Why were the Japanese so successful in the early years (1937-1942) of the war against a variety of Asian, European, and American powers?

Why were the Japanese so successful in the early years (1937-1942) of the war against a variety of Asian, European, and American powers? Need to have sources cited as well please.

In addition I need a separate paragraph on either disagreeing or agreeing with the paragraph below and why and what source supports the reasoning.

The change that came to the Japanese Empire started in 1937 with the expand of the empire and Matsuoka Yosuke. He was a very intelligence man and he use this to help the Japanese Empire. The Japanese had begun to modernization of its weapons in the 1930s. This gave the weapons equal to the Western standards and the size of its army. Also pressured Britain into closing the Burma Road. [1] To complete the dissolution of Japan’s political parties, the Konoe government announced the formation of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association, a coalition of extreme nationalist groups that resembled the Nazi Party. These changes were some of the things that help Japan win in the period of 1937-1942.

[1] Williamson Murray & Allan K. Millett, A War to Be Won: Fighting the Second World War (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2001)