711.94/312

The Secretary of State to the Japanese Appointed Ambassador (Shidehara)

The Secretary of State presents his compliments to His Excellency the Japanese Ambassador and has the honor to acknowledge the receipt of his memorandum of December 13, 1919, with enclosure, regarding the question of the so-called “picture brides.”

The Secretary of State avails himself of this opportunity to express the appreciation with which the Government of the United States has noted the action thus taken by the Imperial Japanese Government. It is confidently hoped that this action will remove a source of misunderstanding between the two peoples and serve to maintain their relations upon a basis of good understanding.