Grant's Warning Deterred Japanese Borrowing

During his post-presidential world tour in 1879, former American president Ulysses S. Grant warned Japanese Emperor Meiji against taking foreign loans, lest Japan fall "into the abyss into which Egypt has fallen." Grant delivered the warning during a two-hour meeting in Japan, where he also urged the emperor to resolve Japan's dispute with China peacefully. The warning reportedly made a "forceful impression" on Emperor Meiji and his advisers, leading Japan to reject various loan proposals over the following years.

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