741.9411/216
The Ambassador in Japan (Grew) to the Secretary of State
[Received September 24.]
Sir:
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According to the Japan Advertiser of August 30, 1934, Sir Robert Clive, the British Ambassador to Japan, called upon Mr. Hirota, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, on August 29, 1934, and said:
“Rumors are being circulated among British and American residents of Tokyo that the Anglo-Japanese Alliance is to be revived, and I wish to make it clear that I am not associated with such reports in any way.”
The Minister for Foreign Affairs is reported to have replied that he likewise was not responsible for any part in spreading the rumors.
The Japanese Foreign Office, however, has not taken decisive steps to deny the rumors which have been current in Tokyo regarding the revival of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. On August 20, 1934, in reply to questions put by foreign newspaper correspondents to the spokesman of the Foreign Office, Mr. Amau replied that no conversations were going on between Japan and Great Britain for a political understanding, as far as he knew. He added that he could not understand the causes of the rumors, unless they were connected with the visit to “Manchukuo” of the business mission sent by the Federation of British Industries, the purpose of which is purely economic.
[Page 273]Although the Japanese Foreign Office has made no definite pronouncement regarding the rumors of a renewal of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, or the establishment of an understanding between the two countries, the Tokyo Nichi-Nichi of August 26, 1934, published an article purporting to give the views of the Foreign Office in regard to the conclusion of any such pact. The Japan Advertiser’s translation of the Nichi-Nichi article is as follows:
“The Foreign Office may find it necessary at some future time to forestall official or unofficial proposals for agreements of the kind being talked about at present by making a public statement of its attitude. If it does so, it will make the following points:
- 1.
- Japan’s policy toward China was made perfectly clear to the world when she served notice of withdrawal from the League of Nations. Japan will settle political problems with China from its own standpoint and only in direct negotiations. That principle was called to the attention of the Powers in the London naval talks last month.
- 2.
- Such military and political agreements as those embodied in the Anglo-Japanese Alliance are things of the past, and Japan, with autonomy in national defense, cannot afford to repeat the folly of serving as a “watch-dog” in China for other Powers.
- 3.
- Should any Power desire or find it necessary to enter into a political or economic agreement with Japan, it should first of all extend de jure recognition to Manchukuo and revise all existing treaties and agreements in order to fit them to the new situation in the Far East. Unless this is done, Japan will not consider political or economic cooperation with it.
- 4.
- If any proposal is made for dividing China into zones for political or economic activities or for a convention regarding markets in China, Japan will not listen unless the Manchukuo question is settled beforehand.
- 5.
- If any power, abandoning its policy of impeding Japan’s relations with China, proposes a gentlemen’s agreement to avoid mutual competition, Japan may give the matter some consideration, for it is the fixed policy of Japan to respect the open door and equal opportunity in China as widely as practicable.”
All of this may or may not have been designed to indicate to Great Britain the terms upon which Japan would consider a revival of the Anglo-Japanese entente. The Nichi-Nichi is in touch with the younger, more chauvinistic element of the Army and the Foreign Office, and the opinions given may be only those of this element.
The rumors of an understanding between Great Britain and Japan, which have been current in Tokyo since last May, appear to have emanated largely from Dutch sources. Thus, the Embassy’s telegram [Page 274] No. 98, May 23, 3 p.m.,94 was in part inspired by a conversation with General Pabst, the Netherlands Minister to Japan. Likewise, the rumors which were recently circulated in Tokyo were started on August 17, 1934, by Jan Fabius, the correspondent in Japan of the Amsterdam Telegraaf. Mr. Fabius claimed to have learned from an unimpeachable source that negotiations between Great Britain and Japan had been concluded and that announcement of the alliance or understanding would be made simultaneously with the visit of the British Industrial Mission to “Manchukuo”. Under the agreement, the correspondent understood, Britain would recognize “Manchukuo” and give Japan a free hand in North China, in return for which Japan would recognize British freedom of action in central Asia. Britain would also support Japan’s claim for naval parity and Japan would restrict exports of Japanese goods to British Empire markets. The Dutch are undoubtedly nervous in regard to their East Indian possessions, and are watching closely for any indication of a bilateral or multilateral agreement which will strengthen Japan’s hand in the Far East.
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Respectfully yours,