740.0011 Pacific War/497
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Acting Secretary of State
The British Ambassador called to see me this afternoon at my request.
I stated to the Ambassador that I wished to communicate to him for the confidential information of his Government certain secret reports that this Government had received today with regard to the situation in the Far East. I informed him of the messages received from General Chiang Kai-shek as well as the other information contained covering orders issued by the Japanese Government to its missions in the United States and the action of the Japanese nationals in the United States covering the liquidation of their assets here in this country.
[Page 290]The Ambassador asked specifically if I had in mind any definite date upon which the Japanese Government would announce the abrogation of its neutrality pact with Russia and the subsequent participation in the hostilities against Russia. I said that I had no specific date in mind but that from one of the reports reaching us which I regarded as reliable, the announcement of the abrogation of the neutrality pact might be looked for in the near future.64