This made me ponder what kind of alternate history Japan would have required for a setting like this. Perhaps no Meiji Restoration (the West would have left Japan largely alone), but between the world wars Japan would have realised it needs to desperately modernise itself. It would have managed to get through the WW2 as well without much damage due to not being in war with anyone (obviously no outward imperialism), thus remaining exceptionally old-fashioned, yet still somewhat modernised. Eventually it would absorb superficial influences from the rest of the world. No real democracy, probably. Deep economic disparity.
But then again, this is quite far-fetched analysis based on a single page.