The following year, he went again to Japan, arriving on 6 September 1859, and became the first French representative in the country, with the title of "Premier ministre plénipotentiaire de France au Japon". He was assisted by the translator Father Girard. Duchesne de Bellecourt played an important political role in Japan in the late 1850s and 1860s, alongside fellow Western diplomats
Dirk de Graeff van Polsbroek,
Townsend Harris,
Rutherford Alcock and
Max von Brandt. Although these men were bound by personal friendship, national rivalries and differences in dealing with the Japanese led to conflict and antagonism. However, the chaotic and ungovernable circumstances of the first few years forced them to cooperate. to the
shōgun in 1860. He is accompanied by Father Mermet-Cachon. In 1860, the servant of Duchesne was attacked with a sword and badly wounded in front of the French legation at the Temple of
Saikai-ji in
Edo. In 1861, Duchesne was promoted to the position of
ambassador. He was generally in agreement with
Rutherford Alcock in his positions against the
Bakufu. In 1863, Duchesne was involved in the negotiations for the reparations following the
Namamugi incident, in which foreigners were killed by a party from
Satsuma. Duchesne, who had been a witness to Western interventions in
China, was a strong advocate of the use of force to govern relations with Japan. He supported the French intervention in the 20 July 1863
Bombardment of Shimonoseki by Captain
Benjamin Jaurès and the August 1863 armed intervention of the British in the
Bombardment of Kagoshima. '', July 2, 1863, following the
Namamugi incident.
Forefront: French interpreter Blekman, Japanese interpreter.
Background (from left to right): Three Japanese governors of
Yokohama, Duchesne de Bellecourt,
daimyō Sakai-Hida-no-Kami,
Colonel Neale (British representative in Japan),
Admiral Jaurès,
Admiral Kuper. to the Japanese
shōgun nominating
Léon Roches, in replacement of Duchesne de Bellecourt.
Diplomatic Record Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan). Duchesne however was strongly criticized by the French government for taking such bellicose steps, for the reason that France had much more important military commitments to honour in other parts of the world, and could not afford a conflict in Japan. ==Tunisia career==