Eight-Eight Fleet

The concept of the "Eight-Eight Fleet" originated in the aftermath of the Russo-Japanese War with the 1907 Imperial Defense Policy between the Japanese government and the competing services of the Army and Navy.

[2] The plan was inspired by the Mahanian doctrine of Satō Tetsutarō who advocated that Japanese security could only be guaranteed by a strong navy.

Satō argued that to ensure security, Japan should be capable of defeating the power which represented the greatest hypothetical threat.

[2] In 1907, no clash of fundamental interests between Japan and the United States existed nor was there any indication that either the Japanese or the American government desired confrontation.

A further impetus to achieve the Eight-Eight Fleet ideal came from an additional expansion of the U.S. Navy under American President Woodrow Wilson's 1919 plan to build another set of 16 capital ships (on top of the 16 already authorized in 1916).

In 1920, under Prime Minister Hara Takashi, a reluctant Diet was persuaded to accept a plan to bring the "Four-Four" set of modern ships up to "Eight-Eight" strength by 1927.

This would have involved augmenting the Amagi-class battlecruisers with an additional four fast battleships of the new Kii class, which were marginally slower and more powerful.

For this reason, it was vociferously opposed by many Imperial Japanese Navy officers, including Admiral Satō Tetsutarō.

Ironically, the treaty restricted British and American ship building programs much more than Japanese due to the difference in industrial capability.