694.1117 American Japanese Trade Commission/4: Telegram

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

7. Your No. 7, January 11, 4 p.m., and Department’s No. 6, January 12, 3 p.m. According to information furnished the Department, the National Foreign Trade Council, New York, has now decided to sponsor an economic mission to China which will also visit Japan and the Philippines (forming in effect separate sections in each country) for the purpose of discussing mutual problems affecting trade. The mission will comprise members selected from industrial corporations having large interests in those countries with a number of experts in economics, transportation and finance, and also several prominent men who are not now identified actively with any American corporation but who have had associations with those countries in the past.

The Department is informed that the letter which the Council was to send out on January 15 to the firms interested in the organization of this mission was approved by both the Chinese and the Japanese concerned, the latter including Mr. Sawada, at New York.

The Council’s letter indicates that the American-Japanese Trade Council in New York will make arrangements for the mission to confer during its stay in Japan with members of the Japanese-American Trade Council and the Japan Economic Federation.

The mission is scheduled to leave March 22 from San Francisco on the President Coolidge and to remain 2 weeks in Japan before proceeding to China, where it will spend about 6 weeks visiting the principal cities.

For the present it is suggested that you continue to keep in mind the last paragraph of Department’s No. 6, January 12, 3 p.m.

Hull