That merely requires a regional-class navy though. Which is my point: for a non-expansionist Japan focused on defending/thoroughly exploiting Korea and Formosia, the entire political culture around their military and geopolitical perspective is bound to change. Everything is smaller and more tightly focused on the mid-west Pacific, with a corresponding cut-back on the number of tasks they need to be prepared for and the degree of redundancy see need to see it through, seeing as they can keep their naval forces concentrated in a single regional fleet. A world-class fleet, on the other hand, like the US, UK, or France have, is different in the sense that its built up to operate across the world in multiple regions simultaneously.
Large navies, especially with extensive "Blue Water" capabilities (Range, logistical support networks, ect.) are very expensive, and in this scenario I can't see how any naval lobby is going to be able to justify getting the money for a force of the size or quality of the friendly Anglo powers. If anything, the fact the change of the situation brought on in China and the Soviets breathing down their regional neck (on the border with the Korea which is their crown jewel) mean that even if you get a sufficient militarist influence for even OTL's military budget its going to be going to beefiing up the army and constructing a powerful air wing, with the Empire acting as a fine series of unsinkable aircraft carriers