In 1910, the Meiji Government of Japan translated more than 10,000 foreign books on science, industry, medicine, mathematics, etc. into Japanese for easy study at home. In 1873, the Tokugawa Shogunate also adopted Arabic numbers and taught them to elementary school students so they could master the mathematics of multiplication. These steps resulted in Japan becoming the largest industrial "Powerhouse" in Asia in the 1930s and a giant military power, Japan became an example of successful investment in education to be able to produce superior human resources even though it took more than 50 years.

Source : Mighty War.