What if Japan Never Industrialized?

On July 8, 1853, American Commodore Matthew Perry led his four ships into the harbor at Tokyo Bay, seeking to re-establish for the first time in over 200 years regular trade and discourse between Japan and the western world. This would change Asia forever as Japan would modernize to become a western like nation. It would industrialize and colonize regions near it such as Manchuria, Korea, and Taiwan. Japan has played a tremendous role in the 20th century, all because of modernization. However, what would happen if Japan refused to industrialize. When Commodore Matthew Perry came to Japan, the Japanese would not adapt western technology and ideas in this alternative timeline. How would this change Japan? How would it affect Japan's relations with its neighbors and its place on the global stage? How would it affect China and its place on the global stage? These questions are some of what we discuss about in this episode of the Back to the Past: The Alternate History Podcast! Leave a review if you enjoyed and message us on social media for any reason, including discussion about a potential topic, feedback, and more! Make sure to stay tuned to our socials as we work on Kloka, an organization dedicated to providing quality, knowledgeable content including podcasts! Twitter: https://bit.ly/39ts3CG Instagram: https://bit.ly/34lcwBD Email: [email protected]