Japan learns by ordering the lead ship abroad

Japanese naval development already followed a pattern of buying a sophisticated first example, observing its construction, and applying the knowledge domestically. Earlier battleships and armoured cruisers supplied that experience, while the Kongō programme provides the battlecruiser parallel. In this scenario Japan might order both a lead battlecruiser and a battleship from British yards, then build the rest of their classes at home. Paying for the design and sending Japanese personnel to observe construction would transfer methods as well as drawings. Japan would still assess how many ships its strategy required. A higher British baseline would change the qualities sought in those ships.