Shipbuilding plans signalled intentions that rival powers could answer before a fleet became operational. If Germany had tried to build on Japan's scale, Britain would have responded while those hulls were still on the slips. France and the Soviet Union would likewise have adjusted their preparations. Any serious comparison of Plan Z must include the larger opposing fleets that German construction would have provoked.
Notable Point · 14:38-15:13
Why German naval expansion would trigger countermobilization
A Japan-sized German building program would have prompted Britain, France, and the Soviet Union to expand before the new ships reached service.