740.0011 European War 1939/10997: Telegram
The Ambassador in Japan (Grew) to the Secretary of State
[Received May 16—2:40 p.m.]
696. Embassy’s 679, May 15, 3 p.m. I have just received from Mr. Matsuoka the following letter marked “entirely private.” My comment had better await my next conversation with the Minister which it appears will be arranged shortly.
With regard to the phrase “grave and far-reaching implications” in my letter of yesterday, no other interpretation could intelligently be placed on the Minister’s remarks to me on May 14 as reported in my 673, May 14, 5 p.m.63
“My dear Ambassador: In acknowledging receipt of Your Excellency’s private letter of yesterday’s date, I need hardly tell you that I would be glad to have a further talk with you. Only let me frankly state that even I know how to be correct as a Foreign Minister if I want to be but Your Excellency need not, I believe, be told that such an attitude on my part will not be conducive to better understanding between us. As I said in our conversation on Wednesday, I very often forget that I am a Foreign Minister; to tell you the truth, I am seldom conscious of the fact that I am a Foreign Minister. Especially, I am apt to lose the sense of nationality when I converse with Your Excellency, pouring out my heart as man to man. I always feel that unless we could chat freely with such mental attitude, there would be little use in meeting and talking. I honestly hate the so-called correct attitude taken by many diplomats which, as you know, hardly get us anywhere.
Can you say, my dear Ambassador, why I spoke so frankly, I might say, even bluntly? Often am I tempted to wish that Your Excellency may forget that you are representing your country, laying aside, so to speak, the Ambassadorship, so that I may feel that I am addressing only a friend to whom I can bare my thoughts.
I wonder if Your Excellency can understand how intensely my innermost soul is troubled and even agonized these days. Ever since I was running about in my knee pants in your country, I have been dreading that modern civilization which with all its good points [Page 199] smells of rank materialism, will one day be condemned to destruction unless we retrace our steps and mend our ways so that human society could be placed upon a higher spiritual plane. That day of doom is, to my mind, actually approaching, although I still dare to cling to hope and earnestly desire to contribute my little bit towards preventing it.
As I wrote to Your Excellency what really worries me at this moment are the attitude and actions likely to be pursued by your great country. I am praying to God day and night that the President of your country may realize the great responsibility he owes to God and humanity and refrain from exasperating Germany by further acts of provocation finally exhausting the patience of Herr Hitler. It would bring no good to anyone. Let me, by the way, tell Your Excellency frankly that as to the question of provocation, I believe Germany has exercised so far an awful lot of patience in trying to avoid a conflict with your country, shutting eyes to many things that must have appeared to her as provocations on your part.
It looks as if America might, after all, be drawn into the European war—perhaps God ordains it so, who knows? And if America should get somehow involved in the vortex of war by attacking or being attacked—this point is rather immaterial—the very thought is enough to send shivers through my backbone: surely we must then face the Armaggedon. Confronted by such thought, mere quibblings about the niceties of international law, rights or legalities of certain actions lose their value. When modern civilization is wrecked, there will be left no question of defending democracy or upholding totalitarianism, until perhaps two or three thousand years hence when a new kind of civilization will have been erected on the debris of the present civilization. I often indulge in thoughts in terms of one thousand or two or even three thousand years. It may strike Your Excellency as if it were a sign of insanity but I can not help it as I am made that way. Perhaps a man like Herr Hess belongs also in the same category. Of course it is very hard to judge whether or not a man is truly unsound in his mind. Only I should say I may be regarded sane in the opinion of the average man for the fact that I have not yet flown to Washington or Chungking. Whatever opinion Your Excellency may entertain about my mental state, I am sincerely and fervently praying to God to avert the impending crisis.
At Rome I had the occasion to discourse leisurely with His Holiness the Pope on world situation and the future of mankind. We agreed that there was hardly any hope to recover peace on earth in the nearest future. We parted with the promise to pray together to God for peace and the salvation of human soul. Of course, this bit of information should be confidential lest His Holiness’ position may be compromised by misapprehension. The outstanding impression of my recent European trip is that I met a real Godly man in the person of His Holiness.
I do not need, I think, remind Your Excellency that the above words would not have been uttered as a Foreign Minister, these words have no place in our official relations; I confide them to Your Excellency as a world citizen because I have always regarded Your Excellency as something more than an Ambassador, viz, a human being to whom I may frankly reveal my deeper thoughts and ideas.
[Page 200]I do not know what Your Excellency means by “grave and far-reaching implications” of my remarks in the course of our recent conversation. Some misapprehension either on my or Your Excellency’s part. I cannot recall any remarks of mine that Your Excellency might regret or fear of “grave and far-reaching implications”.
Would it not be well, my dear Ambassador, as Your Excellency seem also to desire it, if we met and talked at length and with frankness in a day or two?
I have directed Kase65 to make an appointment, preferably sipping tea together at my private residence.
Yours very sincerely, Matsuoka.”
- Foreign Relations, Japan, 1931–1941, vol. ii, p. 145.↩
- Toshikazu Kase, of the Japanese Foreign Office, who accompanied Mr. Matsuoka to Moscow and Berlin.↩