Postponing naval limitation would leave the political forces that later drove conflict in place. Mussolini's rise, European fascism, and Japanese militarism had causes beyond treaty tonnage rules. Japan contained factions so divided that they struggled to recognize one another's views as legitimate. A different battleship programme would still unfold within that unstable interwar politics.
Notable Point · 9:23-11:28
A later naval treaty does not remove the political crises
The shipbuilding counterfactual is bounded by the argument that fascism, militarism, and Japan's internal divisions would still shape the interwar world.