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The Meiji Restoration was a period of time in the late 1800s in Japan wherein the Tokugawa Bakufu was rebelled against and overthrown, and the Emperor was restored to power. However, the Emperor did not have complete power. He had minimal power. His position (as it was in the Tokugawa Bakufu) was mostly ceremonial. The Emperor could direct the army and what-not, but on a whole, he had little power.

The government started out with a Separation of Powers, but there were not many restraints and some people were more powerful in others. In 1871, a government structure was agreed upon. There ewre 3 parts, the Central Board, the Right Board, and the Left Board. The Central Board made the final decision on issues and headed by a Chancellor and the Deputies (PM if you want to know the japanese names). The deputies were later replaced by Ministers of the Left and Right. The Left Board served as an advisory body, and the Right Board had the heads of departments and their deputies.
Early on, most of the power was held by people from Satsuma and Choshu, who were the strongest two han in the Tokugawa Bakufu (the han were areas that Daimyo ruled). Many of the Daimyo were able to rule over the han in the Meiji, paying 1/10 of the han's income to the government. The smaller han had debt problems, but the government agreed to pay the debt of these smaller han.

There were many social reforms as well. The largest was getting rid of the feudal system and going towards a classless, more Western society. However, the ex-Samurai still had it better. Preferential treatment was given to them in courts, and they still received government pensions. People who previously held dirty, undesirable jobs (grave diggers), or the outcastes, were still discriminated against.

Law Enforcement was not that good. The Police were not protectors of the people as they were in Western countries. The police in the Meiji Restoration were mainly there to keep the peace and keep the people in order. In 1885, the police system was overhauled. However, all that happened was the police were given more authority and enforced the laws through fear.

Economic reforms started in 1886. Attempting to make the move from an agricultural economy to an industrial economy, the government sponsored the building of transporation and communication systems (railroads, telegraph lines, and postal services). During the transition, agriculture and industry did not perform that well. The factories were few and small in size, and due to there being less farmers, less crops were produced.
National banks were produced. The banks could accept either cash or bonds. Since a large portion of the ex-samurai were paid in bonds, many of them invested in these banks, allowing more yen to enter circulation. However, inflation became a problem.
From 1881-1884, public operation of factories and mines was abolished, indirect taxes were introduced, and public debts were redeemed. Also, the Bank of Japan was established. The government managed to save 28% of its revenue, half of it being used for capital formation and half as a surplus. The amount of notes circulating was dropped and the prices of objects fell.

I didn't touch on everything, because quite frankly, it's a lot to cover (25 pages in my book). I didn't mention how the government was forced to cut the Samurai pensions by a large margin, leaving the middle- and lower-class samurai in poverty, the education reforms, or the army and navy. The Meiji Restoration was a period of transition. It wasn't handled perfectly, but they did a good job of it. They suceeded in becoming idustrialized in 1905, and the standard of living rose. surprised / heart