Japanese dissatisfaction with the Washington settlement centered on the 5:5:3 ratio, while naval officers wanted a 10:10:7 ratio and a 70 percent share. In this interpretation, the larger allowance might have produced mutual caution because neither side would enjoy a comfortable margin. A 40,000-ton standard based on HMS Hood might also have reduced pressure to evade the 35,000-ton limit. The same appetite for big ships and big guns appears in the Yamato class, which absorbed resources that Mitsumasa Yonai believed were needed elsewhere. In February 1939 those battleships were consuming industrial capacity without providing operational strength. Treaty politics therefore led directly into the procurement trade-off between prestige capital ships and a balanced fleet.
Notable Point · 12:16-25:16
Treaty limits and the appeal of big ships and big guns
Naval treaty ratios fed Japanese resentment, while prestige capital ships competed with the balanced forces needed for a sustainable war.