How did Japan attain the technological level of Europe and the United States?

How did Japan attain the technological level of Europe and the United States?

Japan had been ruled since 660 BC by a succession of Emperors who called themselves ‘Tenshi’ or ‘the sons of heaven’. Japan was completely isolated from the rest of the world. The Japanese were forbidden by the emperor from leaving the country, and foreign merchants were not allowed to conduct any business in Japan.

However, in 1854 Japan was forced to open its harbour to American trade for the Americans threatened to declare war on Japan otherwise. By 1858, the United States, Britain and France had established supply bases in Japan.

However, it was only during the rule of the Emperor Mutsuhito, also known as Meiji, that a program to modernize Japan was started in 1868. Machines and machine tools were imported from the west, and the diligence and determination of the Japanese took Japan to the industrial level of Europe and United States by the end of the nineteenth century.