The Japanese Foreign Office this moming officially acknowledged receipt of the British and American notes.
Diplomatic circles here to-day said Britain, France and the United States had shown Japan their good faith in inviting Japan to discuss future warship tonnage and armament calibre limits, and had disproved any suspicion they desired to take the initiative in a naval building race, The setting of a time limit for the Japanese reply, however, was regarded as clear indication that the three democracies have decided to plunge headlong into a building race if Japan refuses to agree to limitations, Britain. France and the United States, it was pointed out, not only are interested in clarifying Japanese policy in the building of warships exceeding the London Naval Treaty's 35,000-ton limitation, but also in Japanese construction of cruisers. The three Democracies have limited. themselves to 10000-ton cruisers, naval experts said, and would be greatly outclassed by Japan if the Japanese engaged in large scale construction of cruisers over the 10.000- ton limit.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.