High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! From the founding of the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1603, Japan isolated itself from the outside world until the Meiji Restoration of 1867, when it began to accept contact with Western nations. German–Japanese relations were established in 1860 with the first ambassadorial visit to Japan from Prussia (which predated the formation of the German Empire in 1871). After a time of intense intellectual and cultural exchange in the late 19th century, the two empires` conflicting aspirations in China led to a cooling of relations. Japan allied itself with Britain in World War I, declaring war on Germany in 1914 and seizing key German possessions in Asia.