How Effectively Had Japan Modernized Itself by 1914?

In 1904, Japan suddenly attacked "Russia fleet anchored at the Port Arthur on the Liaodong", since Russia refused to give Japan the complete control over Korea and also wanted Manchuria. When Port Arthur fell in the hands of the Japanese in the Russo-Japanese War, they forced the Russians out of Manchuria. Still not wanting to give up for Manchuria, Czar Nicholas II sent Russian Baltic fleets to Japan which was eventually wiped out by the Japanese navy. It was in 1905, when Czar Nicholas II signed the treaty for Manchuria (Liaodong Peninsula), and allowed Japan to take over Sakahalin Peninsula.
Japan was recognized as one of the great powers of the world after the Russo-Japanese War, and was able to take possession over Korea without interference from other countries.
Due to the guidance from the west, and the rule of the oligarchs, Japan was successfully able to modernize itself in half a century. From a secluded country, it was magnificent in seeing how Japan changed into one the most powerful countries in the world in around 300 years.
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