JAPAN AND ARMAMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19800, 22 November 1927, Page 11

JAPAN AND ARMAMENTS.

DESIRE FOR LIMITATION, POLICY AT CONFERENCE. TOKIO, Nov. 16. " Broadly speaking, the Japanese delegates to the Preparatory Disarmament Conference are going to Geneva prepared to support any reasonable plan for the limitation of armaments, both on land and ; sea, therein following the unquestioned desire of the Japanese people," says Marquis Komura, the spokesman of the Foreign Office. « " Definite instructions will be cabled to the delegates, after the Prime Minister, Baron Tanaka, has returned from the grand army manoeuvres now proceeding in the presence of the Emperor, near Nagoya. " Between the French thesis that disr armament should follow regional security pacts and the British thesis that disarmament, in principle, should first be agreed upon, Japan as yet makes no choice; but, inasmuch as she is in the same general position geographically as England, she is the more inclined to support the British view. " The Japanese people feel themselves to be in no danger of attack from any quarter. Japan harbours no militaristic designs against anyone, and is therefore ready to listen to any proposal tending to lighten the burden of armaments. " The only cloud on the international sky is China, where Japan must be prepared to protect general Japanese interests and her special interests in Manchuria and Mongolia. Against China, however, Japan harbours no territorial designs/' the Marquis concluded.