Office of the Historian

793.94/9278: Telegram

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

Tokyo, August 10, 1937—7 p.m.
[Received August 10—2:20 p.m.]

254. Department’s 140, August 7, 3 p.m.

1.
The British Chargé d’Affaires received affirmative instructions today.
2.
I called on the Minister for Foreign Affairs at his residence at 5:30 this afternoon and informally and confidentially presented the American Government’s offer of good offices along the lines of the two points set forth in the Department’s 138, August 8 [5], noon.
3.
The Minister received the offer in an entirely friendly manner. He said however that an opening for negotiations had already been made through the conversation between Kao, Chief of the Asiatic Bureau of the Chinese Foreign Office, and Ambassador Kawagoe at Shanghai yesterday. The Ambassador had presented to Kao the Japanese “plan” for a Sino-Japanese understanding and the latter had immediately departed for Nanking to communicate the proposal to Chiang Kai-shek. Hirota said that he was not yet in possession of the complete details of the Shanghai conversation but that if Chiang Kai-shek would respond with some proposal (obviously a counter proposal) which could serve as a basis for negotiations war might be avoided. Hirota however characterized the situation as critical and indicated that an early and favorable reply from Chiang alone could prevent general hostilities.
4.
The Minister then said that if the American Government desired to be helpful the most effective action it could take would be to persuade Chiang Kai-shek to take prompt action as envisaged in the foregoing paragraph.
5.
The Minister seemed reluctant to reveal even the general nature of the “plan” proposed by Kawagoe except that it included conditions for eliminating all anti-Japanese activities in China and for “good relations” with Manchuria.
6.
Hirota requested that I regard as strictly confidential the fact that an opening for negotiations had been made. He states that the press knows nothing about the nature of Kawagoe-Kao conversation.
7.
The British Chargé d’Affaires expects to see Hirota tomorrow and to take action along similar lines.
8.
Hirota said that the recent murder of a Japanese naval officer in Shanghai had rendered matters worse. The Japanese Navy is very angry but is observing self restraint in order not to inflame the situation in Shanghai.
9.
While I am unaware of the conditions laid down by Kawagoe in his talk with Kao it seems to me of the utmost importance that Chiang Kai-shek should return some reply which will not effectually close the door to further negotiations. If the American and British Ambassadors in Nanking are to offer good offices this point might appropriately be stressed as a final effort to avoid general warfare.
10.
In view of the possible importance of haste I have communicated the foregoing to Dodds who is cabling the gist of it in strict confidence tonight to London and to Hugessen.77

Repeated to Nanking.

Grew
  1. Sir Hughe M. Knatchbull-Hugessen, British Ambassador in China.↩