711.94/2624
Memorandum by the Ambassador in Japan (Grew)
The Director of the American Bureau called on me this morning at the request of the Foreign Minister and on the latter’s behalf conveyed to me a message of which the following is a brief summary.
The Foreign Minister is concerned over the recent incident in which the American destroyer Greer is involved since he feels that the German Government, which is said to be asserting that this incident constitutes an unprovoked aggressive act by the United States, may claim that it falls within the purview of article 3 of the Tripartite Pact. Admiral Toyoda mentions this incident as further proof of the necessity of expediting the suggested meeting between the Prime Minister and the President.
I told the Director of the American Bureau that I was sending for the record a letter to the Foreign Minister setting forth the main points of the official statements made by the President and the Navy Department concerning the incident involving the Greer. I likewise told Mr. Terasaki that I had already brought to the attention of the Secretary of State Admiral Toyoda’s views, which he had expressed to me several times, concerning the importance of holding the proposed meeting with the least possible delay.
Admiral Toyoda through Mr. Terasaki expressed to me the hope that officials of the American Government would refrain from making any public mention of the conversations between the United States and Japan which had been carried on in Tokyo and in Washington because any such publicity would make it much more difficult for the Foreign Minister to control dissident groups and opposing influences in Japan.