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In 1868 the Tokygwa era found an end due to the Meiji Restoration. The Emperor Meiji became the head and his imperial power was restored. During this era, Meiji’s political and military power was close to being absolute. At this time, much like other Asian nations, the Japanese were forced to sign treaties with western countries. Most of these treaties were unfair and unequal for the Japanese. Because of these treaties, Japan was under an economical and legal disadvantage. Mieji Japan was determined to gain westerners respect and wanted to close the hole economically and militarily. It was this determination that was the cause of drastic reforms and lead the country to become an imperialistic nation while the whole time fighting off the imperialistic nations. The new government aimed to make Japan a state focused on equality among its people. The social classes of the previous Tokugawa era were broken down over time a