How defeating von Spee could elevate Japan's wartime naval role

What would change if the Imperial Japanese Navy caught and destroyed von Spee's East Asia Squadron?

Japan would gain major naval prestige, intensify American concern, and have a stronger case for joining Allied fleet operations with ships such as the Kongo class.

The United States would become more anxious if Japanese ships destroyed von Spee's squadron, while the larger consequence would unfold inside the Allied coalition. A major independent victory would make Japan appear both important and proven in the war at sea. The Imperial Japanese Navy could then press for a larger part in Allied operations, potentially sending the Kongo-class battlecruisers to the Grand Fleet. Those modern ships and the wider Japanese force would badly overmatch von Spee's older armored cruisers in a direct action.