François Caron

Caron is sometimes considered the first Frenchman to set foot in Japan, although he was actually born in Brussels to a family of Huguenot refugees. He only became a naturalized citizen of France when he was persuaded by Colbert to become head of the French East Indies Company, in his 60s. Thus the native-born French Dominican missionary Guillaume Courtet may have the stronger claim. Regardless, the first known instance of any Franco-Japanese relations precedes them both, being the visit of Hasekura Tsunenaga to France in 1615. Provided by Wikipedia