394.115 Panay/118
Memorandum by the Secretary of State
The Ambassador of Japan called upon his own request. He proceeded to read from a memorandum in Japanese and sought to give me such facts as it contained relative to the bombing and sinking of the U. S. Gunboat Panay. The memorandum recited that there were thirteen refugees and a crew of 59 on this boat; that the Panay was anchored in the river at time of the bombing; that Japanese officials had received reports that Chinese troops were retreating up the river in boats; that the naval airplanes were sent to attack them and by mistake the Panay was bombed and sunk. The Ambassador then said that Japanese officials had been informed by United States authorities as to the whereabouts of the Panay, and so the bombing and sinking of this boat is considered a very grave blunder. He said that Hirota, before receiving official reports, proceeded to call on Ambassador Grew at Tokyo and to offer full apologies and regrets; that Hirota also sent orders to the Japanese Embassy at Washington for reports of the bombing and sinking of the Panay to be given the United States Government and for full and sincere apologies and regrets to be conveyed to the United States Government by the Ambassador, which he was thus undertaking to do. The Ambassador then said that the Japanese Navy, upon receiving a telegram from Ambassador Nelson Johnson regarding the sinking of the Panay, at once sent a war vessel, together with hospital and other supplies for all relief purposes, to the Americans. He said that Hohsien, where the survivors were taken, is near the neighborhood where Japanese and Chinese troops are fighting, so that it has been difficult to get these relief supplies to the American survivors of the bombing. He said also that United States authorities had requested Japanese officials to render these Americans all possible aid and that they were doing this as best they could. He read from his manuscript to the effect that the Panay and Standard Oil ships were anchored by a hulk or something of the sort.
At the conclusion of the Ambassador’s statement, I said that of course this Government was glad to have the benefit of his statement; that we here were never quite so astonished at an occurrence as at the news of this promiscuous bombing of neutral vessels on the [Page 523] Yangtse; that we were now most diligently undertaking to assemble all of the essential facts regarding the matter, and that then we will comment to the Japanese Government in the light of these facts. I said, “In this connection, I read to you as follows:
The White House
Washington
Memorandum handed to the Secretary of State at 12:30 P.M., December 13, 1937.
Please tell the Japanese Ambassador when you see him at one o’clock:
- 1.
- That the President is deeply shocked and concerned by the news of indiscriminate bombing of American and other non-Chinese vessels on the Yangtse, and that he requests that the Emperor be so advised.
- 2.
- That all the facts are being assembled and will shortly be presented to the Japanese Government.
- 3.
- That in the meantime it is hoped the Japanese
Government will be considering definitely for
presentation to this Government:
- a.
- Full expressions of regret and proffer of full compensation;
- b.
- Methods guaranteeing against a repetition of any similar attack in the future.
F.D.R.”
I said that the contents of this memorandum were, of course, wholly reasonable, especially in the light of what the Ambassador had just stated was a “very grave blunder”. I again expressed my amazement and also the hope that the military officials operating in this area would realize the extreme danger of their unprecedented conduct.
The Ambassador, in reply, agreed absolutely with everything I said.