862i.01/173

The Secretary of State to the Japanese Ambassador ( Shidehara )

Memorandum

1. The Secretary of State has the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the Memorandum of the Japanese Ambassador under date of September 8, and is gratified to find that the comments in the Secretary’s Memorandum of August 19, under the first heading, from (a) to (g) inclusive, and under the second heading relative to radiotelegraphic service, upon the Memorandum of the Japanese Ambassador of June 18, 1921, are substantially acceptable to Japan, it being understood that the rights, provisions and exemptions indicated in those comments are intended to refer only to those that are essential to the service of electrical communication in the Island of Yap.

2. The United States has not sought privileges in the Island of Yap to the exclusion of the other Principal Allied and Associated Powers; it is recognized however that, although the United States has not agreed to the Mandate to Japan, the others of those Powers have given their assent thereto; and in the absence of representations from these Powers, which might be taken to indicate a contrary view, in answer to the identic note addressed to them by this Government in April last,38 there is no ground for objection to the making of a Convention or agreement between Japan and the United States with respect to the Island of Yap, as stated in Paragraph 2 of the Japanese Ambassador’s Memorandum of September 8, 1921.

3. With respect to the other islands or former German possessions in the Pacific lying north of the Equator, comment is made below, in paragraph 6.

4. It is recognized that arrangements for the disposition of the former German cables in the Pacific should be made by a convention or agreement to be concluded among the five Principal Allied and Associated Powers.

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5. It is understood that the existing extradition conventions between Japan and the United States will apply to the Island of Yap, but it is deemed advisable to insert a clause to this effect in the proposed convention between Japan and the United States.

With respect to the question of expropriation, it is understood that the American property and facilities for the purpose of electrical communication in the Island will be exempt from the process of expropriation. In order, however, that needed property and facilities for such communication may be had, it is desired that, if they cannot be otherwise obtained, the Japanese Government shall agree to use its power of expropriation for this purpose. It is assumed, in the light of the fact that such action would be for the purpose of carrying out the agreement between Japan and the United States, that it could be regarded as a public purpose with respect to Japan; and that there will be little difficulty in agreeing upon a proper clause to that effect in the proposed convention.

6. There remain for consideration the questions which relate to the other islands in the Pacific, lying north of the Equator, which were formerly possessed by Germany.

The assumption that there will be no objection on the part of the United States to the assignment to Japan of a mandate for these islands is true in a qualified sense, that is, there will be no objection in case an agreement is reached with respect to the additions to, or qualifications of, the Mandate, which are deemed necessary to give suitable protection to the interests of the United States. Appropriate provisions to cover these points may be incorporated in the same Convention which will contain the proposed stipulations as to Yap. The points deemed to be important are these:

(a)
As the United States is not a member of the League of Nations or a party to the Mandate, there should be a general provision in the Convention that the United States should have the benefit of the engagements set forth in the Mandate.
(b)
In Article 5 of the Mandate, reference is made to “nationals of any State, member of the League of Nations.” There should be suitable provision in the Convention that missionaries who are nationals of the United States should have similar privileges. In the same Article, it is stated that the privileges of missionaries are “for the purpose of prosecuting their calling.” There is some ambiguity in this, and in order to protect the philanthropic and educational work of missionaries it is suggested that schools should be mentioned as in Article 8 of the British “B” Mandate for German East Africa.
(c)
The Secretary of State has proposed that provisions similar to those of Article 7 of the British “B” Mandate for East Africa should be inserted in all “A” and “B” Mandates, prohibiting monopolistic concessions by the Mandatory or the monopolizing of natural resources [Page 299] by the Mandatory itself; and considers that the same principle should apply to all “C” Mandates. While he is not at liberty to waive that principle, he nevertheless feels that, in view of the paucity of existing or potential economic resources in the former German Islands north of the Equator, there would appear to be no occasion to insist upon the insertion in the Convention of any provision expressly making this principle applicable to these Islands.
(d)
It is desired that there should be contained in the Convention a statement that the treaties between the United States and Japan now in force should apply to the mandated islands, and that, in view of the special provisions of the terms of the Mandate, the citizens and vessels of the United States should have free access to all waters of the mandated territories save as it may from time to time be necessary to close temporarily any place or port to quarantined vessels.
(e)
It is also desired that there should be a provision that vested American property rights will be maintained and respected.

The mandate in its present form could easily be recited in the Convention, and the provisions indicated above might thereafter be inserted in appropriate clauses of the Convention.

It is understood that the administration by Japan of the mandated islands will be subject to the Convention with the United States, and that the terms of the Mandate which are recited in the Convention and of which the United States is to have the benefit will not be modified without the express consent of the United States. It is also desired that, as the United States is not a member of the League of Nations, a report will be made to the United States similar to that which is to be made by Japan to the Council of the League of Nations, as provided in Article 6 of the Mandate.

  1. See telegram no. 61, Apr. 2, 1921, to the Chargé in Japan, p. 279.