Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1941, The Far East, Volume IV

711.94/217810/18

Memorandum by the Chief of the Division of Far Eastern Affairs (Hamilton)

[Washington,] July 17, 1941.

I talked to the Secretary at noon today over the telephone with regard to the approach made to me on July 16 by Mr. Wakasugi¹⁹ in regard to the desire of the Japanese Ambassador to return the Oral Statement of June 21.²⁰ I informed the Secretary briefly of the remarks made by Mr. Wakasugi and of my comments as set forth in the memorandum of conversation of July 16. I also suggested to the Secretary that he might care to authorize me to make a statement to Mr. Wakasugi along lines as follows:

“In view of the Ambassador’s statement that the Oral Statement of June 21 has been misunderstood by and may be a source of embarrassment to the Japanese Government, the Secretary has authorized me to accept from you the Oral Statement which he handed the Ambassador on June 21. We do so in the light of the statements which we have made to the Japanese Ambassador and to you in explanation of the real meaning and purport of the Oral Statement and in the light of the Ambassador’s statement that he understands what the Secretary had in mind in the Oral Statement.”

The Secretary commented that of course this was a specious argument devised by Matsuoka; that with the various evidences we had pointing to the fact that certain governmental elements in Japan desired to continue in close association with Hitler in a program of world domination and aggression, we could not approach the Chinese or could not enter into an agreement with the Japanese until we had some definite indication that the Japanese Government as a whole desired to follow a peaceful course. The Secretary expressed the view that it was important that we maintain our position as set forth in the Oral Statement. I suggested that we might do this in a more clear-cut way by adding to the statement quoted above a statement to the effect that this Government of course continues to wish to be satisfied that the Japanese Government as a whole desires to follow policies of peace.

The Secretary indicated that he would concur in my receiving the Oral Statement from Mr. Wakasugi provided that in so doing we not allow ourselves to get jockeyed out of the position which this Government had taken. The Secretary repeated that he thought it was important that we maintain that position. He suggested also that I might comment to Mr. Wakasugi that a natural desire on the part of this Government to be satisfied that the Japanese Government as a whole was bent on following a course of peace was something entirely separate and distinct from any inference that anyone might erroneously draw that this Government was endeavoring to single out for criticism some individual in the Japanese Government and to interfere in Japan’s internal affairs, and that it was the broad general question of the attitude of the Japanese Government which concerned this Government.²¹

19. See memorandum of July 16, Foreign Relations, Japan, 1931–1941, Vol. ii, p. 511.
20. Foreign Relations, Japan, 1931–1941, vol, ii, p. 485.
21. See memorandum and statement by the Chief of the Division of Par Eastern Affairs, July 17, ibid., pp. 513 and 514.