How Construction was Adjusted to Meet Requirements of National Defence Tokyo, Feb. 26.
In a recent discussion in the Diet on the subject of naval construction after 1931, it was recalled that, in the years immediately preceding' the Washington Conference, expenditure on the armed forces of the country. accounted for nearly 50 per cent. of the national budget, naval eon struction alone costing more than Yen. 270,000,000 a year. sacrifice entailed by this eu was undoubtedly considerable, though not perhaps so great aa these figures would indicate; for though the contemplated 92 an: ary vessels were reduced in number to 54, their total tonnage was reduced but little as most of the ships retained for construction were redesigned on a larger scale.
The Replacement Programme Thanks to the Washington Agreement, Japan was able to make a drastic cut in this terrible dr fon her financial resources and, although the fiscal year 1922-3, which followed too close on the heels of the Conference to enable any revision to be effected, still called for as much as Yen, 225,269,000 for naval construction, the annual out-Tay on this score since then has averaged only Yen. 88,000,000 or thereabouts, despite the new proferammes instituted in the meantime, These programmes, if we include those merely revised and also the 1926-9 preliminary portion of te auxiliary replacement, programme, are four in number. the cost of these four has been, and is still being, spread out, may best be shown by the following table of approximate costs:
Rovined Yen ven 00,000
68,657,000, The "8-8" Programme vie srt of these four pro grammes requires little explanation. Japan had planned to maintain permanently a capital fleet of eight battleships and eight battle-cruisers (the famous "8-8" Programme), all of modern type; but as a result of the Washington Conference she agreed to cancel fourteen of her new capital ships, The curtailed Programme was, therefore, round~ off by the "appropriations shown above.
Additional, however, to these great shins, provision had also been made for the construction of a large number of ancillary craft, these for part of the the "Dreadnovghts, Unier this plan, 9 cruisers, 37 destroyers, and 46 submarines were to be built Wut thave numbers were, in con: April 1, 1992, sequence of the agreement reached Yen. 676,056.1 Washington, out down to 8 cruisers, 24 destroyers and 22 submarines, the appropriations for their construction being spread out, ax shown, to 1920 (originally to 1928, but extended by one year account of the Earthquake).
The By means of this auxiliary ship programme the balance of the Japanese Meet was adjusted to meet the requirements of national' defence, as hitherto the proportion of ancillary craft to capital ships had been unduly small. The so-called replacement programme drawn up subsequently was intended to inial tained the balance thus achieved, by replacing all auxiliary vessels. as soon as they attain their age "lans for this replacement programme began to. take definite shape in 1925 and called for a further expenditure of Yen. 320,000,- 000." The Finance Department, however, declared that under the financial eireumstanees of the time it was impossible to find the amount demanded. A Cabinet crisis there upon arose, and the Ministry was only saved from a serious split by the personal intervention of the: Premier between the heads of the two departments concerned. By the compromise thereby effected, pro vision was made for the construction' of four destroyers during, the three-year period 1926-29 at a total cost of Yen. 28,000,000, and a year Inter the major part of the pro gramme originally planned was sanctioned, Including the four destroyers sanctioned in 1926, this allows for the construction of four 10,000-ton cruisers, 19 destroyers, 4 submarines, 2 gunboats, one air-raft carrier, and one mine-layer by the end of the fiscal year 1931- 432 at a total estimated cost of Yen. 287,908,000, as against the original demand for four cruisers, 20 destroyers, 5 submarines, 3 srunboats, and five special service ships by 1920-1 at a cost of Yen. 20,000,000, Estimate a Little Short The total estimated expenditure on auxiliary ship construction between the fiscal years 1928-4 (when the agreements reached at Washing ton first made their effect. shown) and 1991-2 Is therefore, according the original estimates already quoted, "Yen. 656,277,802. Actually, Rowever, these estimates appear to have been about Yen. 20,000,000 too mall, as, according to figures just obtained by Reuter from the Japan-cre Navy Department, the total already pent. (1923-5) ig Yen. $A1.398.405, and a forther Yen.
224416571670" ie to he spent during the next three-year period ending bringing it to}
What further construction wi be carried out after that date will depend entirely on thy outcome of the Arms Conference due to meet in 191 (or possibly earlier) to consider the extension and revision of the Washington Treaty—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.