711.94/2624
Memorandum by the Ambassador in Japan (Grew)
Mr. Shigemitsu, the Japanese Ambassador to England, called today and we discussed the current conversations between the United States and Japan. I gathered the impression that Mr. Shigemitsu had called on me with the knowledge of Prince Konoye or the Foreign Minister. Mr. Shigemitsu reviewed the Japanese attitude toward these conversations roughly as follows: (1) the present Japanese Government is united in support of the current endeavors to bring about an adjustment of relations with the United States; (2) [Page 625] the time factor, however, is of the greatest importance since groups in Japan who are against any adjustment of relations with the United States and the efforts being made in that direction are progressively mobilizing their forces; (3) should the efforts of the Prime Minister toward an understanding with the United States end in failure, there is no other statesman in Japan who would be able to bring about the desired solution since from both a political and a social point of view the present position of the Prime Minister is unusually strong.
I explained to Mr. Shigemitsu the grave dangers of embarking upon official negotiations without and prior to the establishment through preliminary talks of an adequate and agreed basis. I mentioned as well the broad construction which could be placed upon some of the points in the proposals put forward by the Japanese Government, and took occasion also to refer to the past experiences of the American Government as a result of the failure of Japan to carry out a number of assurances and promises which a succession of Japanese Foreign Ministers had made to me. Mr. Shigemitsu, while admitting the soundness of my remarks, told me that the situation at the present time was different from any in the past when the Japanese military had declined to carry out undertakings which the Foreign Minister had made. At present, Mr. Shigemitsu said, the responsible chiefs of the armed forces are supporting the policy of the Government and as a result of this support Prince Konoye is able to bring about a new course of policy. To illustrate his point Mr. Shigemitsu said that the Japanese Government could be compared with someone who had scaled a high fence and had his feet planted on the other side on new ground. He said in addition that although it was a physical impossibility to set down ahead of time all details relative to the carrying out by Japan of the undertakings which the Japanese Government might assume, the sincerity and will of the Konoye Government is such that the faithful execution in the course of time of any agreement which may be reached can be counted on with complete confidence.
Mr. Shigemitsu told me in the strictest confidence that the initiative in the direction of an understanding with America and England had come from the Emperor personally and that his own recall from London was related to this general subject. Mr. Shigemitsu told me that he had been received for two hours by the Emperor and could assure me that even during Mr. Matsuoka’s tenure of office and Japan’s adherence to the Axis the Emperor’s wishes for the development of friendly relations with the United States and Great Britain had never wavered.