894.00 P. R./138
Extract From the Report of the American Embassy in Japan for May 1939
On May 24 the spokesman of the Foreign Office in a statement made concerning Japanese rights in relation to the concessions in China was reported to have declared that although the administration of the foreign settlements was in foreign hands, Chinese sovereignty [Page 846] still extended over these settlements; that as it was the Japanese aim in China to control Chinese sovereignty, this sovereignty might also be controlled in the settlements; that Japan had rights in the administration of the International Settlements and that she might therefore resort to force to safeguard these rights, which should be legally recognized; and that the present hostilities in China should not be permitted to constitute a reason for delay in Japan’s initiating administrative reforms in those areas.