Second London Naval Treaty
In May 1933 Yanagimoto was sent to the United Kingdom as a military attaché and promoted to commander later the same year. Seconded to the Imperial Japanese Navy Technical Department, he was part of the Japanese delegation at the Second London Naval Treaty negotiations in 1934. He was ordered to return to Japan in May 1935. He then served in a number of staff assignments within the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff. In December 1937, he received his first command: the auxiliary seaplane tender .