Well, if you can get China to blow up in the post-Boxer Rebellion chaos, then you can see imperial interests dragged increasingly into this. If its early enough, then neither TR nor Taft have yet fully enunciated their policies to China, so US intervention AGAINST European intervention won't be on the cards.
This could also serve to divert Japan's energies, and perhaps remove the Russo-Japanese War from the timeline, thus not showing Russia up to be weak internally (ie no 1905 revolution). Whilst people often say that this denies Russia much-needed military reforms, it is better to be perceived as strong and not to have to fight, than to be seen as weak but having sorted out the army
Whilst imperial rivalries over spheres of influence etc would raise their heads, this is less dangerous in terms of a European conflagration then tensions over Morocco or in the Balkans
Without a weaker Russia you won't get an Austrian annexation of Bosnia-Hercegovina, and without that you won't get the Young Turks coup, and without that you can avoid the Balkan Wars of OTL
Of course, SOMETHING will occur to fill in the gaps, other explosions and tensions, but these can be less dangerous in terms of creating a road to war
Also, even if you DO get a major crisis blow up without the 1908 fiasco, Russia won't have the attitude that it can in now way compromise or back down without losing all of its influence and risking revolution at home, so the first major crisis could be solved by negotiation, and thus alleviate whatever tensions have led to it
Best Regards
Grey Wolf