A copy of this document has been sent to the Legation at Peking.
[Enclosure]
Statement of the Japanese Foreign Office,
December 2, 1922
The agreement covering the details of the retrocession of the Leased
Territory of Kiaochow to China was signed at Peking at 1.30 p.m.,
December 1, by the delegates of Japan and China who are sitting in
conference in that city. The principal points of the agreement are
enumerated below.
In view of the importance of this welcome settlement the Japanese
Government deems the present an appropriate time to state that when
the Japanese Commissioners were appointed to proceed to China,
immediately after the ratification of the Shantung Treaty, in June,
they were instructed to negotiate with their Chinese colleagues in
the same friendly and conciliatory spirit as had been shown in the
negotiations of the Treaty itself.
The work of the Committee was divided between two Sino-Japanese
Committees, the First Committee dealing with the administration of
Kiaochow and all public properties in that Leased Territory and
along the Tsingtao–Tsinanfu Railway, and the Second Committee
dealing with the question of the Railway itself. It is the work of
the First Committee that has been completed and put into the form of
a signed documentary agreement. The Second Committee has yet to work
out some minor details, but it is expected that this Committee will
reach an agreement at an early date and that the Railway will be
transferred to China prior to the time fixed in the Shantung Treaty,
namely, March 2. The Japanese troops in Tsingtao, one battalion of
approximately 500 men, and also the several hundred gendarmes or
police, will be withdrawn within twenty days after the transfer of
Kiaochow to China.
At the request of the Chinese Government the transfer of the Leased
Territory has been postponed until December 10.
It is the earnest hope of the Japanese Government that the final
settlement of this long-standing question will contribute in no
small measure to the development of understanding and friendship
between the two neighbouring nations. In view of the fact that the
so-called Shantung question was in itself a subject of irritation
and that it was made use of and exaggerated unduly by artificial
propaganda, the Japanese Government is greatly relieved at this
final conclusion and anticipates a new era of sympathy and
cooperation, not only between
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the nations primarily concerned but also among
those generally interested in the welfare of the Far East.
The following are the main points of the agreement that has been
signed:—
All administrative authority in the Leased Territory of Kiaochow
shall be transferred to China at noon on December 10. After this
transfer all administrative powers and responsibilities, except
those belonging to the Japanese Consul by virtue of treaties,
conventions, and customs, shall belong to the Chinese
Government.
The withdrawal of Japanese troops and gendarmes shall be completed
within twenty days after the transfer of the administration.
Leases of land acquired by Japanese prior to the ratification of the
Shantung Treaty may be renewed for a term of 30 years under the same
conditions as those of the original leases. At the conclusion of
that period further renewals of lease may be permitted, but upon
terms in accord with the land regulations governing the Open Port of
Tsingtao. Any leases granted after the exchange of ratifications of
the Shantung Treaty shall be cancelled by the Japanese
authorities.
Properties for the use of the Japanese Consul and bodies of Japanese
residents, including the building of the Consulate, the official
residence of the Consul-General, the building of the present Post
Department, the official residence of the director of Civil
Administration, et cetera, are to be retained by Japan.
Japan may purchase salt from the salt works of Tsingtao to the extent
of between one hundred million and three hundred and fifty million
Kin a year for a period of fifteen years beginning in 1923. When the
said term shall have expired negotiations may be entered into for an
extension of this privilege of purchase.
Of the amount of compensation, namely, sixteen million yen, to be
paid by China for the transfer of public properties and the salt
industry, a sum of two million yen shall be paid in cash within one
month of the transfer of the administration. The remaining fourteen
million yen is to be paid in Treasury Bills, to be issued at par
value, for a term of fifteen years, and bearing interest at the rate
of 6 percent.
A committee chosen from among Japanese and Chinese capitalists shall
undertake the task of establishing a Company for operating the mines
along the Railway. When this Company has been organized by
permission of the Chinese Government the mines and appurtenant
properties shall be transferred to the Company. The Company shall be
under joint Chinese and Japanese management and its capital shall be
subscribed in equal portions, half and half. The manner in which the
Company shall pay the Japanese Government for the mines is to be
decided between the Government and the Company, the cost being fixed
at five million yen.
