894.00/604
Memorandum by the Secretary of State
The Japanese Ambassador31 called and handed me the following note in writing from Foreign Minister Hirota:
“I am most grateful to you for your kind message of condolence transmitted to me by the American Ambassador in Tokyo, and, on behalf of the Japanese Government, I wish to convey to you and through you to the United States Government our most sincere thanks for this manifestation of sympathy.”
The Ambassador and I exchanged a few general statements about the restoration of international trade, in the course of which I emphasized the broad program which this Government was pursuing, and, without referring to Japan, I endeavored to point out the necessity for the restoration at the earliest possible date of the normal processes of international finance and commerce. The Ambassador suggested that our two nations had similar views on this general subject. He then added that there were some small minor troubles in our trade situation which had been the subject of more or less discussion and misunderstandings.32 I replied that this Government was carrying all the political load possible in its efforts to go forward with our program of liberalizing commercial and general trade policies; that the small overflows of imports with respect to given commodities were very combustible politically; and that it was necessary that we should compose the troubles which they presented by amicable agreements, if and when at all possible; otherwise, we were obliged to take other necessary steps.
The Ambassador seemed agreeably disposed towards special agreements, such as we had been making. I replied further that it was either this or a possible cessation of our trade restoration movement and the still further increase of tariff that would soon follow, with the result that Japan would be much worse off than if she entered into these special agreements, restricting voluntarily certain quantities of exports from Japan to the United States.
The Ambassador volunteered the suggestion that the recent explosion in Japan, planned at the instigation of certain young army officers with the result that a number of Japan’s statesmen were assassinated, was not a controversy between the ultra-radical and conservative elements in the military group, but that it was the reaction of the soldiers to seriously discriminatory economic treatment of farmers and small business men in Japan by what we would call big [Page 738] business in this country. The Ambassador said that these officers, without the knowledge of their superiors, sought to resent the action of the Government in playing into the hands of what we would call the big predatory interests at the expense of the farmers and small business men whose suffering was growing steadily worse. The Ambassador went on to say that seven generals had resigned because they were in charge of the military forces of which the rebellion companies were a part; he said that the generals knew nothing about the plans for this uprising and the systematic assassination, but that, of course, the generals were chargeable with the responsibility for the results, and hence their resignation.
The Ambassador stated he felt now that conditions were comparatively calm and normal the Government unquestionably would work out a list of cabinet members who would make up a satisfactory government, and by that the Ambassador said he meant a government more considerate of the rights and interests of the farmers and the small business men and less under the domination of big business in Japan, which he said had rapidly accumulated wealth by trading, while the other classes mentioned suffered correspondingly.