Japan: 'Commodore Perry meeting the Imperial Commissioners at Yokohama'. Lithograph by W.T. Petris, 1856. The Perry Expedition was a U.S. naval and diplomatic expedition to Japan, involving two separate trips to and from Japan by ships of the United States Navy, which took place during 1853-54. The expedition was commanded by Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry (1794-1858). It resulted in the opening of Japan to American and international trade, and the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and the western 'Great Powers'.