793.94/5710
Memorandum by the Chief of the Division of Far Eastern Affairs (Hornbeck)
Mr. Hornbeck made a courtesy call, of fifteen minutes, on the Japanese Ambassador.
In the course of the conversation, the Ambassador gave an account, which he said he had received from the Japanese Foreign Office, of the Shanhaikwan incident. He then said that the Japanese Cabinet had met and had decided that action in consequence of this incident should be strictly localized, and that they had issued instructions accordingly. This, he said, included instructions by the military authorities. He said that he had not received instructions to inform the Department of State, but that he wished that we know this and requested that Mr. Hornbeck report it to the Secretary of State. In reply to a question by Mr. Hornbeck, the Ambassador next said that [Page 7] it was not the intention at present to proceed with military operations against Jehol—unless the Chinese made it necessary. He said that the Japanese did not intend to proceed against Tientsin or Peiping. He went on to say that in the past he had frequently given the Department, through no fault of his own, misinformation, but that he was confident in this instance of the accuracy of what he was saying.
(Note: It is stated in the New York Times of this morning that the Ambassador “plans to call on Secretary Stimson tomorrow9 and give him the Tokyo Government’s version of the fighting at Shanhaikwan.”)
- For memorandum of conversation on January 5, 1933, see Foreign Relations, Japan, 1931–1941, vol. i, p. 107.↩