Isolationism:
When faced with the issue of how to approach foreign affairs, the Tokugawa Shogunate turned towards a policy of isolationism. Trading with nations such as Spain and Portugal tended to bring unwanted Christian missionaries into the state, and since the Japanese did not have any immediate need to trade with other states to support their economy, the shogun saw fit to begin outlawing trade, in order to keep missionaries from spreading Christianity into Japan, after it was banned in 1614. The shogun began cutting off trade with different countries, one by one, until Japan was almost entirely isolated, a status that would be maintained until the end of the Tokugawa clan's rule.