Office of the Historian

793.94/8218: Telegram

The Chargé in Japan (Dickover) to the Secretary of State

Tokyo, October 3, 1936—7 p.m.
[Received October 3—1:10 p.m.

203. Embassy’s 200, October 1, 10 p.m.

1.
This morning Ballantine called on Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs at the Vice Minister’s request. Vice Minister stated in view of misleading and mischievous press reports abroad regarding Sino-Japanese relations he wished to say that discussions with the Chinese Government to solve pending questions and adjust relations had not reached substantial stage when Chengtu incident occurred, and that this and other incidents interfered with progress of negotiations. Vice Minister said that Japan desires in connection with the settlement of these questions that China take effective steps to eradicate anti-Japanese movements, and that at the same time Japan desires to clear up other questions which he could not enumerate but which he emphasized are Japanese desires to be attained by discussion and are not unconditional demands. The Vice Minister said there are no new points in the negotiations. Referring to press reports he denied that Japan is asking for the right to station troops along the Yangtze or for the rights of North China involving fiscal, administrative, diplomatic autonomy. In reply to a question the Vice Minister said that a press interview by Kuwashima, director of Asiatic Bureau, was substantially correct except alleged statements defining scope of demands. In conclusion the Vice Minister emphasized Japan’s desire for a solution of issues by diplomacy and express[ed] the hope that the Embassy would inform the American Government of the situation.
2.
The Kuwashima interview referred to in paragraph 1 has been reported by the Associated Press. In view of the Vice Minister’s remarks and in view of the care of Foreign Office representatives not to divulge the actual points under discussion with China the Embassy believes that the report of the Kuwashima interview is of no value as defining the demands.
3.
In conversation this afternoon with me at the hospital the Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs stated that the present discussions with China are in no respect like the 21 demands and that Japan has no intention of using force or other military operations to obtain Chinese agreement to Japanese desires. He said that the only demand upon which the Japanese will insist is the suppression of anti-Japanese propaganda and agitation because of the danger of further incidents. Other matters will be discussed but they will be simply desiderata subject to negotiation and designed to promote more healthy and normal relations. He said that the discussions will be based on Hirota’s three points. In regard to sending Kuwashima to China the Vice Minister said the object is to convey the real purposes of the Japanese Government to Kawagoe and added that “the deer hunter does not see the mountain” implying that Japanese representatives in China are unable to maintain perspective. When asked what steps are contemplated if China refuses compliance the Vice Minister stated “we shall not cross that bridge until we reach it”. He deplored the inaccuracy of New York Times reports presumably coming from Hallett Abend.
4.
Since these conversations the Embassy has received Department’s 127, October 2, 9 p.m.
5.
In spite of reports of the alarming attitude of Japanese representatives in China the Embassy believes that the Government in Tokyo is still in command of the situation and is confining its efforts to objectives less sweeping than those reported in the press abroad.

Repeated to Peiping.

Dickover