The shogun's no longer held the balance of power over the nation. The emperor was restored to power, no longer considered a spiritual figure head and a form of westernized government was adopted from the German "diet", where the position of the prime minister and the cabinet was established, came into being but it was not formerly organized for 22yrs. Although the form of government was adopted there were some aspects of tradition that remained in politics, such as the patriarchal structure of the government (Emperor was the main decision maker) and laws, which endorsed filial piety and moral values.
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The modification of the education system adopted many aspects of western culture eg: customs, and instead of concentrating on manners and obedience they focused on secular teachings. It became of concern that in the pursuit of western ideas they would lose their own cultural identity and moral values. To counter this the emperor passed a law of rescript that would instill loyalty, honor, obedience, hard work and filial piety into school children. Even today the effect of obedience and hard work in Japanese schools is still evident.
After the Meiji restoration Japan went out in the world to prove itself as a military power. It began a campaign of military might and imperialism against Korea, German territories in the Pacific, China and Russia. It became the main naval power in the Pacific, so much so that its growing power and expansive policies under a military led government intimidated America. To counteract this, during the Washington Conference of 1921-1922, Japan was limited in the number of battleships in the Pacific with the ratio of -Japan 3:5 US.
During this time Japan was economically and politically unstable. Its resources were invested in the military and the army began to take the initiative in foreign affairs and domestic policy. It was also a time where many civilian government officials became the targets of assassination.