Japanese Press Attacks Britain and America Tokyo, July 3.
Britain and America were criticized by Japanese newspapers yesterday for invoking the escalator clause of the London Naval Treaty of 1936 and increasing capital ship tonnage from 35,000 to 45,000 tons.
Leading the editorial barrage, the "Nichi-Nichi" took to task England and America for their alleged "crafty move" to increase naval armament by "taking advantage of groundless rumours," which the paper suspected were "spread by them deliberately." "Wild rumours regarding the China hostilities designed to compromise Japan have been persistently spread in England and America," the journal charged.
The "Nichi-Nichi" suspected that "most of the groundless rumours were circulated deliberately with an ulterior motive, just like the rumour regarding Japan's—super-warship building, which now has been utilized for invoking the escalator clause."
The Yomiuri, another leading newspaper, declared that a "super-warship era has been ushered in by England and America, who hurled a false acensation against Japan in their attempt to legalize their naval expansion policy."—Domei.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.