611.939/402
The American Ambassador in Japan (Grew) to the Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs (Matsuoka)
My Dear Mr. Minister: Rather than bother you with a personal visit I take the liberty of sending to Your Excellency direct our note No. 1665 of October 24 with regard to measures taken by the Japanese military authorities in China against the long established American export trade, especially concerning the fur export trade. Regulations recently promulgated have meant a virtual embargo on all fur exports from North China and as explained in my note which is sent under my Government’s instructions, American firms both in the United States and North China, failing an early modification of the attitude of the military authorities in China, are destined (1) to suffer large financial losses on account of stocks held for exportation under already existing contracts and on account of large additional unfilled contracts, and (2) to be eliminated from trade in which they have participated for a long period.
As this is a matter which falls within the extensive list of discriminatory measures taken by Japanese authorities against long established American interests in China in the removal of which measures Your Excellency has been good enough to take an interest and to assure me of your intention to take definite steps to obviate these difficulties, I venture to express the hope that the important difficulty set forth in detail in my accompanying note will be given Your Excellency’s earnest and earliest consideration.
With high regard, I am [etc.]