393.115/368
Memorandum by the Assistant Chief of the Division of Far Eastern Affairs (Ballantine) of a Conversation With the Counselor of the Japanese Embassy (Suma)
Mr. Suma took occasion in connection with his call on another matter to bring up the subject of the return of American businessmen to Nanking. He said that the Embassy had been making earnest efforts in connection with our request for the removal of restrictions by the Japanese authorities upon the return to Nanking and other places in the lower Yangtze Valley of American businessmen. He said that the action of the Japanese authorities in granting passes to some missionaries to return was not a consequence of the note we had presented to the Japanese Government but was the result of a decision reached before the receipt of our note, which decision was in response to the representations made by the Japanese Embassy here to the Foreign Office in Tokyo. Mr. Suma observed that it was a coincidence that action in the matter had closely followed upon the receipt of the note. Mr. Suma said further that the Japanese Foreign Office was making earnest efforts to overcome the difficulties surrounding the return of American businessmen and hoped that favorable action would soon be taken, but expressed the hope that we would not press the matter, as he felt that Japanese psychology was such that the sending of further formal communications would tend to hamper the efforts of the Foreign Office in this direction.
I said that I appreciated the interest and efforts of the Japanese Embassy in this matter, but I expressed the hope that Mr. Suma would understand the very great importance of the matter to American business interests and the desirability of expediting favorable action.