500.A15A4 General Committee/237: Telegram
The Ambassador in Japan (Grew) to the Secretary of State
[Received March 22—9:10 a.m.]
64. Referring to the so-called MacDonald disarmament plan, the newspapers here have published what purports to be the attitude of the Japanese Navy Department toward the plan as follows:
- 1.
- The suggestions for world peace in articles 1 to 6 are inconsistent with the League Covenant and are considered unreasonable as Japan will not submit the Sino-Japanese controversy to such a conference as is suggested.
- 2.
- The figures proposed for limitation of naval personnel are given for European countries only and not for Japan, which will give her opinion when her armaments are under discussion.
- 3.
- Since Japan agreed to the London Naval Treaty only on condition that it expire in 1936, Japan is opposed to prolongation of the period of the treaty and will instead claim revision of the tonnage ratios fixed by the treaty.
- 4.
- Japan will reserve decision on the prohibition of aerial bombardment pending the solution of the problems of abolition of aircraft carriers and the relative strengths of armies and navies.
- 5.
- The proposal to limit the size of military and naval airplanes to 3 tons will be opposed as Japan needs large type airplanes.
- 6.
- The proposal to limit the number of military airplanes to 500 will be opposed pending solution of the problems of aircraft carriers, aerial bombardment and relative strengths of armies and navies.
- 7.
- The Japanese delegation is to urge the consideration of the Japanese disarmament plan.
Officers of the Navy Department this morning informally stated to the Naval Attaché that the foregoing published statement of the Japanese position is a fair exposition of the attitude of the naval authorities, but that this attitude has not yet received the approval of the Foreign Office or other organs of the Government and is therefore subject to modification.