The proposed ratio of 5-5-3 in the Washington disarmament conference of 1921-1922 referred to what?

Answer 1

The treaty, signed in 1922, gave maximum sizes of the navies of the five signatory nations. Naval strength is typically states in total long tons (or metric tonnes) of water that the ships displace. The treaty stated that the US and Great Britain could have navies with a total displacement of 525,000 long tons (533,000 metric tonnes) each while the Japanese were allowed a navy with a total displacement of 315,000 long tons (320,000 metric tonnes) with equates to a ratio of Britain 5: America 5 : and Japan 3. France and Italy were also signatories to the treat and were allotted smaller navies.

The treaty was designed to prevent a costly post-WWI naval arms race by limiting the size (and thus cost) of the navies of the five largest maritime nations. The Japanese military was not satisfied with the results of the treaty that was negotiated by the civilian government. The Japanese military staged a series of moves in which they gradually took over more and more power from civilian government resulting in an eventual military Dictatorship. They formally renounced the treaty in 1934.

Answer 2

This refers to the "ideal" amount of tonnage with regard to naval ships for the United States, Great Britain, and Japan. (5 for US, 5 for GB, 3 for Japan...)