The world's first international exposition was held in 1851 in London. The event was followed by a boom of international expositions around the world, especially the United States and Europe. The international exposition that Japan officially participated in for the first time was the Paris International Exposition of 1867. In the Meiji Period, Japan began to hold domestic expositions (National Industrial Exhibitions).

This part provides a summary of the main international expositions and Japan's National Industrial Exhibitions.

Year	International Expositions Held in Foreign Countries	Expositions Held in Japan	World Events	Events in Japan
1851	First London International Exposition	Yakuhin-e (the medical and pharmaceutical shows), honzo-e (the herbal shows), bussan-e (the trade shows)
1852			Second French Empire (to 1870)
1853	New York International Exposition		Crimean War (to 1856)	Perry's Expedition to Japan
1854				U.S.-Japan Treaty of Peace and Amity
1855	First Paris International Exposition			Establishment of the Nagasaki Naval Training School
1856			Bessemer steel production process was patented
1858				Treaties of Amity and Commerce (of Japan with the U.S., as well as with the Netherlands, Russia, the U.K., and France)
1861			American Civil War (to 1865); Emancipation reform in Russia; Establishment of the Kingdom of Italy	Completion of Nagasaki Iron and Steel Works
1862	Second London International Exposition			London Protocol (for the Postponement of City and Port Opening)
1866			Austro-Prussian War
1867	Second Paris International Exposition			Return of political power to the Emperor by the Tokugawa Shogunate
1868				Boshin Civil War; Change of the name of era to "Meiji"; Installation of Japan's first steam pump in Takashima Coal Mine
1870			Franco-Prussian War (to 1871); Establishment of the French Third Republic
1871		Kyoto Exposition	Establishment of the German Empire	Abolition of the feudal domain system and establishment of prefectures; Dispatch of Iwakura Embassy to foreign countries (to 1873); Promulgation of Senbai ryaku kisoku (suspended in the following year); Renaming of Yokosuka Iron and Steel Works to Yokosuka Shipyard
1872		Yushima Seido Exposition		Start of railroad operation between Yokohama and Shinbashi; Promulgation of the new education system; Start of the operation of the government-managed Tomioka Silk-Reeling Mill
1873	Vienna International Exposition			Conscription Ordinance, and Takamori Saigo's leaving the post of political power after losing the Seikan ron (debate to conquer Korea)
1876	Philadelphia International Exposition		Invention of the telephone by G. Bell	Law Banning the Wearing of Swords; Shinpuren Rebellion; Akizuki Rebellion; Hagi Rebellion
1877		First National Industrial Exhibition	Russo-Turkish War (- 1878); Establishment of the British Indian Empire	The Satsuma Rebellion
1878	Third Paris International Exposition		Invention of the incandescent lamp by T. Edison
1879	Sydney International Exposition
1880	Melbourne International Exposition			Transfer of government-managed businesses to private ownership under the Kojo Haraisage Gaisoku (Ordinance of transfer of government factories to private ownership)
1881		Second National Industrial Exhibition		1881 Political Crisis; Assumption of Masayoshi Matsukata as Minister of the Okura-sho
1883			Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property; Invention of the four-stroke gasoline engine by G. W. Daimler
1884			Sino-French War
1885			Discovery of the X-ray by W. G. Röntgen	Establishment of cabinet system; Senbai Tokkyo Jorei
1887				Start of operation of Tokyo Electric Lamp Company (electric power company)
1888	Barcelona International Exposition
1889	Fourth Paris International Exposition			Promulgation of the Constitution of the Empire of Japan
1890		Third National Industrial Exhibition		Convening of the first Imperial Diet
1893	Chicago International Exposition
1894			Franco-Russian Alliance	Sino-Japanese War (to 1895)
1895		Fourth National Industrial Exhibition		Tripartite Intervention; Start of operation of the Kyoto Electric Railroad
1897	Brussels International Exposition
1898			Spanish–American War
1899			Boer War(to 1902)	Participation in the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property
1900	Fifth Paris International Exposition		Boxer Rebellion
1901				Start of operation of the government-owned Yawata Iron and Steel Works
1902				Anglo-Japanese Alliance
1903		Fifth National Industrial Exhibition
1904	St. Louis International Exposition		Invention of the offset press by I. W. Rubel	Russo-Japanese War (to 1905)
1907		Tokyo Industrial Exhibition	Establishment of the Triple Entente between the U.K., France and Russia

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