How does the process of “opening” Japan differ from the analogous process in China?

Japan lived in complete isolation until 1854, her contacts with Europeans were limited only to the Dutch in Nagasaki, after a transitional period under the shogunate (1854-1868), rapid Westernization and reforms began, which went down in history as the Meiji era. They were led by Emperor Mutsuhito, who ruled from 1868 to 1912. As a result, Japan has a modern army, navy, constitution, parliament, and dominions on the continent (Korea and a sphere of influence in China).

In China (the Qing Empire), the situation was different. The country’s opening coincided with the two Opium Wars (between 1840 and 1860), the Taiping Wars, the War with Japan in 1895, and the Boxing Rebellion, reforms were inconsistent and followed by periods of conservative reaction (e.g. 1898). As a result, by 1911 the country was divided into spheres of influence, where the Xinhai Revolution took place.