793.94/10989: Telegram
The Ambassador in Japan (Grew) to the Secretary of State
Tokyo, November 5, 1937—2
p.m.
[Received November 5—5:45 a.m.]
[Received November 5—5:45 a.m.]
521. Our 509, November 2, 2 p.m. Imperial General Headquarters.
- 1.
- The following is general tenor of a press report published this morning: agreement in principle has been reached between the navy, which has been taking a relatively conservative position, and the army that the proposed headquarters should not be clothed with any political power. The navy still believes that the establishment of hostile acts necessarily involves a declaration of war. The attitude of the army [Page 660] is that the prosecution of a war of long duration requires that headquarters be established but that a declaration of war will raise difficult problems with regard to trade, along with other international issues. The answer to this question is to be found at Shanghai and no decision will be reached until the military situation there further unfolds. The general tendency is however toward a declaration of war.
- 2.
- The headquarters project with its various implications, the heavy concentration of troops in Manchuria and Mongolia, the forthcoming Anti-Communist Pact with Italy,94 and the continued agitation against Great Britian obviously are parts of a formulated plan. We are giving this matter study and we hope shortly to be in position to telegraph our estimate.
Repeated to Nanking.
Grew
- For correspondence, see vol. i, pp. 605 ff.↩