500.A15A5/72: Telegram
The Ambassador in Great Britain (Bingham) to the Secretary of State
[Received May 31—2:05 p.m.]
292. Foreign Office advised me today in the sense of my 287, May 30, 6 p.m., adding that Matsudaira would act as the representative of the Japanese Government in this matter. In accepting the British proposal the Japanese Ambassador made the general [following?] comment in the strictest confidence on behalf of his Government.
“(a) For a number of reasons the Japanese Government desired that the Naval Conference should be held about April of next year.
(b) The Japanese Government had no objection to the opening of the preliminary conversations in London, but considered that the place at which the conference itself should be held should be decided in the preliminary conversations.
(c) It seemed to the Japanese Government proper that, for the present, the following matters should, inter alia, be discussed in the preliminary conversations: (1) Agenda of the conference (2) participating powers to the conference (3) date and place of the conference and procedure for the summoning of the conference.
While the Japanese Government agree that the preliminary conversations should be confidential and bilateral in form they understood that the conversations in London would not preclude the Japanese Government from negotiating, if they deemed necessary, with the powers concerned in places other than London.”
Foreign Office concurred in this last paragraph.
Repeated by mail to Geneva for Davis.