To accomplish the new order's goals, the Meiji oligarchy sets out to abolish the Tokugawa class system through a series of economic and social reforms.

Bakufu revenues had depended on taxes on Tokugawa and other daimyo lands, loans from wealthy peasants and urban merchants, limited customs fees, and reluctantly accepted foreign loans.

To provide revenue and develop a sound infrastructure, the new government finances harbor improvements, lighthouses, machinery imports, schools, overseas study for students, salaries for foreign teachers and advisers, modernization of the army and navy, railroads and telegraph networks, and foreign diplomatic missions.