Colony of Japan

How could such a thing like this happen?:eek: Which european empire would do such a thing?:mad: And why?:confused:
:eek:
What do you think would happen if Japan became a colony of a european empire? My guess is that whoever colonizes Japan would become a powerful force in China and maybe the rest of Eastern Asia or at least the rice market.
 

Jasen777

Donor
If Japan doesn't industrialize it'll probably get scooped up sooner or later, for prestige if nothing else.
 
Seems to me it would take much of the form of the imperialism in China--Japan just has so many darn people compared to Europe that Europeans won't be able to just move in and take over wholesale, like the North American colonies, for example.
 
Seems to me it would take much of the form of the imperialism in China--Japan just has so many darn people compared to Europe that Europeans won't be able to just move in and take over wholesale, like the North American colonies, for example.

That depends - western Indonesia also had a very large population during the 16th century, but that didn't prevent it from being gradually colonized and overtaken by the Dutch.

The more politically divided Japan is when the colonial powers are making attempts at colonizing it, the more likely it is that (parts of) Japan will end up being colonized.
 
I dont know if the European powers could undertake a colonialization of Japan when it was divided politically, circa 16thC.
 
Why not a conventional conquest? It would still be a "colony", and fear of superior European weaponary would keep it in line. Had Japan not modernised, this is plausible.
 
That depends - western Indonesia also had a very large population during the 16th century, but that didn't prevent it from being gradually colonized and overtaken by the Dutch.

But Indonesia had a lot of small states at that time, and the Dutch took centuaries to conquer all of them...
The more politically divided Japan is when the colonial powers are making attempts at colonizing it, the more likely it is that (parts of) Japan will end up being colonized.

I could see a partitioned Japan, or maybe the smaller islands getting conquered and Honshu geting puppetised by someone...
 
What does Japan actually offer to a prospective European empire?

Also, could China eventually be the one to colonise Japan? It doesn't have to be a European country, but if not, I think Russia would make a good case.
 
A possibility would be that the expedition of Perry is delayed or doesn't happen at all, prehaps the ships are destroyed in an unusual strong Taifun. The other colonial powers especially Russia also tried to open Japan, and Russia slowly expanded into Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands and sent several missions which were unsuccesful. If Japan stays closed for a little longer, than it's entirely possible that Russia will be the country who opens Japans. Unlike the Americans which were content demanding trading ports, Russia would have taken Hokkaido and demanded the right to use Japanese harbors as bases for their fleet.
The British Empire would certainly try to stop this. This could eiter result in a war between the Empires fought in China, Japan and the Ottoman empire or just in a support of the Daimyo of Satsuma and other Daimyo which disliked the Shogunat and could be used to stop the Russian. In either case Japan will end up as a colony of Russia and England, if this evolves into some kind of crimean war than France may also get a part of Japan.
 
Also, could China eventually be the one to colonise Japan? It doesn't have to be a European country, but if not, I think Russia would make a good case.

But what other power would want that? By the time Russia is in any position to colonize, Britain and the other great powers would be strong enough to stop the Tsar from getting Japan.
 
But what other power would want that? By the time Russia is in any position to colonize, Britain and the other great powers would be strong enough to stop the Tsar from getting Japan.

The Dutch could do it. They had the exclusive trade agreement with the Japanese which could have evolved into making the Japanese a colonial territory. I'm not entirely sure what the economic benefit of having ownership over Japan would be though, their resources are scarce and their greatest economic strength is a lot of industrious people. That's not what people usually look for in colonies.
 
The Dutch could do it. They had the exclusive trade agreement with the Japanese which could have evolved into making the Japanese a colonial territory. I'm not entirely sure what the economic benefit of having ownership over Japan would be though, their resources are scarce and their greatest economic strength is a lot of industrious people. That's not what people usually look for in colonies.

Nah, the Dutch were in no position to conquer the Japanese. They had their hands tied up in Indonesia and the trade with the Japanese was giving them a considerable percentage of income.

Obviously, there are no economic advantages to conquering the Japanese. The Japanese people had since grown accustomed to their scarce raw materials and I doubt the Dutch are going to adapt just as well. There is one big advantage though : A sea route to China from the US.
 
Unlike the Americans which were content demanding trading ports, Russia would have taken Hokkaido and demanded the right to use Japanese harbors as bases for their fleet.

No, they wouldn't. The Imperial Russia was mainly interested in Nippon as another east asian trading partner and not as a territory for his ownexpansion.
 
But why have they colonized Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands when Japan protested against it?

Nipponese claims didn't make Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands a part of Nippon.

The fact that the Russian Empire acknowledged the legitimate claims of the weaker Nippon in Sakhalin and the southern Kurils in the Treaty of Shimoda shows the russian interest on a defined border between the empires.
 
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