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

794.5 MSP/3–154

No. 742
Memorandum by Alice L. Dunning of the Office of Northeast Asian Affairs to the Acting Director of That Office (McClurkin)

secret

[Washington,] March 1, 1954.

Subject:

• Annex on Scope of Assistance

Re Mr. Robertson’s question (see attached),¹ following is negotiating history of annex on scope of assistance:

Early in the negotiation (August) the Japanese proposed a number of changes in the United States draft which would give an economic window dressing to the military assistance agreement. The purpose of this approach was to make the agreement more palatable to the Diet and also to insert a wedge in the United States position that no direct economic assistance was to be given to Japan. While the Japanese were forced to accept the United States position that most of their proposals had no place in a military assistance agreement, the Embassy (August 31) recommended acceptance of a boiled down statement covering those points which the United States was already in the process of implementing or was fully prepared to do. The Department watered down this statement even further—authorizing on September 3 inclusion of the following statement in the minutes or if necessary in an annex:

“During course discussion concerning present agreement, representatives Government of United States stated that, in view desirability from point view both Governments that defense industries Japan be developed and modernized, US Government will give every consideration, to extent other factors will permit, to procurement in Japan of supplies and equipment to be made available to Japan, as well as to other countries, where feasible, and to providing information to and facilitating the training of technicians from Japan’s defense-production industries. The representatives of both governments recognized advisability establishing adequate liaison between two governments to facilitate US procurement in Japan.”

The Japanese in early October proposed the addition of a statement on the part of their representative to the effect that the development of Japan’s defense capacities would greatly be facilitated if the US would give consideration to furnishing Japan with such items as machine tools and financing to her production industry. On October 24, in view of the US proposal on Section 550 the Department authorized the acceptance of this proposal provided the reference to machine tools was deleted. (Deptel 977).² On January 13 the Department reiterated this position (A–567, para 15).³ This deletion was accepted by the Japanese on February 16.

In summary the inclusion of this annex was based on the following considerations:

1. The desirability of giving the military agreement a slight economic overtone insofar as defense industries were concerned.

2. The United States has developed in the past and is continuing a program of offshore procurement in Japan. This year’s program will total about $100 million.

3. The Department of Defense has undertaken a program of providing information to and facilitating the training of technicians from Japan’s defense-production industries.

4. $10 million of Section 550 yen proceeds are to be used for the development of Japan’s defense industries.

5. The annex signifies no commitment on the part of the United States.⁴

1. Not found attached.
2. Not printed. (794.5 MSP/10–253)
3. Not printed. (794.5 MSP/12–1753)
4. The proposals discussed here are incorporated in Annex A to the Mutual Defense Assistance Agreement signed at Tokyo on Mar. 8. (First paragraph of the final version of Annex A is worded somewhat differently from the draft quoted above.) For text of the Agreement with Annexes, see TIAS 2957; 5 UST 661.