The most modern and advanced country in the world" Well, Japan is certainly at the top, but it wasn't always that way. Before the Meiji Restoration (1868) Japan was closed to the outside world. Before 1868, it was the time of the samurai and feudal society.
After 1868, Japan started to compete internationally for the first time during the industrial revolution.
At the time, the most sought after good with the MADE IN JAPAN label was ...

SILK.

The TOMIOKA SILK MILL and the JOBU SILK RAOD in Gunma Prefecture is the area where Japan's industrial revolution took place and between 1872 and 1987, the silk mill turned out the highest quality of silk in the world.

Today, the silk mill is on the UNESCO World Heritage site and a reminder of where Japan started it's tech revolution. It's worth a visit to see where modern Japan came from, buy some chocolate silk worms and see the remnants of an era past.
More detailed information on the Tomioka Silk Mill:
https://www.jobu-kinunomichi.jp/en/

WHERE IS THE TOMIOKA SILK MILL"
https://goo.gl/maps/XucvysShbWx

PARTNERSHIP WITH FRANCE
Working closely with France, Japan brought in the highest technology for making raw silk to increase production for world demand - to raise foreign capital. It worked, and as Japan succeeded with silk, it continued to modernize and upgrade.
The model of bringing tech from foreign partners, improving on it and selling the global market better products at a better price can be seen in the aut...