793.94/11026
Memorandum by the Ambassador in Japan (Grew)
I called on the Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs by appointment at 12:10 p.m. and made oral representations along the lines of paragraph 4 of the Department’s telegram No. 245, October 2, 3 p.m.47 concerning the use by Japanese forces of the International Settlement at Shanghai as a base for military operations, reading aloud and leaving with the Vice Minister our aide-mémoire on that subject.48
Mr. Horinouchi, after listening to my exposition, said that Japanese lives and property in the Settlement are being constantly endangered by firing from Pootung and Chapei and that the measures of the Japanese in landing forces in the International Settlement had been for self-defense. He said that as a matter of fact only about 4,000 marines had been landed in the International Settlement which was a very small proportion of their forces in that sector and that most of these forces had been landed at points well separated from the International Settlement. Mr. Horinouchi said that our aide-mémoire would be studied and that a reply would be made in due course.