Brassey's exposed Japan's war economy and support fleet

A contemporary assessment of Japan from Brassey's Naval Annual shows what British readers could know before the Pacific War. The account saw the war in China consuming national resources and forcing the navy to compete with the army for munitions and maintenance. It nevertheless recorded a naval budget of 677 million yen, about a quarter of the national budget, with more than half expected to be financed through credit. The annual identified Akashi as Japan's first large purpose-built repair ship. It also described armored boats, troop landing craft, and a roughly 10,000-ton vessel arranged to transport and launch them. The account reveals public awareness of both Japan's economic strain and the support capabilities being built for sustained amphibious war.