893.24/1141
Oral Statement by the American Ambassador in Japan (Grew) to the Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs (Matsuoka)
Reference is made to the frequent oral and written communications between the American Embassy and the Foreign Office concerning merchandise in French Indo-China owned by American citizens or in which there is American interest; the latest of these communications was the Foreign Minister’s Note no. 71 dated June 24, 1941.
Since that time, information has been received to the effect that certain cargo at Hanoi as well as at Haiphong has been seized by the Japanese military, but that it was impossible to check the amount and nature of the cargo so seized because the rightful owners were not permitted to inspect the warehouses where their merchandise was stored. Nevertheless, it is known that a substantial amount of American cargo has been taken away.
In bringing this subject again to the attention of the Foreign Office, it is urgently requested that immediate steps be taken to restore the merchandise to its rightful owners. The Government of the United States, as has been stated before, does not recognize the right of the Japanese military to take any action whatsoever in French Indochina against property in which there is an American interest. The American Embassy has been instructed to state that the result of persistence by the Japanese in action such as that described above can only be further deterioration in relations between the United States and Japan.