Office of the Historian

611.939/369: Telegram

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

Tokyo, October 11, 1940—7 p.m.
[Received October 13—7 a.m.]

975. Department’s 382, October 7, 6 p.m. For tactical reasons I think it is preferable to avoid seeking further interviews with either the Foreign Minister or Vice Minister so far as is feasible just now. The Japanese are clearly worried by the effect in the United States of recent Japanese acts and utterances and I do not think that anything is to be gained at this juncture by further long political discussions for which occasion would be offered if I were to ask for appointments with either Mr. Matsuoka or Mr. Ohashi. Having assured the Japanese Government of the peaceful and nonprovocative attitude and intentions of the United States whose future course will be guided by the future actions of Japan, I am not anxious to continue the futile political debates which inevitably develop at my meetings with the higher officials.

I have therefore embodied the substance of the Department’s instruction under reference in a first person note which Crocker20 today delivered to the chief of the American Bureau of the Foreign Office and have sent a copy of the note to the Foreign Minister accompanied by the following is [letter?] annexed in order to make sure that he sees our note personally: (text follows in our 967 [976], October 11, 8 p.m.21).

Sent to the Department, repeated to Peiping, please repeat to Shanghai and Chungking.

Grew
  1. Edward S. Crocker, 2d, First Secretary of Embassy.↩
  2. For the Ambassador’s letter and note, see Foreign Relations, Japan, 1931–1941, vol. i, p. 883.↩