Of note are Korea, Brunei, Johore, Dai Nam, and Siam.

There are a lot of expansion possibilities thanks to Japan's geographic location.

Thanks to their literacy rate and decent population base, Japan has the potential to become a Great Power within a few years (if not less) of westernizing.

tiny, unescorted transport fleets) makes the USA little more than a nuisance early on, while the Netherlands and Spain can safely be ignored. The only nations that might pose a threat are China, Russia, and the United Kingdom.

Japan is pretty isolated from the rest of the world by being an Island nation.

These decisions give Japan a significant boost to research points.

Not only does Japan get a boost to research thanks to its literacy, but they also have access to one of two unique decisions: Early Meiji Restoration and The Meiji Restoration, the latter Japan can only enact if they are sphered by a Great Power.

(For comparison, the next best is Abu Dhabi at 30%. For an uncivilized nation, this is extremely good as it allows Japan to carry out the westernization reforms quicker than any other uncivilized nation except Hawaii. In fact, it's so high that it's only 2% lower than the United States in 1836.

Japan has an extremely high literacy rate right at the start of the game, at 40%.

2 Early Meiji Restoration vs Meiji Restoration.

Crusader kings 2 japan