to achieve japan’s expansionist policies, the imperial japanese navy also had to fight off the largest navies in the world (the 1922 washington naval treaty allotted a 5/5/3 ratio for the navies of great britain, the united states and japan). she was therefore numerically inferior and her industrial base for expansion was limited (in particular compared to the united states). her battle tactics therefore tended to rely on technical superiority (fewer, but faster, more powerful ships), and aggressive tactics (daring and speedy attacks overwhelming the enemy, a recipe for success in her previous conflicts). the naval treaties also provided an unintentional boost to japan because the numerical restrictions on battleships prompted them to build more aircraft carriers to try to compensate for the united states' larger battleship fleet.