793.94/8166: Telegram
The Chargé in Japan (Dickover) to the Secretary of State
[Received September 22—9:10 a.m.]
190. 1. Vernacular press reports that after Hankow incident unanimity in Japanese Government circles has been reached regarding fundamental principles to be followed in dealing with the China situation and that attitude has become stronger. Yomiuri [Page 304] enumerates four demands being considered, namely, (1) organization of a completely autonomous regime in five northern provinces; (2) perfection of communications between Japan and China; (3) reduction of Chinese import tariff and, (4) employment of as many Japanese advisers as possible. These demands are in addition to those relating to eradication of anti-Japanese activities.
2. Yesterday the Navy Department issued communiqué enumerating the recent incidents and announcing that as navy might be compelled to take measures in self-defense it had decided to despatch landing forces to augment its Third Fleet in Chinese waters.
3. Press reports also indicate navy is skeptical about Nineteenth Route Army’s evacuation from Pakhoi and favors fixing with National Government a time limit after which navy would take independent action to enable Japanese investigation if in the meantime Nineteenth Route Army’s evacuation has not been completed.
4. I gathered from a conversation with the Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy on the 19th that he did not consider the present situation in the relations of the two countries necessarily serious as he thought it unlikely that Japan would push matters too far for fear of becoming embroiled with other powers. He thought that Japan’s policy for the next 5 years pending the completion of its armament program was to advance its position in China one step at a time and to avoid drastic measures.
5. A responsible official of the Foreign Office yesterday stated to me that the newspaper accounts of the Japanese Government’s attitude in regard to the situation vis-à-vis China were greatly exaggerated and that the Japanese Government hoped to settle amicably the incidents and also some of the outstanding general problems between the two countries.
6. In view of these two opinions it appears probable to the Embassy that the Japanese Government while using the leverage afforded by these incidents to gain as much as possible along the lines enumerated in paragraph 1 will not push matters with China to a critical point at this time.
7. In relation to possible developments growing out of Pakhoi incident it is of interest that, according to the Embassy’s information, the French Ambassador at Tokyo has reminded the Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs of the declaration of 1897 concerning the non-alienation of the Island of Hainan.7
Repeated to Peiping.
- For text of declaration of March 15, 1897, see John V. A. MacMurray (ed.), Treaties and Agreements With and Concerning China, 1894–1919 (New York, 1921), vol. i, p. 98.↩