Office of the Historian

740.00/1991: Telegram

The Chargé in Japan (Dooman) to the Secretary of State

Tokyo, July 31, 1939—11 p.m.
[Received July 31—4:10 p.m.]

376. Instruction No. 1767 of July 8 transmitting the text of the reply70 to the Prime Minister’s message71 has been received and as directed I submit comment as follows:

1.
The text of the proposed reply combines frankness with measured language and seems to me to be perfectly clear. As it addresses itself specifically to the Prime Minister’s formal message delivered through Mr. Grew there occurs to me no suggestion for change in the text.
2.
With regard to the question of opportuneness I have no doubt whatever that the reply, if delivered now, would heavily emphasize the impression in official circles as elsewhere in Japan that the United States has now initiated a definitely positive attitude toward Far Eastern problems. If that is the effect which the Department desires to obtain the sooner the reply is delivered the more effective it will be.
3.
Although I have carefully studied the draft reply in the light of the Department’s 196, July 13, 6 p.m.,72 I desire the Department’s further guidance as to what I should say to the Prime Minister concerning his definite proposal with regard to the holding of an international conference to be called by the President to discuss problems causing world unrest including Far Eastern problems. It has been quite definitely suggested to me that the message which was handed to Mr. Grew and which contained no concrete proposal was intended as an opening for the move which the Prime Minister made a few days later when he asked that I communicate his proposal in the strictest confidence to you and the President.
4.
I lay before the Department the following suggestion as to procedure on this last point (a) if notwithstanding the invitation in the draft reply for “further information” the Department does not desire to explore the proposal for an international conference that I invite the Prime Minister to read between the lines of the reply which I am to hand to the Foreign Minister; or (b) if the Department is in process of studying the proposal, that I so inform the Prime Minister and add that the reply which I am to hand to the Foreign Minister is addressed only to the message delivered to Mr. Grew and that a reply to his proposal will be forthcoming in due course.

Dooman
  1. Foreign Relations, Japan, 1931–1941, Vol. ii, pp. 5, 6.↩
  2. See telegram No. 234, May 18, 5 p.m., from the Ambassador in Japan, ibid., p. 1.↩
  3. Not printed.↩