German and Italian Support Seen Essential Tokyo, Feb. 28.
"If Japan resolutely enters a nával race there is no cause for pessimi: states Rear-Admiral Tata [shitni (retired), the well-known naval etitit in reviewing in a magazine article Japan's chances as a naval force against Great Britain and America.
"Great Britain's anti-Japanese designs," he says, "are not really as threatening as they seem.
"If the British succeed in getting the United States to participate and, for the sake of argument, Japan is confronted with Great Britain, America and the Soviet Union, Britain would be compelled to keep a considerable portion of her navy in the North Sea as a restraining influence on the German navy. te vessels of the he points out, "give Germany a virtual 45 per cent. naval ratio to Great Britain."
Rear-Admiral Ishimaru states that Britain would also be obliged to retain a good part of her navy in the eastern Mediterranean and would require a number of vessels to protect the very long Cape of Good Hope route.
The naval critic doubts whether Britain could concentrate more than 30 per cent. of her naval strength in Singapore.
Furthermore, he says, the moment hostilities commence, Australia and New Zealand, "susceptible to the least sign of alarm," will clamour for naval protection.
"My conclusion is," Rear-Admiral Ishimaru declares, "that as long as Japan can maintain, at whatever cost, a navy equal to that of the United States, she need have no fear of the combined British and American forces.
"Japan, however," he adds, "must encourage the naval expansion of Italy and Germany and try to maintain a navy equal to that of America.—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.