Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 3:08:40-3:09:59

Why Japan wanted a seventy-percent treaty ratio

Giving Japan seven capital ships for every ten British or American ships while preserving a six-ship margin would require larger fleets throughout the proposed treaty system.

Force StructureImperial Japanese NavyNaval TreatiesWashington Naval Treaty
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Question

Could the Washington Naval Treaty have been negotiated with a more acceptable general displacement allocation?

Short answer

Only by expanding the leading fleets enough to give Japan its desired seven-to-ten ratio, which would raise every other allocation too.

Notes

Japan wanted a capital-ship force equal to seventy percent of the British or American total, a level associated here with feeling strategically safe. Preserving a six-ship British and American margin while meeting that threshold produces a fleet of twenty ships for each leading power and fourteen for Japan. France and Italy would then be likely to seek eight ships apiece instead of six. A settlement below Japan's preferred threshold could be accepted as a minimum for survival while still falling short of security. The difficulty is finding totals that all the negotiating powers regard as acceptable.