The early years of Japan's modernisation, initiated in 1868, were accompanied by high inflation levels. It was only in the 1880s that stabilisation measures were introduced to the monetary and credit systems. In 1882, the Bank of Japan was established. Although its founders referred to European central banking models, including central bank's independence, in practice the Bank of Japan was under government influence. The issue of central bank independence re-emerged only as late as the 1990s, the times of a severe economic crisis.