393, 1163 Am 3/236: Telegram
The Ambassador in Japan (Grew) to the Secretary of State
[Received October 5—8:30 a.m.]
450. Our 422, September 27, 6 p.m., bombing of Hsienhsien Roman Catholic Mission. The following is text in translation of the reply of the Foreign Office.
“Number 124, Asia 1, Tokyo, October 4, 1937.
Excellency: I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of Your Excellency’s note number 781 of September 27 with respect to bombing by Japanese military airplanes of a French Roman Catholic Mission at Hsienhsien, Hopei Province.
The Japanese Government has received this information with deep concern. According to reports on the incident from the Japanese General and military authorities at Tientsin, Hsienhsien is situated on a line extremely important from the standpoint of military operations in North China. At about 10:20 a.m. on September 21, Chinese forces massed to the northeast of Hsienhsien opened heavy fire, whereupon six Japanese airplanes responded by bombarding the Chinese forces. It is understood that at this time some damage was inflicted on the Catholic Mission. It is highly regrettable that, since no information had been previously received as to the existence of the mission at Hsienhsien, special warning had not been issued to the Japanese aviators.
The Japanese Government is of the belief that it is utterly impossible that Japanese military airplanes should intentionally bomb such a religious establishment. The Japanese Government is making consistent efforts to prevent as far as possible the occurrence of such accidents consequent upon military operations in China, and the Japanese Army at Tientsin, immediately upon receiving a report of the present incident, has issued, in connection with bombing in the Hsienhsien District, instructions calling particular attention to the existence of this mission.
Under date of September 29 the Japanese Government addressed notes to various powers concerned requesting maps showing the location of religious and humanitarian establishments in China. This request having been based on the sincere desire to prevent just such damage to establishments of third nations as was incurred in the present incident, the Japanese Government will be indeed gratified if the American Government sees fit to extend cooperation to the efforts which Japan is making in this regard.
I avail myself, et cetera. Koki Hirota,”