Meiji Japan, 1868

Japan was not colonised, but it scrapped its whole feudal system and built a new state in about 20 years. It did this by sending its leaders to study abroad and renting foreign experts on short contracts. Meiji Restoration

Why it matters: Japan built a whole new system fast by hiring foreign experts and then replacing them with its own people.

• Day one: the Charter Oath of 6 April 1868 set the goals: drop the old administration, enrich the country, adopt Western technology.
• Regions to one state: 302 feudal domains became 72 prefectures under central control by January 1872.
• Treasury: the 1873 land tax reform replaced crop payments with a 3% cash tax on assessed land value. Landowners paid, not farmers. Land titles were issued and private ownership was recognised for the first time. The goal was steady income. Land Tax Reform
• Old elite bought out: samurai stipends became government bonds, by choice in 1874 and compulsorily in 1876.
• Defence: from 1873, conscription of every man at 21 for four years active service and three in reserve. This replaced the hereditary samurai class.
• Foreign affairs and learning: the Iwakura Mission of 1871 to 1873 sent about 100 people, including senior leaders, to the US, Britain and nine European states for nearly two years. It sought recognition and treaty changes, and studied Western government, industry, military and schools. Treaty revision failed. Iwakura Mission
• Rented expertise: Japan hired 2,000 to 3,000 foreign advisors (oyatoi) on two- to three-year contracts. In 1874 the 520 foreign staff cost 33.7% of the national budget. They were replaced step by step with Japanese graduates, and the scheme ended in 1899. French and German experts shaped the law and army, and British experts the railways and navy. Foreign advisors
• Public services: a national system of free schools.
• Justice and constitution: the Meiji Constitution of 1889 lasted until 1945.