500.A15A5/224: Telegram
The Chairman of the American Delegation ( Davis ) to the Secretary of State
[Received October 29—5:30 p.m.]
15. At a further meeting with the Japanese this morning Matsudaira definitely stated that the Japanese would denounce the Washington [Page 318] Treaty before the end of the year. He also stated that in the Japanese plan France and Italy would be entitled to the same common upper limit as the three principal naval powers although there would be no objection to their making a separate arrangement among themselves for a smaller total.
In discussing the question of whether or not there should be a meeting of the technical experts of the two delegations similar to the one which had taken place between the British and Japanese experts last Friday we made it plain that we were only willing to have the Japanese present to us their views with regard to technical questions on the understanding that neither party would be making any commitment as to principle. Admiral Yamamoto felt that there would be little value in a technical meeting unless the American experts were also prepared to submit the technical details of the American program. He pointed out in this connection that at the meeting with the British experts the latter had submitted the technical details of the British program, a point which the British confirmed this afternoon. I replied that we have no technical details to present, since our program consisted of favoring a percentage reduction within the existing treaty system and that once this general principle were accepted we would be openminded as to the method of carrying it into effect in the individual categories. We did not come to any definite conclusion on the question of the technical details but decided to take up the matter again at another meeting of the two delegations.