Asahi joined the Japanese ships escorting the American Great White Fleet through local waters. Japan used the available formation to demonstrate that it could place a comparable force at the point of contact. Britain instead supported the voyage quietly through coal supplies, avoiding a potentially insulting comparison between the American fleet and one of several Royal Navy formations. For Japan, the display asked whether an American victory could be won without losses severe enough to erase its value.
Notable Point · 44:41-46:11
Matching the Great White Fleet in Japanese waters
Japan escorted the Great White Fleet with a visible force intended to demonstrate deployable strength and the likely cost of a Pacific war.