Foreign Relations of the United States, 1951, Asia and the Pacific, Volume VI, Part 1

694.001/3–1751

Provisional United States Draft of a Japanese Peace Treaty¹

secret

[Washington, March 23, 1951.]²

Provisional Draft of a Japanese Peace Treaty

(Suggestive only)

The Allied Powers and Japan are resolved that henceforth their relations shall be those of nations which, as sovereign equals, cooperate in friendly association to promote their common welfare and to maintain international peace and security. Japan declares its intention to apply for membership in the United Nations and under all circumstances to conform to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations; to strive to realize the objectives of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Eights; to seek to create internally conditions of stability and well-being as envisaged by Articles 55 and 56 of the Charter of the United Nations and already initiated by postwar Japanese legislation; and in public and private trade and commerce to conform to internationally accepted fair practices. The Allied Powers welcome the intentions of Japan in these respects and will seek to facilitate their realization. In order to put their future relations on a stable and peaceful basis the Allied Powers make this Treaty with Japan.

chapter i

peace

1. The State of War between the Allied Powers and Japan is ended.

chapter ii

sovereignty

2. The Allied Powers recognize the full sovereignty of the Japanese people over Japan and its territorial waters.

chapter iii

territory

3. Japan renounces all rights, titles and claims to Korea, Formosa and the Pescadores; and also all rights, titles and claims in connection with the mandate system or deriving from the activities of Japanese nationals in the Antarctic area. Japan accepts the action of the United Nations Security Council of April 2, 1947,³ in relation to extending the trusteeship system to Pacific Islands formerly under mandate to Japan.

4. The United States may propose to the United Nations to place under its trusteeship system, with the United States as the administering authority, the Ryukyu Islands south of 29° north latitude, the Bonin Islands, including Rosario Island, the Volcano Islands, Parece Vola and Marcus Island. Japan will concur in any such proposal. Pending the making of such a proposal and affirmative action thereon, the United States will have the right to exercise all and any powers of administration, legislation, and jurisdiction over the territory and inhabitants of these islands, including their territorial waters.

5. Japan will return to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics the southern part of Sakhalin as well as all the islands adjacent to it and will hand over to the Soviet Union the Kurile Islands.

chapter iv

security

6. Japan accepts the obligations set forth in Article 2 of the Charter of the United Nations, and in particular obligations

(a) to settle its international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered;

(b) to refrain in its international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations;

(c) to give the United Nations every assistance in any action it takes in accordance with the Charter and to refrain from giving assistance to any state against which the United Nations may take preventive or enforcement action.

The Allied Powers undertake reciprocally to be guided by the principles of Article 2 of the Charter of the United Nations in their relations with Japan.

7. The Allied Powers recognize that Japan as a sovereign nation possesses what the Charter of the United Nations refers to as the inherent right of individual or collective self-defense and that Japan may voluntarily enter into a collective security arrangement or arrangements participated in by one or more of the Allied Powers. Such arrangements shall be designed solely for security against armed attack.

(Note: The foregoing suggestions are recognized as being not in themselves complete with respect to security and are to be supplemented in the light of the outcome of current exchanges of views designed to maintain security in the Pacific and to enable Japan hereafter to contribute to its security without developing armament which could be an offensive threat or serve other than to promote peace and security in accordance with the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter.)⁴

chapter v

political and economic clauses

8. Japan will continue to be a party, or if not now a party will seek adherence, to existing multilateral treaties and agreements designed to promote fair trade practices, to prevent the misuse of narcotics and to conserve fish and wildlife.

9. Japan agrees to enter promptly into negotiations with parties so desiring for the formulation of new bilateral or multilateral agreements for the regulation, conservation and development of high seas fisheries.

10. Each of the Allied Powers, within a year after the present Treaty has come into force between it and Japan, will notify Japan which of its prewar bilateral treaties with Japan it wishes to keep in force or revive, and such treaties shall continue in force or be revived except for any provisions thereof not in conformity with the present Treaty, which provisions shall be deemed deleted. All such treaties not so notified shall be regarded as abrogated.

11. Japan renounces all special rights and interests in China.

12. The power to grant clemency, reduce sentences, parole and pardon with respect to the war crimes sentences imposed by military tribunals of the Allied Powers on persons who are incarcerated in Japan may not be exercised except jointly by Japan and the Government or Governments which imposed the sentence in each instance. In the case of the persons sentenced by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, such power may not be exercised except jointly by Japan and a majority of the Governments represented on the Tribunal.

13. Japan declares its readiness promptly to conclude with each of the Allied Powers treaties or agreements to put on a stable and friendly basis the commercial and trading relations between them. In the meantime the Government of Japan will, during a period of three years from the first coming into force of the present Treaty, accord most-favored-nation treatment to each of the Allied Powers with respect to customs duties, charges and all other regulations imposed on or in connection with the importation and exportation of goods, and will accord national treatment or most-favored-nation treatment, whichever is more favorable, with respect to the vessels, nationals and companies of the Allied Powers and their property, interests and business activities within Japan. National treatment shall not be deemed to include Japanese coastal and inland navigation. In respect of any of the above matters the Government of Japan may withhold from any Allied Power the application of more favorable treatment than such Power, subject to the exceptions customarily included in its commercial agreements, is prepared to accord Japan in that respect.

Notwithstanding the provisions of the first paragraph of this Article, the Government of Japan will be entitled to apply measures to safeguard its external financial position and balance of payments or its essential security interests, and to reserve the exceptions customarily contained in commercial agreements.

Pending the conclusion of civil air transport agreements, Japan, during a period of three years, shall extend to each of the Allied Powers not less favorable civil air traffic rights and privileges than those they exercised at the time of coming into force of the present Treaty.

Japanese submarine cables connecting Japan with territory removed from Japanese control pursuant to the present Treaty shall be equally divided, Japan retaining the Japanese terminal and adjoining half of the cable and the detached territory the remainder of the cable and connecting terminal facilities.

chapter vi

claims and property

14. The Allied Powers recognize that Japan lacks the capacity to make payments in bullion, money, property or services which would enable Japan to maintain a viable economy, to meet its obligations for relief and economic assistance furnished since September 2, 1945, in furtherance of the objectives of the occupation, and also to make adequate reparation to the Allied Powers for war damage. However, Japan grants to each of the Allied Powers the right to vest, retain and dispose of all property, rights and interests of Japan and of Japanese nationals which between December 7, 1941, and September 2, 1945, were within their territories, or within territories renounced by Japan, or within territory administered by any of them under United Nations trusteeship, except (i) property of Japanese nationals permitted to reside in the territory of one of the Allied Powers and not subjected to special measures prior to September 2, 1945; (ii) tangible diplomatic or consular property, net of any expenses incident to its preservation; (iii) property of non-political religious, charitable, cultural or educational institutions; (iv) property located in Japan, despite the presence elsewhere of paper or similar evidence of right, title or interest in such property, or any debt claim with respect thereto and (v) trade-marks identifying products originating in Japan.

In case any Allied Power has taken property, rights or interests of an industrial character of Japan or of Japanese nationals from the territory of another Allied Power, it will account to the other.

Reparations claims of the Allied Powers and their claims for direct military costs of occupation shall be deemed to be satisfied out of the Japanese assets subject to their respective jurisdictions in accordance with the foregoing and out of assets received from the Japanese home islands during the occupation.

Note: The foregoing suggestions regarding reparations are made subject to current exchanges of views.)

15. Japan will return, upon demand, within six months from the first coming into force of this Treaty, the property, tangible and intangible, and all rights or interests of any kind, in Japan of each Allied Power and its nationals, unless the owner has freely disposed thereof without duress or fraud. In the case of war loss or damage to property of nationals of Allied Powers in Japan compensation will be made in accordance with Japanese domestic legislation in yen subject to Japanese foreign exchange regulations.

16. Japan waives all claims of Japan and its nationals against the Allied Powers for action taken during the State of War hereby ended, and waives all claims arising from the presence operations or actions of forces or authorities of any of the Allied Powers in Japanese territory prior to the coming into force of the present Treaty.

chapter vii

settlement of disputes

17. Any dispute between an Allied Power and Japan concerning the interpretation or execution of the present Treaty, which is not settled through diplomatic channels, shall, at the request of a Party to the dispute, be referred for decision to the International Court of Justice. Japan and those Allied Powers which are not already parties to the Statute of the International Court of Justice will deposit with the Registrar of the Court, at the time of their respective ratifications of the present Treaty, and in conformity with the resolution of the United Nations Security Council, dated October 15, 1946, a general declaration accepting the jurisdiction, without special agreement, of the Court generally in respect of all disputes of the character referred to in this Article.

chapter viii

final clauses

18. Allied Powers, for the purposes of the present Treaty, shall be deemed to be those States at war or in a state of belligerency with Japan and which become parties to the present Treaty.

19. Except for the provisions of Article 11, the present Treaty shall not confer any rights, title or benefits to or upon any State unless and until it signs and ratifies, or adheres to, this Treaty; nor, with that exception, shall any right, title and interest of Japan be deemed to be diminished or prejudiced by any provision hereof in favor of a State which does not sign and ratify, or adhere to, this Treaty.

20. Japan will not make a peace settlement or war-claims settlement with any State which would grant that State greater advantages than contemplated by the present Treaty to be granted to the Parties hereto.

21. The present Treaty shall be ratified by the Allied Powers and by Japan and will come into force as between Japan and other ratifying States when instruments of ratification by Japan and by a majority, including the United States of America as the principal occupying power, of the States which are members of the Far Eastern Commission have been deposited with the Government of the United States of America. If such coming into force has not occurred within nine months after ratification by Japan, then any Allied Power may at its election bring the Treaty into force as between itself and Japan by notification to Japan and to the Government of the United States of America. The Government of the United States of America shall notify all signatory and adhering States of all ratifications deposited and of all notifications received pursuant to this Article.

22. Any State, not a signatory to the present Treaty, which is at war or in a state of belligerency with Japan may adhere to the present Treaty at any time within three years after the Treaty has come into force as between Japan and any ratifying State. Adherence shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of adherence with the Government of the United States of America, which shall notify all the signatory and adhering States of each deposit.⁵

1. As filed this draft is annexed to a covering memorandum, not printed. In telegram 1386 to Tokyo, March 23, marked “Sebald from Allison,” the Department described the distribution of these papers as follows: “Provisional draft Jap peace treaty with covering memorandum being handed British Chargé today and representatives other FEC countries plus Indonesia, Korea and Ceylon during coming week. Draft marked secret with no present intention for publicity.” The Department instructed Mr. Allison’s Office to provide copies also to Prime Minister Yoshida and to General MacArthur. (694.001/3–2351)

   The last paragraph of the covering memorandum is as follows: “Govt US would appreciate consideration of enclosed draft and early expression of views. Thereafter, Govt US will expect get in touch with [the FEC powers, Indonesia, Korea and Ceylon] with view to concerting future procedure.”

2. The next previous draft, not printed, is dated March 20. (Lot 54 D 423)
3. For text of the Trusteeship Agreement for the former Japanese-mandated islands in the Pacific, concluded between the United States and the Security Council of the United Nations on April 2, 1947, see TIAS No. 1665, or 61 Stat. (pt. 3) 3301. For documentation regarding conclusion of this Agreement, see Foreign Relations, 1947, vol. i, pp. 258–278.
4. The Department’s telegram 252 to Canberra, March 22, marked “For Spender from Dulles”, in part indicates that the preceding paragraph was inserted shortly before distribution of the draft in order to meet the views of the Government of Australia, which had opposed a previously suggested covering memorandum (694.001/3–2251). The text of that draft covering memorandum, in which the problem of Pacific security in relation to Japan was treated without allusion to “current exchanges of views,” is contained in telegram 241 to Canberra, March 16, not printed, which was also a message from the Consultant to Mr. Spender (694.001/3–1651).
5. With a short memorandum of March 26, not printed, President Truman returned to the Secretary a copy of this draft in which he had made three stylistic changes. The President said in conclusion: “I hope you will be able to implement this Treaty as quickly as possible.” (Lot 54 D 423)