500.A15A5/615: Telegram
The Chairman of the American Delegation (Davis) to the Secretary of State
[Received January 13—10:45 p.m.]
46. At a 2-hour meeting with the British before dinner tonight, the Japanese told them in substance that they wished to have a further discussion and a decision with regard to the common upper limit. The Japanese asked that the first committee be postponed until Wednesday afternoon at which time they desired to present a fuller explanation of their thesis and stated that upon rejection by the other powers they must leave the Conference.
I saw both Eden and Monsell later at a meeting who told me briefly that “the jig was up.” At their request we have arranged to have a further talk with them in the morning.
Eden told me that the Japanese had urged them to agree to an immediate adjournment of the Conference until later this year. He said he had told the Japanese definitely that the British would not [Page 33] agree to this and that they would propose that the other powers remain to discuss a naval agreement to which Japan might later adhere if she so desired.
Later on Nagai came up to me and said he wished to tell me personally how deeply he regretted their inability to reach an agreement and that this would necessitate their leaving the Conference, I asked him if there would be any hope of their reaching an ultimate agreement or if it would be helpful to them to carry the delegates on for another month or so. He said their situation at home was such that they could not come to any kind of agreement now and their only hope was to bring matters to a head now which might result in such a change in public opinion in Japan as thereby enable a resumption of negotiations later on perhaps this year. Nagai concluded that what Japan wants above all is to leave in a most friendly spirit and that nothing must be done to disturb Japanese-American relations.