposed upon Japan by the Western powers during the Tokugawa period were among the greatest challenges faced by the Meiji government after 1868. These treaties, signed with countries such as the United States, Britain, France, Russia, and the Netherlands, deprived Japan of tariff autonomy and granted extraterritorial rights to foreign nationals. The abolition of these treaties became a central objective of Meiji diplomacy because they symbolized Japan's unequal status and threatened its sovereignty. The Meiji leaders recognized that the Western powers would revise the treaties only if Japan demonstrated that it had become a modern, stable, and "civilized" nation according to contemporary international standards. Consequently, treaty revision was closely linked with the broader programme of modernization. Political, legal, military, educational, and economic reforms were introduced not only to strengthen Japan internally but also to convince Western governments that Japan deserved equal treatment. One of the earliest diplomatic initiatives was the Iwakura Mission (1871–1873), led by Iwakura Tomomi and accompanied by leading statesmen such as Okubo Toshimichi, Kido Takayoshi, and Ito Hirobumi. The mission visited the United States and Europe to study Western institutions and negotiate treaty revision. Although the negotiations failed because Japan was still considered insufficiently developed, the mission provided valuable insights into Western political, legal, industrial, and educational systems, reinforcing the determination to