What if Japan failed to modernize/industrialize in the 19th century
I feel like there’s a plausible universe where Japan fails to fully modernize or at least not as rapidly as they did in our own timeline. Could there be a possibility where the tokugawa shogunate fends off the restorationists and attempts to further entrench themselves similar to the Qing? I feel like this would become much more interesting in the early 20th century when there’s no foreign threat forcing the Chinese warlords to unify against — allied powers would also probably be more equipped to fight against Germany since they don’t have to fight in Asia — but on the other hand FDR might have a harder time trying to push the U.S to intervene and mobilize against the Germans. I think there’s a lot of merit in this hypothetical. Any thoughts?