In the early 19th century, Westerners were trying to convince the Japanese to open their ports for trade. French, Russian, British and American officials occasionally anchored off of the Japanese coast but Japan refused to receive them. U.S. Commodore, Matthew Perry, decided to take four ships into what new is the Tokyo Harbor, in 1853. The four ships were massive black and wooden, powered by steam, which shocked the British. The Tokugawa Shogun had no choice, but had to receive Perry and the letter Perry brought from U.S. President Millard Fillmore. His letter was asking the Shogun politely to allow free trade between the United States and Japan. Fillmore also delivered the letter with a threat, which was, he would come back with a larger fleet in a year to receive Japan's reply. The reply happened in 1854 known as, The Treaty of Kanagawa. So Japan opened two ports where U.S. ships could take supplies on. Western powers soon followed the United States, since they pushed the door open.
The Japanese were angry that the Shogun had given in to the foreigners. So the Japanese decided to turn to Japan's young emperor, Mutsuhito. The Tokugawa Shogun stepped down, which ended the military dictatorships that has lasted since the 12th century, in 1867. So Mutsuhito took control of the government and chose the word Meiji for his reign.
The Meiji Emperor, Mutsuhito, realized the best way to counter Western influence was to modernize. The Japanese chose what they believed to be the best that Western Civilization had to offer and adapted it to their country. They used Germany's constitution, attempted to imitate European powers for their military, adopted the American system of universal public education and required all Japanese children to attend school, and teachers were foreign experts.
Mutsuhito strongly supported following the Western path of industrialization. The Japanese economy had become modern as any in the world, by the 20th century. The country built its first railroad line in 1872, which led to Japan having 7,000 miles of railroad by 1914, coal production grew, and many factories were in the process of being built. Traditional Japanese industries expanded to give the country different products to trade. Modern industries developing in Japan made it competitive with the West.
Japan's modernization worked, and the country had several dozen war-ships and 500,000 well trained, well-armed soldiers, which became the strongest military power in Asia. Japan gained, military, economic, and political strength. The Japanese foreign minister told foreigners they could rely on fair treatment in Japan. Feeling of strength in Japan and equality with the West began to rise. The nation became more imperialistic as Japan's power grew. National pride played a huge role part in Japan's imperial plans. So the Japanese had to show the world that they were now a powerful nation.
Video on Imperialism in Japan-
http://youtu.be/DMmWltyR_30