861.24/581: Telegram
The Ambassador in Japan (Grew) to the Secretary of State
[Received August 29—6:30 p.m.]
1347. Embassy’s 1322, August 27, 7 p.m., paragraph number 4.
[Here follows report based on memorandum by the Ambassador in Japan, August 29, 1941, printed in Foreign Relations, Japan, 1931–1941, volume II, page 579.]
8. I respectfully pass on to you the foregoing observations without further comment on my part except to say that I believe that the Minister’s portrayal of the difficult and dangerous situation of the Prime Minister as a result of the Washington publicity is real and not exaggerated. Whatever responsibility the Prime Minister must bear for having allowed Japan to come to the present pass, and it is a heavy responsibility, there can be no doubt as to the genuineness of the present efforts of Prince Konoye to find some mutual ground for conciliation with a view to avoiding the steadily increasing risk of war.