893.102S/1787: Telegram
The Consul General at Shanghai (Gauss) to the Secretary of State
[Received 8:31 p.m.]
340. On May 2d the Japanese military and naval authorities here issued a joint statement at a press conference. The statement asserted that relying on the good faith of the Settlement authorities the [Page 33] Japanese Army and Navy had left to those authorities the task of eradicating elements prejudicial to the peace of the Settlement; that it was much regretted that local situation is now worse than it was following the retreat of the Chinese forces and that not only have outbreaks of terrorism continued but, “Numerous organs of the Chungking Government are carrying on their various activities both in the International Settlement and the French Concession”; that representations relating to the maintenance of order in these two areas had been made repeatedly to the authorities concerned by the Mayor of the “Special Municipality of Shanghai” but that these representations had “not even been answered” and that the Japanese military and naval authorities “have many things which they would request of the Settlement authorities” but “believe that the representations above mentioned are of urgent importance and hereby declare that they support those representations in their entirety and will watch subsequent developments with deepest concern”.
Following issuance of this statement Colonel Mabuchi, Director of the Japanese Army Press Bureau, stressed the fact that had it not been for the desire of the Japanese authorities to respect and protect the rights of third party nationals, the International Settlement and French Concession would have been seized and all agencies of the Kuomintang regime suppressed. Colonel Mabuchi asserted that the authorities in these areas should realize that the situation has greatly changed and that the Japanese military and naval authorities cannot ignore the continued existence in the foreign controlled areas of agencies of the Nationalist Government engaged in activities likely to disturb peace and order by inciting anti-Japanese elements and utilizing anti-Japanese publications. Referring to outbreaks of terrorism in the Settlement and French Concession Colonel Mabuchi charged the Settlement and Concession authorities with lack of good faith in not suppressing anti-Japanese elements and in this connection referred to the failure of these authorities to reply to the repeated letters addressed by the Mayor of the “Special Municipality of Shanghai” to them regarding this matter. Colonel Mabuchi urged the Settlement authorities to cooperate with the “Special Municipality of Shanghai” which he stated was a de facto administration with which the Japanese authorities were dealing and stated “here we have two administrations both of which are surrounded by a third administration. Unless these three cooperate there can be no hope for the maintenance of peace and order”. In response to a query as to whether the Japanese would occupy the Settlement and Concession if they were not satisfied with the measures taken by the authorities of those [Page 34] areas, Colonel Mabuchi is reported to have replied that he was not in a position to make public what steps the Japanese intended to take.
Repeated to Chungking, Peiping. By air mail to Tokyo.