793.94/4465: Telegram
The Ambassador in Japan (Forbes) to the Secretary of State
[Received February 27—11 a.m.]
83. The French and British Ambassadors have both called today the purport of their call being to express the hope that the program indicated in my numbers 61 and 669 (last paragraph) could be adhered to. They feel that the effect of the Secretary’s letter to Senator Borah has been extremely injurious here and has made the situation much more tense, bringing it nearly to the danger point and has resulted in a [Page 458] feeling of pressure being exerted upon the Japanese from the outside such as we had hoped could be avoided for the reason given in the second point raised in my telegram No. 70.10 The effect of the publication here of the letter certainly will tend to silence for the present the influences working from within for the correction of this difficult situation. The Japanese officials and the Japanese public interpret the Secretary’s letter as being distinctly provocative. Many of the daily papers are talking now of war, some refer to it as another world war; but it is undeniable that the United States is looked upon as the probable enemy. An economic boycott such as is suggested in the United States by people looked upon here as responsible is openly regarded as tantamount to war.
The feeling of tension which in my telegram No. 6411 (last paragraph) I indicated as having been allayed, has become greatly increased again. And while none of the saner heads here want war or failed to see how disastrous it would be they are not entirely in control and in the present state of public feeling and war frenzy an apparently small matter might precipitate a serious situation.
De Martel had a long talk yesterday with Yoshizawa whom he found greatly disturbed about the Secretary’s letter which the Foreign Minister reports has been very badly received.
Lindley also feels that the leading position the United States has taken in the publication of repeated protests and the vigorous tone of our expression of disapproval of Japan’s course, and especially the Borah letter, has made the Japanese public feel that the United States is their enemy, the result may be that we would be the last of the big nations Japan would turn to as a mediator or conciliator. Lindley is advising his Government again urging a waiting attitude. Both he and De Martel express the hope that no further official expressions of the United States of the sort that the Japanese will interpret as provocative will be forthcoming until the present wave of resentment has died down and time given for the war frenzy now controlling the situation to subside. I strongly advocate this policy.