Office of the Historian

793.94/9264: Telegram

The Ambassador in China (Johnson) to the Secretary of State

Nanking, August 9, 1937—noon.
[Received 4:15 p.m.]

393. Embassy’s 388, August 7, 10 p.m.

1.
An officer of this Mission has been informed by a secretary of the Japanese Embassy that Kawagoe has not yet decided when or whether he will come to Nanking. He indicated that the Japanese Ambassador has in mind a formula for settlement but realized that if he put forth this formula at this time it would be rejected; later on when the situation should have changed, the formula might have some chance of success.
2.
He indicated that by change in the situation he meant further hostilities in Hopei which he considered likely because of continuing concentration of Chinese troops there. (See Embassy’s 384, August 7, 3 p.m.) He said there were now 6 Chinese divisions numbering from 60 to 70 thousand men along the Tientsin-Pukow Railway from Tsangchow south and 15 divisions numbering over 150,000 men on the Peiping-Hankow Railway. With reference to Peiping’s 402, August 8, 6 p.m., he said that the Kawabe Brigade took garrison duties in Peiping because it needed a rest after almost one month of fighting.
3.
In regard to present conferences in Nanking between the Generalissimo and regional leaders, he said his Embassy’s information was that Chiang was laying his cards on the table before these leaders and discussing with them the pros and cons of war, his purpose being to divide the responsibility for decision with them.
4.
He said the Japanese evacuation of the Yangtze valley, particularly Hankow, was a most extraordinary step to undertake purely with a view to avoidance of hostilities in this region. There was no question of Japan’s surrendering or retroceding the Hankow Concession; administration of the Concession was being handed over to Chinese authorities merely as a temporary measure because no Japanese would be left to administer it. Japanese evacuation now proceeding includes Chengchow, Honan, and closing the Japanese Consulate there, Wuhu and Chingkiang.

Sent to the Department, Tokyo. Code text and reading by mail to Peiping, Shanghai, Hankow.

Johnson