 FACT: Japan *did* seek military advisors in the latter half of the  1800s to form a modern Army. The only problem with this is that they  didnt consult the Americans to assist them. The most successful  army at that point was the Prussian (not yet German) Army, whom they  recruited for training purposes... as well as British naval attachés  to assist in the creation of a modern fleet (which thoroughly  embarrassed the Russians at the Battle of Tsushima in 1905 and  established Japan as a fledgling world naval power).