Japan's cruiser tonnage has no single clean 7:10 relationship with the British and American heavy- and light-cruiser totals. A more systematic agreement could have set round category totals and then applied a consistent Japanese ratio. Instead, different baselines produced a patchwork that looked equitable without creating an easily explained force structure. The result reflected negotiators' pursuit of visible parity while both Anglo-American governments avoided the spending required for a capability-led settlement.
Notable Point · 1:11:21-1:13:57
Cruiser ratios reveal a budget-driven compromise
Unlike the clear destroyer ratio, cruiser allowances shifted between British and American baselines because neither government wanted to fund a more coherent settlement.