793.94/12496: Telegram
The Ambassador in Japan (Grew) to the Secretary of State
[Received February 23—11:40 a.m.]
125. Reference Shanghai’s 280, February 19, 10 [11] a.m.54
- 1.
- The replacement of General Matsui by General Hata has just been announced.
- 2.
- The Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs55 yesterday stated to my British colleague who inquired with regard to the reasons for the then impending change that: “Hata is a good soldier and is less interested in politics than Matsui.”
- 3.
- The Military Attaché of the Embassy56 has just
presented me with his estimate of the considerations entering
into the decision to replace General Matsui, as follows:
“(1) (a) The widespread feeling in Japanese Army circles that operations in China are likely to be more or less protracted and that the army forces in China are being reorganized accordingly.
(b) That General Matsui is about 60 years old and was on the retired list before being called to active service in the Shanghai area.
(c) That General Matsui is a man of strong political ideas and less amenable to control by a central authority than would be an officer of a more conservative type.
(2) To what extent each of the above considerations entered into the decision is impossible to determine though it is felt that the one relating to politics has played a greater part than the Japanese with whom this matter was discussed were willing to admit. However, the operations in China are now in course of transition from a very active military phase to a phase in which, while military operations will still be carried out, more politico-military in character, and in which the Japanese efforts in China are directed toward a political as well as a military stabilization. Under such circumstances and with the above mentioned reorganization for a long haul in view it appears quite natural that central authority both in and out of the army should lean toward a commander whose actions may be expected to be in greater harmony with both a political and a military stabilization policy.
(3) The relief does not imply any censure of General Matsui in the military or popular mind. After all he is a commander who has succeeded and it is not unlikely that his return to Japan will be accompanied by acclaim for a work well done.
(4) In the sense that the change of command may indicate a change of policy in China the following remarks concerning the two men will indicate their respective backgrounds.
- (a)
- General Matsui: an officer of undoubted ability and known throughout the service as an authority on China. Recognized as [Page 105] the mainspring of the ‘Continental Policy’ and since going to the reserve list at the time of the February 26th incident57 he has been head of the Pan Asiatic Society. He is reported as having not much use for the West or its institutions except insofar as they may be beneficial to Japan.
- (b)
- General Hata: at present Director General of Military Training, one of the important positions in the army. Has had a distinguished career and is known as a ‘non-party’ man with no political enthusiasms or inclinations. He is also known as a strict disciplinarian in the sense of order and subordination in the army and with men like General Terauchi58 strongly deplored the trends indicated by the February 26th incident.”
Repeated to Shanghai for Hankow and Peiping.