762.94/310: Telegram
The Ambassador in Japan (Grew) to the Secretary of State
Tokyo, March 31,
1939—8 p.m.
[Received March 31—1:02 p.m.]
161. Following is a paraphrase of a telegram sent to his Government by the
British Ambassador reporting a recent talk with the Minister for Foreign
Affairs concerning the strengthening of the Anti-Comintern Pact:
- “1. I reminded Mr. Arita that at our last interview he had
stated that no negotiations had yet started for the
strengthening of the Anti-Comintern Pact. What was the position
today? He replied that negotiations had not started yet and that
in any case Japanese Government remained firmly opposed to
accepting any commitments or entanglements in Europe. On my
pointing out that an alliance directed against U. S. S. R. was
likely sooner or later to involve Japan in the very European
entanglements to which the country was opposed, Air. Arita
replied that if Great Britain were now to invite Soviet Russia
to take part in any combination of powers dangerous repercussion
on Anglo-Japanese relations was inevitable. I observed that it
was Germany’s annexation of Czechoslovakia which has brought
Russia into European politics again and that it was useless
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to blame us for the
inevitable effect of this action. Soviet Russia had stood aside
at Munich but this had not deterred Germany from tearing up the
Munich Agreement. The right course for Japan was surely to keep
clear of any further commitments at least until the present
situation had cleared; otherwise I feared that His Excellency
would be committing his country to entanglements which he might
live bitterly to regret—entanglements with countries whose
political and economic weaknesses and lack of reliability were
daily becoming more obvious to the whole world. Mr. Arita
adhered to his point that Japan was prepared to combat communism
by all means and in association with powers holding the same
views.
- 2. Although Minister for Foreign Affairs was guarded in what
he said, I was left with the strong impression that Japanese
Government have now decided—or virtually decided—to convert the
Anti-Comintern Pact into an alliance against Soviet Russia. I
also learn from him that this project which at one moment seemed
to have received its coup de grace has
been renovated by the effect on the army of the ‘irresistible’
power displayed by Germany in the Czechoslovak coup.”
I am not yet in a position to substantiate Craigie’s impression and
information as set forth above in paragraph 2 nor his belief that the coming
negotiations will take place in Tokyo instead of in Berlin but shall follow
developments as closely as possible.
