894.001H61/87

Memorandum by the Under Secretary of State (Phillips)

The Japanese Ambassador called under instructions with regard to the recent Seattle incident. He said that after the incident had been reported to his Government he received instructions from the Foreign Office to make representations at the Department, to which he had replied that in his opinion it would be wiser for him not to take this action. He had pointed out that the Mayor of Seattle had already made an apology and that it would be better to allow the matter to remain a purely local one; however, the Ambassador said that he had received new instructions to call at the Department inasmuch as there was a good deal of feeling among the Japanese people about the affair. I replied that in my opinion the Ambassador’s advice to his Government had been wise and that it would have been better to have left the matter with the Mayor’s apology; that unless there was some reason for keeping the incident alive in the minds of the public it could well have been laid to rest; I added, however, that I had noticed with satisfaction that the Ambassador had not used the word “protest” in his remarks.

Mr. Saito replied that he had carefully refrained from the use of this word and that he had merely brought to my attention the feelings of the Japanese people with respect to their country; that he had referred to the Seattle incident in particular and had expressed the [Page 872] hope that there would be no other incidents of a similar character in the future. I informed the Ambassador that I had no comment to make other than that which the Secretary of State had recently made in public on the occasion of the Vanity Fair publication; that I could merely refer him to the Secretary of State’s words which seemed to me to cover adequately both of his representations. The Ambassador said that he was quite satisfied.

W[illiam] P[hillips]