894.6363/280: Telegram

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

137. Embassy’s 78, March 23, 7 p.m.

1. Yesterday the local representatives of the foreign oil interests were requested by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to submit immediately a statement along the following lines.

  • “(a) The two companies will fulfill the obligation of stock holding;
  • (b) Accordingly, they are now in process of discussing special arrangements to that end”.

The local representatives believe it impossible for their principals to agree to part (a) of the statement.

2. Today, in the course of an informal conversation, in the presence of Sansom80 and Dickover,81 Yoshino, Vice Minister for Commerce and Industry, stated that he would accept a statement as follows:

“The companies are now negotiating a special arrangement to enable them to fulfill their obligations under the petroleum law and have reached an agreement in principle”.

This is believed to be the minimum which Yoshino can accept in order to give unreduced trade quotas from July 1st to the foreign oil interests and to continue the postponement of the granting of additional refining permits.

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3. The local representatives are telegraphing the foregoing statement to their principals and in view of the urgency are pressing for an early reply.

4. Yoshino also stated that it would be impossible further to postpone enforcement of the stock holding provision of the law. I therefore do not believe it advisable to make the representations authorized in the Department’s 33, March 20, 6 p.m., except as a last resort.

Grew
  1. Sir George B. Sansom, British Commercial Counselor in Japan.
  2. Erie B. Dickover, First Secretary of Embassy in Japan.