According to the Constitution, the Emperor “has the supreme command of the army and the navy”; and under him come the Minister of War, the actual Commander-in-Chief, the Chief of Staff, the generals and other officers and officials in order. The Emperor is not expected to take command in person; but often one of the Imperial Princes will act as Commander-in-Chief in the field. There are now only two living Field-Marshals, Marquis Yamagata and Marquis Ōyama. There are various schools for educating and training the officers of the army and the navy. As Japan is entirely an insular nation, the importance of her navy cannot be over-estimated. Even before the war with China, the Japanese navy had been rapidly growing; and it showed its marked efficiency in the battles of the Yalu and Wei-hai-wei (1894, 1895). The _post-bellum_ plans for expansion have, moreover, emphasized the value to Japan of sea-power; and the programme of naval expansion, in spite of increased burdens of taxation, has met comparatively little opposition. For purposes of administration, the coast of Japan is divided into five naval districts, each with one fort which is a first-class naval station. These stations are Yokosuka, Kure, Saseho, Maizuru, and (to be established) Muroran. The navy at present includes battleships, cruisers, ships for coast defence, gunboats, torpedo boats, torpedo catchers, and despatch ships. Of the first four kinds there are two or three classes in each; and of battleships there are nine first-class ones of more than 15,000 tons each. The organization of the navy is similar to that of the army: below the Emperor, who is nominally in supreme command, come the Minister of the Navy, the actual Commander-in-Chief, the Chief of Staff, the admirals, etc. [Illustration: MILITARY LEADERS OF NEW JAPAN FIELD-MARSHAL ŌYAMA AND FIELD-MARSHAL YAMAGATA] Attention should be called to two or three points emphasized by Mr. Arthur Diosy.[108] The first is that “Nelson’s own plan, as valid to-day as it was in his time,” has been carried out in the types of vessels built for the Japanese fleet. “The main idea prevailing in their selection is the defence of the national interests by _offensive_ operations against the enemy’s fleets,” but “at no very great distance from the base of operations at home.” The warships of Japan, therefore, are not required to devote so much space to the storage of coal and other supplies for long voyages, and can utilize more space for guns and reserve ammunition, or can be built smaller and “handier.” It is in this way that “they are among the swiftest of all the fighting ships afloat.”