The relations between Germany and Japan (Japanese: 日独関係, translit. Nichi Doku Kankei and German: Deutsch-japanische Beziehungen) were officially established in 1860 with the first ambassadorial visit to Japan from Prussia (which predated the formation of the German Empire in 1866/1870). Japan modernized rapidly after the Meiji Restoration of 1867, often using German models through intense intellectual and cultural exchange. After 1900 Japan aligned itself with Britain, and Germany and Japan were enemies in World War I. Japan declared war on Germany in 1914 and seized key German possessions in China and the Pacific.