Simplify the following text for a Grade 7 native English-speaking person.
Original: As a result of various measures he took , Yonezawa became fairly prosperous , and did not suffer much from the famine which swept Japan in the Tenmei era ( 1781-9 ) .
Simplified: Because of many of the changes he caused , Yonezawa became prosperous . It also did not suffer much from the famine in Japan in the Tenmei era ( 1781-9 ) .