756.94/81½: Telegram
The Ambassador in Japan (Grew) to the Secretary of State
[Received May 14—11:40 a.m.]
338. 1. My British colleague has today shown to me Lord Lothian’s telegram to Lord Halifax reporting his recent conversation with the President concerning the Netherlands East Indies and has also given me the text of the consequent statement of diplomatic representations to the press on May [14?]. While recognizing the extreme privacy of the President’s conversation, the fact that Lord Lothian’s report has been communicated to me and that it mentions sources of information in Tokyo leaves me no option but to submit my comments. A close paraphrase of Lord Lothian’s telegram as received by the British Ambassador in Tokyo follows:
“President this evening told me that the news that he was receiving from Tokyo was causing him grave alarm. Intervention in Netherlands East Indies was apparently being contemplated by Japanese on excuse of intervention by British and French in Netherlands West Indies in order to avoid possibility of the Dutch inviting assistance from British and French in East Indies as had been done in West Indies. In order to strengthen his hand in Tokyo President asked me to telephone two requests to London: first, that on Sunday British Government should issue public statement that it had no intention whatever of intervening in East Indies. Netherlands Government should also if possible state that it had no need of inviting assistance there and no such intention. Second, request was that tomorrow announcement should also be made that since arrest of Germans and other local leaders had safeguarded situation in Curaçao and Aruba there should be withdrawal at earliest moment and if possible immediately of British and French troops placed at disposal of local authorities. I shall telephone you at noon London time Sunday because President has asked me to let him have your answer if possible Sunday morning.”
2. Without accepting the accuracy of the foregoing report, I trust that the following comment may be found helpful. I respectfully wish to print [point?] to the ever increasing questioning in Japan of the wisdom and practicability of Japanese foreign policy talks in the slogan “new order in East Asia”. As reported in several of my recent [Page 19] telegrams, there is a growing number of Japanese who are more and more openly criticizing attempts by Japan to set up an economy of self-sufficiency and who advocate a policy of international cooperation. At the other end of the scale are the extremists, still insisting on Japanese domination of China. In between are elements pressing the Government to [end?] the campaign in South and Central China and to entrench in North China and then to occupy the Dutch East Indies on the ground that China alone will not afford economic self-sufficiency to Japan. The persuasive character of this last thesis has been much strengthened by public discussion in the United States of the placing of embargoes against Japan, on the basis of the argument that the Indies would provide several raw materials which would be withheld by the United States. While admitting that Japan’s occupation of the Indies would result in an American embargo, these elements believe that the United States would under no circumstances go to war against Japan.
3. Sir Robert Craigie and I believe that the Prime Minister39 and the Foreign Minister oppose such action and are not deluded by theories of American restraint under such provocation.
4. In the face of fairly strong defensive forces in the Dutch East Indies, we believe that a large Japanese expeditionary force would be required for occupation. We have seen no indications here of such a force. A considerable part of the Japanese fleet has recently returned from South China to Yokosuka. Presumably such an expeditionary force would be prepared in Yokosuka, Formosa or Hainan. British authorities here and in Hong Kong and Singapore are closely watching developments. Our Naval Attaché40 has been consulted on the contents of this paragraph and concurs.