893.811/1060
The American Ambassador in Japan (Grew) to the Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs (Arita)
Your Excellency: In the note No. 1076 of October 6, 1938, which I had the honor to address to Your Excellency’s distinguished predecessor, mention was made, among other points, of the exclusion from the lower reaches of the Yangtze River of American and other non-Japanese shipping although Japanese merchant vessels are carrying Japanese merchandise between Shanghai and Nanking, to the exclusion of merchandise of other countries. I pointed out to His Excellency Prince Konoye that this treatment of American shipping and commerce, as well as the treatment by Japanese authorities of other American interests in China, not’ only violates American rights but is in direct contravention of assurances repeatedly affirmed by the Japanese Government to the American Government that the principle of the open door and equal opportunity in China would be supported by the Japanese Government. In the aforementioned note, request was made on behalf of the Government of the United States that the Japanese Government implement its assurances already given with regard to the maintenance of the open door and to non-interference with American rights by taking prompt measures to cause the discontinuance, among other forms of interference with American interests in China, of the restrictions placed upon American trade and shipping.
Acting under instructions from my Government I now have the honor to point out to Your Excellency that the armed forces of Japan have now advanced up the Yangtze River as far as Hankow and that below Hankow there are no longer major hostilities on the river or along the banks of the river. A large number of Japanese ships in the meantime have proceeded up the river to Hankow. Japanese armed forces, furthermore, following their arrival at Hankow, have had ample time in which to systematize the movement of Japanese vessels on the river.
During the period when active hostilities were taking place on certain reaches of the Yangtze River below Hankow, American shipping refrained from exercising its right to freedom of navigation on the river. That the Japanese Government should no longer place obstacles in the way of the exercise of this American right, my Government considers only reasonable. The Yangtze River as the main artery of transportation in Central China is a highly important channel for the movement of vessels, persons and merchandise and the width of the river is amply sufficient to take care of the traffic needs of all concerned. No reasonable basis to account for the restriction [Page 795] by the Japanese Government of the free use of this river under the circumstances existing at present is perceived by the Government of the United States.
Under the circumstances set forth above I have the honor on behalf of my Government once again to request that the Japanese Government forthwith implement its repeated assurances with regard to American navigation rights on the Yangtze River by promptly discontinuing the restrictions on American trade and shipping thereon between Shanghai and Hankow.
I avail myself [etc.]