711.94/1772
The Counselor of the Japanese Embassy (Morishima) to the Chief of the Division of Far Eastern Affairs (Hamilton)
My Dear Mr. Hamilton: I consider it extremely unfortunate for the sake of friendly relations between your country and mine that the so-called “copyrighted interview” with Mr. Yosuke Matsuoka, Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs, by a correspondent of the International News Service75 has been given such prominence in the press of this country. I take the liberty of sending to you for your information the following statement issued by Mr. Yakichiro Suma, Foreign Office spokesman, with regard to the alleged interview:
“The alleged interview between the Japanese Foreign Minister, Mr. Yosuke Matsuoka, and a certain Smith, correspondent of International News Service in Tokyo, is absolutely without basis. Mr. Matsuoka has never given an interview to Smith since he became Foreign Minister.
“Mr. Matsuoka, however, saw a contributor to Liberty, an American magazine, on October 4. On that occasion, he commented on the Three Power Pact, saying, ‘The treaty speaks for itself.’ He stated further that Japan would have to fight America if she should enter the European War on the side of Great Britain, but that such an eventuality was what ‘I shudder even to think of.’ It appears that Smith’s story is a garbled version of this interview.”
Sincerely yours,
- Laurence Smith.↩