Status ships and the limits of deterrence

Yonai accepted that Japan could never build and crew enough ships to outnumber the British and American navies. He wanted a smaller group of imposing status ships that could travel abroad, display Japanese power, and make an attack look too costly. An opponent might expect to win, yet the projected losses could still discourage it from starting a war. Yonai believed Japan had been forced out of the treaty system because its interests received too little weight, though he remained closer to the treaty faction than the fleet faction. His political skill might have secured better terms in the 1930 London negotiations. The strategic limit remains clear: ships intended to deter a war did not give Japan the resources to win one.