Under the Washington Naval treaty of 1922 and the London Naval treaty, the American navy was to be equal to the Japanese navy by a ratio of 10:6. However, by 1934, the Japanese ended their disarmament policies and enabled rearmament policy with no limitations. The government in Tokyo was well informed of its military weakness in the Pacific in regards to the American fleet. The foremost important factor in realigning their military policies was the need by Japan to seize British and Dutch oil wells.