“Bei-O Kairan Jikki” (“The Iwakura Embassy, 1871-1873: A True Account of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary’s Journey of Observation through the United States and Europe”) contains the following observation on American democracy: “Unaware of (their democracy’s) intrinsic flaws, Americans single-mindedly love its merits and want to propagate this idealistic system around the world.”