Reports from London to-day said the Admiralty was expected io as the construction of least one 43,000- ton warship among the five new battle ships soon to be laid down.
The united action taken by Britain, France and the United States in presenting almost identical notes to} Bi Japan aroused increasing speculation here regarding the possibility of a tri-power naval agreement ior cooperation in the event of war. Further emphasis was given to this possibility yesterday when Admiral W. D. Leahy, Chief of Naval Operations, refused to inform the House of Representatives Naval Affairs Committee in public hearings whether such an agreement existed, He said the matter was "very secret" and "vital to the defence" of the nation.
"The Foreign Minister, Mr. Koki Hirota, received notes Saturday from His Excellency Mr. Joseph Grew, United States Ambassador, and His Excellency Sir Robert Craigie, British Ambassador, respectively requesting the Japanese Government for informa ation concerning the tonnage and calibre of guns on Japanese warship: the Foreign Office announcement said.
No mention was made in to-day's announcement of a similar note presented Japan by France. A previous announcement, however, had admitted receipt of the French note—United Press.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.