793.94/9660: Telegram
The Consul General at Shanghai (Gauss) to the Secretary of State
[Received 5:04 p.m.]
547. In an interview granted today to Reuters aboard Japanese flagship, Admiral Hasegawa made the following statement which the Japanese Consul General confirms:
“It has been the intention of the Japanese Government to localize the Sino-Japanese conflict and to bring about ultimately closer and better relations with China. However, with the situation aggravated by Chinese to such an extent as it is, we deem it important that a safety zone should be established in and around Shanghai, and that all causes of further trouble should be removed once and for all.”