Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1940, The Far East, Volume IV

756.94/142: Telegram

The Ambassador in Japan (Grew) to the Secretary of State

Tokyo, June 12, 1940—noon.
[Received June 12—3:25 a.m.]

439. Our 170, March 12, 5 p.m.,⁴⁵ heading 3, sub-division 2, Japanese enterprises in Netherlands East Indies.

1. My Netherlands colleague told me last night that he yesterday invited Mr. Nishi, Director of European and Western Asiatic Affairs of the Foreign Office, to lunch alone with the Minister at the Legation and that in the course of conversation Nishi said that the Japanese navy is pressing the Foreign Office to obtain concessionary rights to explore for new oil fields in the Netherlands East Indies in order to afford oil reserves for the navy.

2. On my telling the Minister of the categorical assurances given me by the Minister for Foreign Affairs in our conversation of June 10⁴⁶ that Japan has no territorial ambitions, General Pabst said that he believed this to be entirely true so far as the Government is concerned but that on the other hand Japan has economic ambitions and that economic penetration is consistently dangerous.

Grew

45. Not printed.
46. See memorandum of June 10, Foreign Relations, Japan, 1931–1941, vol. ii, p. 67.