Office of the Historian

762.94/476½

Memorandum Prepared in the War Department84

undated

On October 11, 1940 the Japanese Ambassador in Washington84a advised the Foreign Office in Tokyo as follows:

In the future, as long as we do not pay any attention to the anti-Japanese attitude of the United States, I do not think that at this time the United States will take any directly aggressive attitude toward us. I think this is clear. President Roosevelt and Secretary of State Hull are both withholding comment on the alliance and as long as they do not make hostile action against us, we should awe them by our very silence, steadily consolidating our new order in the Far East. This, I believe, would be the best plan.

  1. Copy transmitted to the Department by the War Department.↩
  2. Kensuke Horinouchi.↩