500.A15A5/871: Telegram
The Ambassador in Great Britain (Bingham) to the Secretary of State
[Received March 30—8:50 a.m.]
178. Foreign Office has informed me that Foreign Secretary [Minister] has handed to British Ambassador in Tokyo formal Japanese [Page 300] reply refusing to accept 14–inch gun limitation since it would mean “qualitative without quantitative limitation”.
An editorial entitled “Japan’s responsibility” published in today’s Times concludes as follows:
“The first step towards a new naval race will be the adoption of 16–inch guns as the largest that may be mounted instead of the 14–inch provided by the treaty; despite her withdrawal from the Conference, it was within the power of Japan to prevent that step by a mere undertaking before April 1 not to take it herself. Her definite refusal to give any such undertaking has just been reported from Tokyo. If the world now finds itself once more committed to the folly of unrestricted naval competition there can be no possible doubt where the responsibility lies.”