794C.0221/2–2052
No. 524
The Acting Director of the Office of
Northeast Asian Affairs (McClurkin) to the United States Political Adviser to
SCAP (Sebald)
Dear Bill: I am enclosing herewith for your information a copy of a memorandum1 recently cleared throughout the Department and approved by the Secretary, which sets forth the Department’s position with regard to the disposition of the Ryukyus and Bonins and instructs Ambassador Cowen to take up the matter with Defense. This he intends to do in a few days’ time, as soon as we have finished with problems relating to the Administrative Agreement.
I am not certain whether we shall be able to budge the JCS from their position at this time; however, if we fail in our present objectives of returning general control of the islands to Japan in the near future, we shall concentrate our efforts on liberalizing the present JCS Directive for U.S. Civil Administration in the Ryukyus2 to permit a greater degree of self-government for the inhabitants and encourage closer ties with Japan. In this connection we found the Mission’s Despatch no. 1021, January 17, 1952, transmitting Iguchi’s memorandum concerning a “practicable arrangement” for the Southern Islands of great interest, and we shall endeavor so far as possible to have these points covered in any forthcoming revision of the present Directive.
Your reports on the Ryukyus have all been read with great interest here, and we are looking forward to receiving additional material from time to time.
Sincerely yours,
- Document 488.↩
- JCS 1231/14, dated Oct. 4, 1950, is printed in Foreign Relations, 1950, vol. vi, p. 1313.↩