793.94116/62: Telegram
The Consul General at Shanghai (Lockhart) to the Secretary of State
[Received 8:11 p.m.]
867. 1. Rear Admiral Nomura issued a long statement here yesterday in which he attempted to defend the bombing of civilian populations. The essence of the statement is that similar bombings are taking place in other parts of the world against defended cities and towns; that marksmanship is necessarily poor from the air (citing the relatively small number of hits scored against even large targets); that there had been warnings to both third-party nationals and Chinese civilians to withdraw; that common sense would dictate that noncombatants living near military objectives should withdraw to less dangerous zones.
[Page 602]2. The statement, which is in no way convincing, reflects sensitiveness on the part of the Japanese naval authorities to the widespread criticism directed against them for the recent bombings of civilian populations at Canton.
Repeated to Hankow, Peiping and Tokyo.