711.94/254014/35
Memorandum of a Conversation
The Japanese Ambassador called at the Secretary’s office to present Mr. Kurusu in pursuance of an appointment made at the Ambassador’s request.
After the Ambassador had presented Mr. Kurusu and appropriate amenities had been exchanged, the Secretary complimented Mr. Kurusu upon the way he had handled his relations with the public since coming to this country. The Secretary then spoke highly of the respect and confidence in which the Secretary and his associates hold the Japanese Ambassador.
The Secretary then went on to say that, from the point of view of the long-swing interests of both Japan and the United States, he felt that there should be no conflict in the real interests of the two countries. He referred then to the short-sighted nationalistic statesmanship that developed in Europe and in the United States after the World War which he said was responsible for the troubles from which the world is now suffering. He expressed the hope that our two countries could pursue a wise, far-sighted statesmanship and in this way do something to contribute to put the world back on peaceful courses. He pointed to the fact that Hitler was holding down one or two hundred million people in Europe at the point of the bayonet and observed that this was a situation we do not like to see perpetuated in this world.
Mr. Kurusu said that there appeared to be an unfortunate impression that in certain quarters in this country the new Prime Minister, being a military man, had an outlook and attitude which was different from that of the previous Prime Minister, but that Kurusu himself had been agreeably surprised when he discussed policies with General Tojo and found him to be sincerely desirous of reaching an agreement with the United States. He said he wished to tell the Secretary off the record that when General Tojo had been commanded to form a cabinet, Tojo had invited Kurusu to take an important position in the cabinet but that Kurusu had declined because he had thought, having read the announcement that the Konoye cabinet had fallen on account of important differences within the cabinet as to methods of executing national policy, that General Tojo intended to discontinue the conversations with the United States. Kurusu said that later on he had discussed with General Tojo the matter of his present mission and he was fully reassured of the General’s desire to reach a peaceful settlement with the United States. Kurusu said that in the three important points on which differences have developed in our conversations [Page 739] General Tojo seemed to be optimistic in regard to the prospects of eliminating the differences in respect to nondiscrimination and the relations of the two countries toward the European war, but that the General felt that on account of the difficulty of withdrawing Japanese troops from China in a short time this problem would be one which would present greater difficulties.
The conversation was interrupted at this point owing to the approach of the hour for the President’s reception of the Ambassador and Mr. Kurusu.
The Ambassador handed the Secretary two documents which the Ambassador said were the Japanese Government’s reply to the points we had raised on (1) Japan’s peaceful intentions57 and (2) on narrowing down the scope of the proposed understanding.58