Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, China and Japan, Volume XIV, Part 2

794C.0221/10–2153

No. 705
Memorandum by the Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs (Robertson) to the Under Secretary of State (Smith)

secret

[Washington,] October 21, 1953.

Subject:

• Status of Arrangements for Transfer of Amami Group to Japan

1. State and Defense have agreed on October 15–November 1 as the target date for the actual transfer.

2. Representatives of the Far East Command and the Embassy have had a series of meetings in Tokyo.

3. Joint FEC-Embassy recommendations with respect to the fiscal and administrative arrangements have received staff level approval by the Departments of State, Defense and Treasury with only minor changes.

4. Dissenting recommendations with respect to the retention of military rights in the Amami group were received from the Embassy on October 14.¹ The message from the Far East Command was received in the Department on October 16.²

5. The Embassy urges the application of the Security Treaty and the Administrative Agreement to the Amami group. However, language in the notes effecting the transfer would take account of the special strategic relationship of the Amami group to our position in the rest of the Ryukyus. Unpublished minutes would spell out additional rights which the Far East Command considers desirable, insofar as we can persuade the Japanese to agree to them.

6. The Far East Command urges, and it is our understanding that the Joint Chiefs of Staff will support, an arrangement whereby the United States is given a blank check to take any property needed at any future time,³ and a special arrangement outside of the Security Treaty and the Administrative Agreement granting the United States rights in the Amamis beyond those in the Administrative Agreement.

7. The Embassy’s position is that the application of the Administrative Agreement provides adequate protection for the acquisition of additional areas and facilities and for United States rights in such areas, that it would be impossible to obtain Japanese concurrence to the FEC plan,⁴ and that any attempt to negotiate on the FEC basis will result in long and bitter wrangle and will nullify the excellent psychological effect which accompanied the Secretary’s announcement.

8. We intend to attempt promptly to narrow the areas of disagreement with Defense and then submit the remaining issues to the Operations Coordinating Board or the National Security Council for final determination.

9. Following the policy decision, negotiation of the terms of the transfer with the Japanese Government can immediately commence.

1. In telegram 957 from Tokyo, Oct. 14, not printed. (794C.0221/10–1453)
2. In telegram DEPTAR–FEC OM CX 65522, not found in Department of State files.
3. In a memorandum to the Secretary of Defense dated Oct. 16, entitled “Military Requirements in the Amami Island Group”, the Joint Chiefs in part listed the rights they believed the United States should retain in the Amamis. One subparagraph reads: “b. Procurement by the Government of Japan of such additional land in the Amami Islands as the United States may determine as being required for the protection of its military security interests on Okinawa.” (794C.0221/11–1053)
4. In telegram 957, the Embassy commented on this point: “No Japanese Government could survive such an arrangement and if it was our intention to relinquish islands on this basis, we should never have made announcement.”