The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-03-05
JAPANESE ADMIRAL
 WANTS BIGGER NAVY
Captor of Tsingtau Wants to Keep Pace With World
MENTIONS AMERICA
Twelve Battleships of Dreadnaught Type Should Be Built-Russia, Germany and United States
 Building Navies

Tokio, February 13.-(Correspondence of the Associated Press)-The most talked-of public utterance of the week put forth by Admiral Tomasaburo Kato, minister of the marine, who commanded the Japanese ships that bombarded the German fortress at Tsingtau.
 Among the most forecful assertions he makes in his bigger navy argument are the following:
 Every day the plan of naval repletion is delayed means one day more of dan ger to the empire"
 When the time comes that nation is unable to meet the outlay necessary to adequate naval defense that nation Is bankrupt"
 "To abandon the navy is tantamount to abandoning the state"
 Should emergency arise the nation has no right to expect the present navy to meet and defeat any enemy of impor- tance."
 RUSSIA BUILDING UP NAVY
 Pointing out that if the plan now under contemplation is completed, Japan will have but four ships of the dreadnaught Fuso type and four new battle cruisers of the Kongo class, the admiral believes that Germany will have fl battleships and 20 battle cruisers under her arranged pro- gramme and emphasizes that the Amer ican navy is expanding at a correspond ing rate. Russia, too, he said, was build ing up great navy of three squadrons of F units each compared with which the navy of Japan will be quite insig- nificant.
 The minister added: Japan can never afford to be satisfied with her present naval plans if she expects to maintain the position she has won. She will then be obliged to take her place beside China Greece and Spain. Japan must replace her present obsolete units by units of modern efficiency"
 What he wanted for his country, he said, was at least 12 battleships of the Fuso class. Even at that. he asserted, Japan's fleet would still be inferior to some others. Left as 1t was now he be- lieved that the navy would be worthless In case of war.
 Looking backward to the war with Russia, the minister makes the point that although the victory at the great battle of Tsushima has been ascribed to the virtues of the Emperor and the skill of the hero, Admiral Togo, nothing could have saved the day if naval preparation had been inadequate.
 0lNDELRED DI FIN NAINOEfC
 ''The very thought makes every true Japanese shudder," the admiral declared. Prepared as we then were, 1t was none the less necessary for the authorities after the war to take steps for further increasing the navy, but they have been hindered somewhat by financial limita- tion.''
 Meantime the minister declared the great powers have expanded their navies. causing a vast and significant change in the balance of naval power. The Ger man. American and British were all in tre first line of battle fleets and although at the time of the Russo-Japanese war the Japanese navy was listed in the naval annual as one of the great fighting forces of the world, it is now no longer so de- scribed. This was because in naval ac- cretion Japan had not kept abreast of other great navies.
 In conclusion the minister contended that Japan had no ambition to compete with any other nation in naval expenson. Competition on naval armaments had been shown to be futile by the examples of England and Germany. Japans only desire was adequate defense. He said: ''We should have a force equal to any that an enemy might send to these waters. Our present plans are certainly anything but eXtravagant or ambitious. The nation should not be endangered on account of mere financial considerations. The safety of the empire cannot be left to the fluctuations of the treasury. Every day the plan of naval repletion is de- layed means one day more of danger to tba