The Archive · 1939

Japan Keeping Pace

Further Indications of Replenishment Plans Hinted in Diet; Programme Facts Kept Secret Tokyo, Feb. 13. Japanese Navy Minister, Admiral Mitsumasa Yonai, revealed in a meeting of the budgetary sub-committee of the Japanese House of Representatives on February 7, that a new naval building programme will be presented to the Diet shortly intended to meet the building programmes of the United States and Great Britain. Russia and other Powers.

For this purpose the Navy Minister will submit a supplementary budget to the Diet about the end of February.

It is recalled in this respect that Admiral Yonai declared in the middle of last January that while reports of American naval building were always circulated whenever Congress convenes, "the matter cannot be ignored by responsible authorities."

He repeated that the policy of the Japanese navy was one of non-menace and non-aggression, but said that "circumstances might arise requiring a re-examination of the replenishment programme fixed after the termination of the naval tréatie:

What sort of a programme was contemplated was not disclosed by the Navy Minister, nor are the details Ikely to become known when it is presented to the Diet since the Japan-jose navy has kept its building plans absolutely secret since Japan's with jérawal from the. last London Naval Conference. As Japan is no longer 'Bound by any naval treaty, she is not obligated either to reveal' her naval plans or to exchange information with, fany Powers, except possibly Italy and Whether the new naval building programme will be an addition to the Third Naval Replenishment Programme, now under construction, oF [whether it will be called a Fourth Replenishment Programme is not yet known, but the intention is apparent to increase the strength of the third programme, writes Reuter's Tokyo Correspondent,

Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.

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