793.94/9092: Telegram
The Ambassador in Japan (Grew) to the Secretary of State
[Received July 30—9:34 a.m.]
237. 1. In a press conference this morning Kawai, the Foreign Office spokesman, asserted that the Japanese Army has conquered [Page 303] Peiping and that the military phase is over. In response to questions he mentioned as entirely possible a movement by the inhabitants of the Peiping-Tientsin area for the establishment of some peace preservation organization which might lead to a movement for autonomy. He referred to Manchuria following the 1931 incident and said that many movements for autonomy spontaneously sprang up among the inhabitants which movements the Japanese finally came to assist because of Chinese inexperience in government. Kawai stated that in a similar way Japanese authorities in the Peiping-Tientsin area probably will be approached and that they perhaps will have to help.
2. The spokesman gave out a long prepared statement to place blame for the Tientsin fighting on the Chinese and to show that buildings fired upon by the Japanese were buildings from which the Chinese had opened fire.
3. July 29 the Japanese Diet received and passed without discussion a bill to appropriate 96,800,000 yen for expenses of the North China incident. This sum is in addition to 10,100,000 which the Cabinet previously alloted for the same purpose from an available reserve. The press states that a further large appropriation will be requested soon. The present session of the Diet continues willing to cooperate with the Government and to support the policy toward China.
Repeated to Nanking.