494.11/116: Telegram
The Consul General at Shanghai (Lockhart) to the Secretary of State
[Received December 7—3:25 a.m.]
1084. Reference my 1037, November 25, 10 a.m.,99 in regard to investigations by Japanese military authorities of American property losses.
1. A member of the staff of the local Japanese Consulate General has orally informed Vice Consul Tenney, informally and unofficially, that a conference was held at Tokyo in late November between representatives of the Japanese armed services and the Foreign Office in regard to the settlement of American property losses; that as a result thereof it was decided that offers of “solatium payments” would be made to American individuals and business concerns as well as to American cultural organizations (see paragraph (b) of my telegram under reference); and that tentative offers would be made as soon as possible in all cases of property loss where there is evidence of Japanese responsibility therefor.
Tenney was also informed “confidentially”, but apparently with the design that the information be passed on for consideration by American authorities concerned, that the Japanese military would in all probability be willing to grant increases in payment of perhaps 10 to 20 per cent, should the American claimants be dissatisfied with the original offers. It was suggested that American claimants might wish to submit counter offers, in the above-mentioned increased amounts, and that such counter offers would probably be accepted by the Japanese delegates. It would appear, as a matter of conjecture, that it would be advantageous to the Japanese military to have American claimants affirmatively make counter offers, so that in agreeing to pay such amounts, the military would be in a position eventually to publicize the fact that it had acceded to the requests of the claimants.
2. The Consulate General received yesterday a second list, of 33 cases, in which offers will be made after prior acceptance by American claimants. Solatium payments offered in these cases total 68,545 dollars Chinese currency or about 8.5% of total amounts claimed, estimated at approximately 810,000 dollars Chinese currency. (Exact total of amounts claimed is not available as many of the cases are in the Hankow consular district and this Consulate General has no record thereof.) However, if depreciation in value of Chinese currency in terms of American currency is considered, the offers amount to only about 3% of the total claims.
[Page 415]Communication of the amounts of the above-mentioned offers to the respective claimants is being deferred pending receipt of the Department’s comments on procedure outlined in penultimate paragraph of my telegram under reference.
Repeated to Peiping, Chungking, Hankow and Tokyo.
- Not printed.↩