What features of Japanese society enabled to modernize quickly?

Answer 1

I saw a fascinating piece on the history of Japan on the History Channel, I believe, a few years ago, and they went into some length about this very topic. Their main argument was that the Japanese, unlike the Chinese, have always viewed themselves as a satellite society, so drawing their guidance from a larger and more sophisticated culture was second nature to them. They had always looked up to the Chinese for this, but in the 1800's it became clear to them that it was the west, especially Britain and the USA, and not the Chinese that had all the good stuff. Our gunboat diplomacy may have been part of their decision to switch. So they began to rapidly copy us, and left the Chinese to rot in their own arrogance, so to speak. The rest is history, as they say. I hope this helps.