"Japan will always be prepared to consider any proposal based on non-menace and non-aggression," said a statement read by the Foreign Office spokesman at to-day's press conference, dealing with the naval Notes from Great Britain and the United States. It stated that, at this moment, Japan had no plans to construct 43,000-ton ships, as had been widely reported by foreign press messages. The Japanese people, it added, were under the impression that an armament race had already been started by the other principal naval Powers.
Great Britain started naval expansion in 1937 "at the huge expenditure of £1,500,000,000," while the United States Congress was now discussing a naval rearmament plan which called for an increase of 20 per cent. in warships.over the maximum stipulated by the London Treaty.
If this plan were to be realized, the statement continued, the United States must be regarded as following British initiative in the naval race.
Questioned concerning the proposals made to the Japanese Government on the spokesman said, "I in from commenting on the subject" He declined to reply io any questions, "Insolent Demarche"
The "Yomiuri Shimbun" understands that, at the conference of high officials at the Admiralty on Sunday, it was informally decided to decline the requests made by Great Britain and the United States for information on Japan's naval building, The Yomiuri" points out that Japan withdrew from the Washington and London Treaties early in 1936, and is therefore freed from ihe ' restrictions stipulated by those treaties. Great Britain and the United States, it says, "must have lost their minds to demand from Japan information on her naval building in threatening terms.
The "Yomiuri" says that both the Japanese Government and the Japanese people feel strong indignation over the "insolent demarche" made by Great Britain and the United States, "in utter disregard of international usage and diplomatic etiquette, Describing the circumstances leading to Japan's withdrawal from the London Naval Conference, the newspaper declares that Japan has no treaty obligation to give Great Britain and America information on her own naval building.
"Impossibility" Expected Japan's Navy is inferior to those of Great Britain and America ' in quantity, and therefore, the "Yomiuri" asserts, it is but natural that the Japanese seek to make up that inferiority in quantity by improving the quality of the Nav; Therefore, it contends, Great Britain and America "expect an impossibility of Japan in demanding i formation regarding her warships.
The journal traces the "ultra vires step taken by Great Britain and America to attempts to justify their own naval rearmament and to fix the blame on Japan.
"Great Britain and America" the "Yomiuri" proceeds, "will be guilty of a serious blunder if they underestimate Japan's real strength as a result of the China, Incident, and want to force her to yield to their intimidatory demands.—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.