Hong Kong-like city in Japan

Let's say Japan dosen't modernize, and is stuck is a semi-colonal state similar to China.
Would it be possible for a city to be "given" to a imperial power (probably Britain) like Hong Kong? What citiy(s) would mostly likely be given? On what pretext could it happen? Could it be obtained peacfully, or is a war the most likely option?
Or is Japan not modernizing just going to end a direct colony of Britain or France?

For added interestingness, lets say the Netherlands and Prussia form an united nothern German empire, and has a large navy that can somewhat compete with Britain in the Far East.
 
Dejima, the single place the Japanese would allow trade with Europeans was in Nagasaki bay.

I see. But what if Britain or France force them to open up more with war? Would just all of Nagasaki be opened up for trade, or is there another port city that could be made into a colony?
 
I see. But what if Britain or France force them to open up more with war? Would just all of Nagasaki be opened up for trade, or is there another port city that could be made into a colony?

It's the only city that any would want or that the Japanese would likely concede.

In reality their are'nt alot of cities that could be used, nor would the Europeans want a city with a large population, afterall when Britain took
Hong Kong they originally only annexed Hong Kong island (pop. 3,000), it was'nt until the late 19th and early 20th centuries that the rest of
what makes of modern Hong Kong was taken by the British.

Now, if you want to go the HK route then they'd go for some of the near-by islands without large populations (Hong Kong was'nt originally a city).

If they did this I'd say the most likely choices would be the Gotō archipelago or Tsushima island.
 
I think the Ryukyus are also an interesting possibility, especially since the Okinawans are somewhat distinct from other Japanese groups.

That would'nt really be taking anything from Japan though since the Ryukyu's were an independent from Japan until they annexed them in 1879,
and by that point Japan had already gone full-on modernizing, and a European power getting any Japanese territory after that point just is'nt
gonna happen.
 
It's the only city that any would want or that the Japanese would likely concede.

In reality their are'nt alot of cities that could be used, nor would the Europeans want a city with a large population, afterall when Britain took
Hong Kong they originally only annexed Hong Kong island (pop. 3,000), it was'nt until the late 19th and early 20th centuries that the rest of
what makes of modern Hong Kong was taken by the British.

Now, if you want to go the HK route then they'd go for some of the near-by islands without large populations (Hong Kong was'nt originally a city).

If they did this I'd say the most likely choices would be the Gotō archipelago or Tsushima island.

the Gotō archipelago seems like a good place to start, thanks. Is there anyother stragitically located cities on or closer to the main island that could be taken?

For the timeline im working on, the POD is before the 1800, and im imagining all of Japan becoming a colony in one way or another, with only the main island not directly controlled by an European power
 
Perhaps Awaji-shima would be a good contender? Slap bang between Shikoku and Honshu, easy access to Kobe, Tokushima and Osaka, and from there to Kyoto. Current population is about 1/10 that of Hong Kong Island, so extrapolating backwards it shouldn't be too high.
 
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