WI: Japan never opens up?

I think Russia would come knocking sooner or later. At least I base that on their habit of nickling-and-diming all their other neighbors.
 
I could actually see a closed Japan holding off a good deal of colonization, but that's only because the PoD for Japan not opening to the west would likely require a substantially stronger Tokugawa regime from the mid-18th century on and being aware of the Western world(and thus not being suspectible to blindsiding) was seen as important from the 1720s. . OTL, cracks started showing in the sakoku policy politically in the 1780s and 90s at least.
 
I'm less sure about colonisation : the island enjoyed big demographics (it was one of the reasons they opened OTL, too many people in the same place with subsequent issues of food, enough distribution of wealth, no possibilities to release some demographical pressure) and it's unlikely you could put settlement there.

I think something more like China, in the case of a Russia something close to Manchuria.
 
I would imagine Japan would get colonized.

I'm less sure about colonisation : the island enjoyed big demographics (it was one of the reasons they opened OTL, too many people in the same place with subsequent issues of food, enough distribution of wealth, no possibilities to release some demographical pressure) and it's unlikely you could put settlement there.

I think something more like China, in the case of a Russia something close to Manchuria.

LSCatalina's right. It wouldn't get colonized, Shtudmuffin, but I image it would eventually get opened up by force (most likely are the Russians, Americans, and British) and then heavily economically exploited.

Cheers,
Ganesha
 
I'm less sure about colonisation : the island enjoyed big demographics (it was one of the reasons they opened OTL, too many people in the same place with subsequent issues of food, enough distribution of wealth, no possibilities to release some demographical pressure) and it's unlikely you could put settlement there.

I think something more like China, in the case of a Russia something close to Manchuria.

Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto were some of the biggest cities in the world in 1800.
 
It becomes like China, or even Siam; carved up by the imperial Western powers, economically exploited, and eventually placed under someone's sphere as a protectorate.
 
It becomes like China, or even Siam; carved up by the imperial Western powers, economically exploited, and eventually placed under someone's sphere as a protectorate.

Even though spheres on influence and colonization are different terms they are in many ways the same thing. Spheres of Influence are more efficent form of colonization in the eyes of the Europeans because they got all the benefit of a colony without having to put in funds to support it.
 
Even though spheres on influence and colonization are different terms they are in many ways the same thing. Spheres of Influence are more efficent form of colonization in the eyes of the Europeans because they got all the benefit of a colony without having to put in funds to support it.

Yes, but they're also less reliable, because the country can quickly and effectively leave your sphere of influence without your colonial authorities intervening, or can join another power's sphere of influence.

Cheers,
Ganesha
 
Top