Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1941, The Far East, Volume IV

740.0011 European War 1939/10906: Telegram

The Ambassador in Japan (Grew) to the Secretary of State

Tokyo, May 14, 1941—6 p.m.
[Received May 14—2 p.m.]

674–675. Embassy’s 673, May 14, 5 p.m.,⁴⁶ paragraph 6.

1. I would suggest that a foreigner capable of writing a letter in such fairly faultless English as the one quoted in our telegram under reference is hardly likely to use inadvertently the word “indecent” or to confuse it with “indiscreet”. In fact Mr. Matsuoka used the former word more than once. It is also significant that in his letter he makes no retraction of his charge that the United States was guilty of “unmanly” conduct. I am inclined to believe, in the light of my experience today with Mr. Matsuoka and of similar experiences with him on previous occasions, that he was moved to write me the letter not so much because of concern for resorting to discourtesy and even threatening language as by subsequent realization that he might possibly not be able to muster support sufficient to implement his threats against the United States.

2. It was obvious in today’s conversation that the Minister was in an extremely bad humor. His attitude was more caustic and bellicose than I have ever seen it before. His bad humor and belligerent attitude might possibly have been caused by his recent illness, but I do not overlook the fact that I caught Mr. Matsuoka at a time when he must have been giving serious thought to the significance of the flight of Herr Hess from Germany.⁴⁷ Mr. Matsuoka and those who are associated with him in formulating and presenting the pro-Axis policy rode into power last year on the wave of Germany’s military successes and on their estimate that Germany’s ultimate victory was inevitable. If as seems likely the flight of Hess is an indication of serious disunity in Germany, it might well be that Mr. Matsuoka is being hard put to it to defend the wisdom of a policy for which he is largely responsible and to which he is committed and to explain the glowing reports which he brought back from Berlin of German unity and of the inevitability of German victory.

Grew

46. Foreign Relations, Japan, 1931–1941, vol. ii, p. 145.
47. Rudolf Hess, Deputy to Adolf Hitler and member of German Secret Cabinet Council, Minister without Portfolio, who flew from Germany to Scotland in May.