Memorandum left with the Secretary of State.
Washington, February 6, 1904.
Copy of a note addressed by the Japanese minister to Russia to the Russian minister for foreign affairs:
The undersigned, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan, has the honor, in pursuance of instructions from his Government, to address to his excellency the minister for foreign affairs of His Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias the following communication:
The Government of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan regard the independence and territorial integrity of the Empire of Korea as essential to their own repose and safety, and they are consequently unable to view with indifference any action tending to render the position of Korea insecure. The successive rejections by the Imperial Russian Government, by means of inadmissible amendments, of Japan’s proposals respecting Korea, the adoption of which the Imperial Government regarded as indispensable to assure the independence and territorial integrity of the Korean Empire and to safeguard Japan’s preponderating interests in the peninsula, coupled with the successive refusals of the Imperial Russian Government to enter into engagements to respect China’s territorial integrity in Manchuria, which is seriously menaced by their continued occupation of the province notwithstanding their treaty engagements with China and their repeated assurances to other powers possessing interests in those regions, have made it necessary for the Imperial Government seriously to consider what measures of self-defense they are called upon to take. In the presence of delays which remain largely unexplained and of naval and military activities which it is difficult to reconcile with entirely pacific aims, the Imperial Government have exercised in the pending negotiations a degree of forbearance which they believe is abundant proof of their loyal desire to remove from their relations with the Imperial Russian Government every cause for future misunderstanding, but finding in their efforts no prospect of securing from the Imperial Russian Government an adhesion either to Japan’s moderate and unselfish proposals or to any other proposals likely to establish a firm and enduring peace in the extreme East, the Imperial Government have no other alternative than to terminate present futile negotiations. In adopting that course the Imperial Government reserve to themselves the right to take such independent action as they may deem best to consolidate and defend their menaced position as well as to protect their established rights and legitimate interests.