711.94/1939
Address Delivered by the Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs (Matsuoka) at the America-Japan Society Luncheon at Tokyo on December 19, 19405
Mr. Chairman, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen.
It is an honor as well as a pleasure for me to be invited to this distinguished and delightful gathering. I am very happy to take part in this reunion of good old friends who are all devoted to the cause of promoting better understanding between Japan and America. In fact, I feel so comfortably at home among you, that I am tempted to confide you a bit of private information as to how I came to be accorded the treatment, thanks to Admiral Nomura, of a free luncheon in this time of stress and strictly managed economy, and that at the expense of the good members of the America-Japan Society.
When I approached Admiral Nomura for the post of Ambassador to the United States, the Admiral, showing not the slightest consideration for our old friendship, was adamant in his refusal. At first it looked hopeless. The obstinate, I might even say obdurate, Admiral stuck to his guns. But I refused to be scared away. I went back at him again and again, and many a friend of both his and mine levelled guns at him. In truth, I pitted my stubbornness against his [Page 124] stubbornness, and as days sped on I became even curious to see which will rub away, his or mine. Finally, at the end of three months’ siege and attack, this stubborn Admiral capitulated. Certainly I was proud of my victory. However, I came very soon to realize that I fought the battle on my own ground, i. e. terra firma, and not in the sailor’s element. That was not fair for the Admiral, but it was a thing on which Japan is to be congratulated and may be for America, too. In any case, I wouldn’t see myself compelled to meet him on the high seas!
Admiral Nomura needs no introduction. He is referred to in our press as a “Big Gun.” You know he is in every sense a “Big Gun,” physically and mentally, and feel sure that it is powerful and big enough a gun to shatter any and all possibility or potentiality, if there is any, of clash in the Pacific.
Admiral Nomura is not a professional diplomat, and yet he is a highly gifted diplomat. That has been abundantly demonstrated at Washington, D. C. and other posts abroad as well as during the tenure of his office as Foreign Minister in the Abe Cabinet.5a He is, moreover, a distinguished sailor, as you all know. Each sail that skims the horizon braves the dangers of the sea and the skipper is responsible for the safety of the entire crew. The very quality that distinguishes a successful sailor, it appears to me, is also the quality needed for a successful diplomat. The vast and deep ocean upon which stately ships move is eminently suited to cultivate a largeness of mind and foster self-confidence and common sense. It builds up, in short, a character that inspires confidence. In the person of our new Ambassador, the American people will find a true Japanese, every inch of that six footer, but at the same time a vehicle of international trust and confidence. We must recover confidence among nations, that is what the world so badly needs at this moment!
I am confident that Admiral Nomura will prove a worthy successor to Mr. Horinouchi who, ably assisted by his charming wife, has won the heart of the Americans. Might I be permitted to take advantage of this occasion publicly to tender Mr. and Mrs. Horinouchi my deepest appreciation and thanks for their untiring efforts for the cause of American-Japanese friendship?
I think the days of small things are now definitely over. We must think big and act big. It is no time to deal in small change. We must trade in larger currency—or rather, ingots of gold. Namely, we must see eye to eye regarding each other’s position and policy. In this connection, it may not be irrelevant to recall a witty French saying: “an equivalent of Napoleon does not make a Napoleon.” I admit that it is not quite proper to compare Admiral Nomura to Napoleon [Page 125] but, for obvious reasons, the French never had a coin named after Nelson.
The appointment of Admiral Nomura, I may say, is an eloquent indication of what my Government have in mind in regard to Japan’s relations with the United States of America. I owe it to candor to admit that the relations between our two countries are severely strained at this moment. Now, the causes that have brought about the present unfortunate deterioration are, of course, many and manifold, but the fundamental cause, let me be frank, is American misapprehension of Japan’s aims and aspirations. I shall forego to explain at length our viewpoint, lest I should spoil your appetite. Only let me observe a few words.
Contrary to impressions current in America and elsewhere, Japan is not waging an imperialist war of greed and aggression in China. It is not a war of conquest or covetous ambitions. We are engaged in a moral crusade. You may, if you like, ladies and gentlemen, laugh or shrug your shoulders at it, but I am sure time will prove it; fifty years hence, or in less a time, history will testify to it. We are fighting not for destruction but for construction. We are endeavouring to initiate an era of enduring peace and unlimited prosperity, based on justice, equity and mutuality, in Greater East Asia where we firmly believe we have a great mission as the civilizing and stabilizing force.
We stand for peace and order. We shut the door nowhere and to none. Any nation that desires to take a hand in this great task is welcome. But mind you, there shall be, “no conquest, no oppression, no exploitation under the New Order which we conceive.” We are as much against Japan herself committing these iniquities in the future. We will not be induced to deflect from our settled course, whatever the pressure or whoever the detractor. This, in short, is the basic attitude of my Government. When I say we must trade in larger currency, I mean to imply that rather than quarrel about minor grievances, we should try to look in a big way at the fundamentals of the situation now confronting us.
Japan’s ideal, the ideal bequeathed from time immemorial, from the time of the very foundation of the Empire, is to enable all nations to take their proper places in the world. It is my humble opinion that the world should be reorganized and reformed in a more rational way as, for instance, crystals are formed according to the law of nature. Minerals of different nature agree between themselves as to which of them shall give way to the other at their junction, and take their permitted shapes and allotted shares of space, yielding or being yielded to, as they build up a perfect crystal. When the international society is crystalized in a similar manner in accordance [Page 126] with the spirit of justice and equity, then and then only will a genuine and lasting peace prevail throughout the world. The new order we envisage is a realization of such an international society, which we intend to begin by setting up in this part of the world under our leadership. The Pact of Alliance recently concluded by Japan, Germany and Italy points to the same goal.
It seems to me that this world of ours is too wide politically and too narrow economically. While economic activities should be world wide and should suffer no limitation, our political efforts had better be restricted to only those spheres in which we are vitally interested, and not be extended to other people’s domains. If regional peace is effectively secured through regional understanding, the world will, by its aggregation, be able to enjoy a universal peace. This has been my idea all through since the adoption of the Covenant of the League of Nations at the Versailles Conference. The recent Havana Conference is a case in point, being an attempt to ensure peace and order in the Western Hemisphere through a regional cooperation.
Speaking of the Three Power Pact, a section of the American people have, wilfully or otherwise,* misunderstood our purpose and are accusing Japan of harboring hostile intentions toward America. Nothing can be more absurd and untrue. Japan has no desire whatsoever to antagonize America, or for that matter, any nation. We want to maintain and even enhance our friendly relations with all nations.
We only desire, on one hand, to be left alone, so that we may carry on our constructive work unhindered, and on the other hand, to see the trouble in China and the war in Europe brought speedily to an end, without adding more participants, particularly such a powerful one as America. Imagine just for a moment that America joined the European war or came to a clash with Japan in the Pacific. What then? If any bit of human feeling or an atom of instinct for self-preservation is left in you, ladies and gentlemen, wouldn’t you shudder at the very thought? Would not a kind of ice-water shoot down your spine?
There would loom up every chance of facing at last the Armageddon that would end in a total destruction of our culture and civilization. I do beseech my American friends to think twice, thrice, nay, ten, hundred or thousand times before they take a leap that may prove fatal to all Humanity. In this connection, I wish to leave no doubt whatever in the mind of any American citizen the fact that Japan is, and will remain, loyal to her Allies; that Japan’s foreign policy will revolve in the future around the Three Power Pact as its pivot, as it [Page 127] did around the pivot of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance in the past when that Alliance was in force. This, of course, implies no threat. It is a simple statement of truism made in order to prevent possible misapprehension. For, an illusion on an issue like this will bring no good to anyone.
At this point, permit me to refer only cursorily to the China problem. After all, the fate of China is largely a question of sentiment to the Americans, but to us it constitutes a truly vital issue affecting, as it does, the very existence of our Empire. We are confident regarding the future and are not without hope as to an early restoration of peace in China which by the way, will automatically liquidate the difficult situation which has engendered the present tension between Japan and America. In this sense, the new Chinese Central Government at Nanking may be regarded as the harbinger of better times, “Daffodils that come before the swallow dares.” It is my firm conviction that once the basic and broader aspect of the situation is rightly taken in by the Americans, they will not only not oppose our endeavors but will even join efforts with us in furthering our high aims. My proposition is that we, both of us, shall not blink at realities, however unpalatable they happen to be, but shall try earnestly and honestly to understand each other’s position with sympathy and in a spirit of mutual accommodation. For this, we must clear our mind of cant and avoid the folly of “rubbing the sore when one should bring the plaster” which sometimes thoughtless, not to say malevolent, people are apt to do.
The public is often the dupe of public opinion. Giddy minds and foreign affairs make an undesirable company. Some people simply cannot think of international relations but in terms of clash and conflict. Somehow they cannot think in terms of concord and co-operation. There are pessimists, not to say alarmists, in both countries who believe in the inevitability of a major conflict in the Pacific. That would surely spell the downfall of mankind. Do we not owe it to Humanity, both Japan and America, to unite our efforts and do our best to avert such an awful calamity?
In wishing God speed to Admiral Nomura, I pray most fervently, that he may successfully fulfill his mission which is to usher in a happier period of mutual trust and better understanding between our two great nations. Waves may rise high in the Pacific Ocean but we trust in the courage and resourcefulness of Admiral Nomura as a skillful and tried seaman safely to take us to the port. Neither shall we forget the fact that although we only see the white sail tossing on the rough sea, the ship does not lose its balance because of the ballast which remains invisible to our eyes. That ballast is the common sense of our two peoples.
[Page 128]And so I close this address with an earnest appeal to the common sense of our two peoples to maintain calm judgment and quiet self-restraint, in the face of the appalling and unprecedented world situation. Let us keep our heads clear and cool. Let us go slow and take time. Let us try to learn and make sure. There is ample time for us to think and make up our mind. Eternity before us, why over-hurry? Half a century is but a passing moment and will fill merely one brief paragraph in a history book.
Is it too much for Japan to ask for so much of a minute, just half a century or even less, in which to prove herself to the world? Time is the great curer of human travail. Let us all have a bit of patience. This is my appeal.