Japan in the Computer Age

Introduction Although Japan and the European countries involved in computing are at opposite ends of the Eurasian land mass and the cultures are even further apart, Europe is more familiar to the Japanese than some may imagine. Spanish, Portuguese, and Dutch traders visited Japan in the 16th and 17th centuries and were the first break in Japan's long isolation from the rest of the world. Jesuit missionaries from the same nations followed the traders, as they did in other parts of the world. Later, occasional traders from other countries, including Britain, appeared in Japanese ports; while they were not permitted to settle, they were received with a courtesy that is surprising in the light of the aggressive empire‐building of so many Western countries, which was frightening to the Japanese leaders.