Office of the Historian

500.A15A5/441: Telegram

The Ambassador in Japan (Grew) to the Secretary of State

Tokyo, July 15, 1935—6 p.m.
[Received July 15—6:52 a.m.]

149. Department’s 106, July 3 [13], 4 p.m., I have no confirmatory information. From the Embassy’s sources of intelligence it would appear that Japanese opposition to German participation may be ascribed to:

(1)
The legalistic view held by the Japanese Foreign Office that only participants in the original Washington Conference are entitled to participate in the revision conference.
(2)
The complications which would be caused by [intrusion of?] the new German and perhaps Soviet interests into the situation, and
(3)
The recent acceptance by Germany in the Anglo-German naval agreement of the ratio principle, to which Japan is opposed.

Grew