^ Yeah, this thread is elaborating on a point raised in another thread (one you participated in actually):
https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=180189
The scenario outlined in that thread went somewhere along the following lines:
Emperor Meiji dies, as does Prince Yoshihito. King Kalakaua wins the elections in 1873 in Hawaii (though how he does this is a big issue since he doesn't seem to have been very popular at all), butterflying away the rebellions. The marriage proposal by King Kalakaua in 1881 between his niece and Fushimi's son, Prince Komatsu Akihito, is accepted due to the urgent need for male heirs. Princess Kaiulani and Komatsu Akihito then have a boy and a legitimate claim to the Hawaiian throne, preventing the 1887 Bayonet Constitution. When Akihito dies, his son takes the throne of both Hawaii and Japan in a duel kingdom.
The point is to avoid giving alien residents the vote and to avoid the presence of British or American troops which can't be peacefully dislodged, so the Japanese have a fighting chance of annexing the place with less concern for logistics and without having to go toe-to-toe militarily with the UK or USA. Pretty far out notion, but I thought it might be interesting to give it a go.