Office of the Historian

711.94/21626/14

Memorandum Prepared in the Division of Far Eastern Affairs38

[Washington,] June 11, 1941.

It appears from statements made by Mr. Walker that the Japanese may be prepared to bring their document more in conformity with our policies in a number of important respects. If the Japanese should do this (and Mr. Walker is not sure that they will) there would still remain outstanding important points as follows:

(1)
The question whether it is advisable to delete the whole section in regard to the European war.
(2)
The question of joint defense against communism in so far as it involves the retention of Japanese troops in China.
(3)
Exploration of the Japanese concept of nondiscrimination in international commercial relations as applied to actual practice in [Page 266] the Pacific area. The question whether the Japanese would agree to apply this basis in their commercial relations with China and, if so, the question of how they would expect to give it practical application. Would they, for instance, expect to abolish their special development companies in China or to alter the functions of such establishments so as to divest them of preferential and monopolistic characteristics? Would they abolish yen bloc currencies in north and central China? Would they promptly remove existing restrictions on shipping and on movement of persons and goods?
(4)
The question whether Japan intends to support Wang Ching-wei. The question whether the Japanese would send us a letter stating that, if the Chinese Government at Chungking agrees to enter into negotiations with Japan pursuant to the suggestion of the American Government, the Japanese will forthwith regard the Government at Chungking as the Government of China and will regard the treaties and agreements signed by the Japanese Government with the Wang Ching-wei government as supplanted by treaties and agreements concluded with the Chinese Government at Chungking.

Mr. Walker wishes to see the Secretary tomorrow (June 12).

The Secretary might wish to indicate to Mr. Walker that in as much as we have had no reply directly from the Japanese as to their reaction to what we said on June 6, other than the statement made orally to Mr. Ballantine on June 9,39 that the Japanese were going to send us a further revision, it is believed that we should await a direct approach by the Japanese to us before making a further move ourselves.

  1. Notations on file copy: “Memorandum of comment by FE on statements made by Mr. Walker on proposals by ‘John Doe’”; “Not used”.↩
  2. See memorandum of June 9, 1941, Foreign Relations, Japan, 1931–1941, Vol. ii, p. 468.↩