Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1939, The Far East; The Near East and Africa, Volume IV

793.94/14990: Telegram

The Ambassador in Japan (Grew) to the Secretary of State

Tokyo, May 11, 1939—4 p.m.
[Received May 11—6:37 a.m.]

218. Department’s 119, May 8, 7 p.m.

1. I called this morning on the Foreign Minister and made emphatic oral representations against the recent indiscriminate bombings by Japanese forces in China, basing my representations primarily on humanitarian grounds involving the safety of non-combatant civilian population and furthermore on the grounds of the serious risks involved in jeopardizing the lives and property of American nationals both official and private.

2. The text of my oral statement, a copy of which I left with the Minister, is being sent tonight by airmail to Shanghai for repetition to the Department by naval radio.⁶³ See tel. 219, May 11, 1939 from Tokyo.⁶⁴

3. The Minister’s only comment was the usual formula that every effort was made by the aviators to avoid accidents when bombing military objectives but that he would convey my representations both to the military and naval authorities.⁶⁵

4. The Minister, with my concurrence, proposes to announce to the press that my visit was to discuss “current American problems in China”, it being mutually agreed that the publication here of the precise representations would only serve undesirably to inflame some elements of the army. I told Arita, however, that my Government might feel obliged to give detailed publicity in the United States with a view to satisfying American public opinion.

Grew

63. For text, see Foreign Relations, Japan, 1931–1941, vol. i, p. 647.
64. Not printed.
65. British and French representations were made on May 12 and 16 respectively.