Japan, in my opinion, is one of the most successful countries in the world. They are advanced in things they have and things they do. Such as jobs, the technology they have, even their army is good, for such a small country. But how did Japan get this way, they weren’t always advanced, so how did they get modernized? Japan modernization started to occur around 1500-1800s, during the Meiji era. I believe that some of the main reasons for Japanese modernization were the reign of the Meiji Empire, their army and economics. So basically, like every other country, they wanted to make more money and become stronger.
By the 1800s, Japan was already ready to modernize. And it just so happened that this was also the time of the Meiji era. Now the Meiji leaders had a new mentality on modernization. Why? Because they were trying to avoid national humiliation. The Meiji leaders were well aware of the fate of Japan's immediate neighbor, China, where resistance to change only brought humiliation and defeat. They believed Japan was in danger of foreign attack. They recognized that the need for modernization was urgent#.
Another main reason that Japan modernized in the Meiji era was because they wanted a way to counter imperialism. They were tired of the west. So they wanted to change to new ways. ‘’ Once in power, the Meiji leaders decided to turn away from tradition and modernize Japan to defend against Western imperialism’’#
Finally, the last claim that I have to say of why the Meiji era helped completely modernize Japan is because after they started modernizing some things, they had to modernize others. Such as, when they started military reform, it called for the production of weapons, which only economic reform could successfully supply.#
Which leads to my next point in how Japan got modernize, which was the army (military). Japan didn’t really have an army. They had clans and some samurai. Actually most of the resistance and rebellion happened by patriotic samurai...