711.94/2625
Memorandum by the Ambassador in Japan (Grew)39
I received a visit today from a leading Japanese40 who maintains close contacts with the present government and who said he was calling at the request of Mr. Togo, the Foreign Minister. My informant told me that inasmuch as the Foreign Minister felt he could not express himself to me with the freedom which he desired, he was taking this means of sending me indirectly a suggestion along the following lines: The Tojo government has decided the limits to which it will be possible to go in an endeavor to meet the desires of the United States, but nevertheless should these concessions be regarded as inadequate by the Government of the United States it is of the highest importance that the Washington conversations be continued and not permitted to break down.
My informant then went on to express what he declared were his own personal opinions but which may or may not reflect the opinions of the Foreign Minister. He stated that if the present situation which was having a calamitous effect upon Japan were continued, the Japanese Government in the course of time would be compelled to agree to accept the views of the United States if only in order to prevent the breakdown of the conversations in Washington. I told my informant, and requested him to pass it on to Mr. Togo, that the present bellicose and violent tone of the Japanese press in regard to the United States, such as in particular the editorial published in the Japan Times and Advertiser on November 5 and the article in the evening Nichi Nichi yesterday which charged that the United States was talking like a harlot, and others, were rendering more difficult our efforts to adjust relations between our two countries in view of public opinion in the United States which naturally regards these truculent articles, and especially those of the Japan Times and Advertiser [Page 706] which is known to express the attitudes of the Japanese Foreign Office, as accurately reflecting the opinion of the Japanese Government. My informant promised to repeat my observations to Mr. Togo and to draw his attention to the articles in question.
My informant said that too much attention should not be paid to Japanese newspapers and added metaphorically that frightened dogs bark and the greater the fright the louder the bark, and that at present the military party in Japan are frightened by the prospects opening up before them. He went on to say that it is a mistake for the United States to regard the Japanese as adults. In reality they are children and should be treated accordingly. Their confidence can be gained by a friendly gesture or word. The Germans have correctly diagnosed this aspect of Japanese psychology and have utilized it successfully.
In conclusion my informant again urged that irrespective of future developments the Washington conversations must not be permitted to break down since in such an event he was fearful of some drastic and fateful results.