Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1936, The Far East, Volume IV

894.6363/295: Telegram

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

Tokyo, December 14, 1936—1 p.m.
[Received December 14—9:45 a.m.]

259. For the Acting Secretary. Embassy’s despatch No. 2076, October 14, 1936.⁸³

1. The Standard Vacuum Oil Company will shortly approach the Department to request that diplomatic efforts be made to assist them in view of the present impasse in their negotiations with the Japanese Government.

2. After 2 years of unremitting effort on the part of the oil interests the negotiations have reached a critical moment due to the fact that the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has failed to give satisfactory written confirmation of the oral assurances previously given in regard to the security of the future trade of the oil interests in Japan. Moreover, recent actions of the authorities of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry particularly the unwarranted decrease of the foreign companies, kerosene quotas for 1936 and the proposed revision of the petroleum tariff which will discriminate against importers indicate that if matters are left exclusively in the hands of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry the authorities cannot be relied upon to adhere in good faith to those assurances.

3. My British colleague⁸⁴ feels that the time has come for strong diplomatic representations and he is cabling today to London to recommend that Eden⁸⁵ send for the Japanese Ambassador to express the anxiety of the British Government as to the future of British oil interests in Japan, to ask for a categorical statement of the intentions of the Japanese Government because its present attitude arouses the suspicion that the Japanese Government wishes to drive the foreign oil companies out of Japan; and to request that if such is not the case the Japanese Government give the written assurances required by the oil interests.

4. I concur in the British Ambassador’s judgment that such action is fully warranted and I furthermore believe that the present moment is psychologically favorable for such a step. In view of the preoccupation of the Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs⁸⁶ with foreign and domestic complications it appears that the best results might be obtained if you would have a frank and forceful talk with Saito⁸⁷ along the general lines of the proposed British representations in London. Details of the situation will be supplied to the Department by the oil company.

Grew

83. See footnote 82, p. 798.
84. Sir Robert H. Clive, British Ambassador in Japan.
85. Anthony Eden, British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
86. Hachiro Arita.
87. Hirosi Saito, Japanese Ambassador at Washington.