Both the Meiji Restoration in Japan and the efforts of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck in the German Empire were focused on unifying, strengthening and modernizing the government and economy of their nations.
Bismarck led the way in uniting the many German states and principalities into a single, powerful German Empire, created in 1871. In Japan, prior to the Meiji Restoration, shogun rule (rule by military leaders) held control over part of the country, but feudal warlords maintained much power in their own lands. In 1868, shogun rule was ended and the emperor was restored to full power over the country.
A push for rapid industrialization characterized both Germany and Japan in the latter portion of the 19th century.
A key difference, however, was that the various German states had already begun industrializing before Bismarck came to power in Prussia and led the creation of the united German Empire. Bismarck's government strongly backed and increased industrialization efforts. In Japan, before he period known as the Meiji Restoration, Japan was not focusing on industrialization. Feudal arrangements persisted. But the new emperor took the name "Meiji," meaning "enlightened rule." And under the reign of Emperor Meiji, which lasted till 1912, Japan aggressively pursued modernizing and westernizing it economy and way of life.
