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The new rulers of Japan were the Meiji [enlightened way] oligarchs, a small group of powerful men willing to change their institutions and their society in order to transform their country into a world-class industrial and military power. The literacy rate in Japan was the highest in Asia at the time, and the oligarchs shrewdly exploited it in their introduction of new educational systems, a conscript army, and new communications. The Japanese not only learned industrial and military technology, science, and engineering, - they also copied clothing styles and other aspects of culture from the West
What is the Meiji Restoration