711.942/202a: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Chargé in Japan (Dooman)
231. 1. The Japanese Ambassador called this morning at his request. He referred to my note of July 26, in regard to the Treaty of Commerce and Navigation between the United States and Japan, and said that he had called under instruction to ask certain questions. [Page 564] He inquired what this Government had in mind in regard to negotiating a new treaty. I replied that I did not believe that I could add anything to what I had said in reply to inquiries made by correspondents; that, as I had indicated to the correspondents, this Government’s note is couched in well-understood and well-established terms; that the note might best be allowed to speak for itself; and that the entire question pertaining to a new agreement depended upon developments hereafter. The Ambassador then inquired what this Government had in mind in its use of the words “with a view to better safeguarding and promoting American interests”. I replied that my comments in regard to the first question which he had asked applied also to this question. The Ambassador thereupon inquired as to what was meant by the terms “American interests” and “new developments”. I again referred him to what I had previously said. I added that as Mr. Sayre had informed Mr. Suma the question of giving notice had been under consideration for some time. As the Ambassador was leaving, I said that, if and when developments might place me in a position to make further comments, I should of course be glad to do so and I said that I assumed the Ambassador for his part might in the light of developments be in position to offer comment to me.
2. At the press conference today, when asked about the call of the Japanese Ambassador, I replied that there had been a brief interchange in a general way touching upon the commercial treaty situation but that no details were gone into, no new subject matter was introduced, and no decisions were made.