393.115/591: Telegram
The Ambassador in Japan (Grew) to the Secretary of State
Tokyo, March 25,
1939—noon.
[Received March 25—7 a.m.]
[Received March 25—7 a.m.]
147. Our 136, March 20, 2 p.m. and 137, March 20, 4 p.m.33
- 1.
- Yesterday, when we made representations at the Foreign Office concerning current cases of bombing of American property, Yoshizawa34 stated that the frequency with which such cases were occurring was causing the Foreign Office alarm. He had before him a tabulated list of bombing cases which had occurred since the beginning of the hostilities. He said that he had taken this list to the War Department, and that the War Department had promised to make a serious effort to put an end to these attacks by ascertaining the causes for ignoring designations marking such property as American.
- 2.
- We present the foregoing information in the belief that a note along the lines of the draft now before the Department would be opportune if presented at this time, provided that publicity be withheld provisionally to give the Foreign Office opportunity to put it to helpful use. I wish, therefore, to revise my recommendation as to publicity as follows: that when presenting the note to the Minister for Foreign Affairs I say to him that the American Government will carefully watch future developments in the expectation that the Japanese Government, by taking effective measures to prevent further attacks on American property, will not oblige the American Government to make public the note.35
- 3.
- In case the Department has already despatched its reply to our 136 and 137, I suggest an urgent answer to the present telegram.
Repeated to Shanghai for Peiping, Chungking.
Grew