ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Foreign government advisors in Meiji Japan

Okay kiddo, so back in a time called the Meiji era in Japan, the leaders of Japan had a big decision to make. They wanted to bring their country into the modern world, so they decided to ask for some help from people who knew more about how things worked in other countries.

So, they brought in foreign government advisors. These were people from other countries who had experience in running a government. They helped the leaders of Japan figure out how to make their laws and government work better.

To make sure everyone understood each other, the foreign government advisors had to talk through translators. Translators are like the teachers you might have in school who can speak two different languages and help people understand each other.

Overall, the foreign government advisors were important because they helped to bring Japan out of an old way of doing things and into a more modern time. They taught the leaders new ideas and ways of running a government so Japan could keep up with other countries in the world.