711.94/2463: Telegram
The Chargé in Germany ( Morris ) to the Secretary of State
[Received 1:18 p.m.]
4136. Reliable information has reached the Embassy to the effect that the sending of Kurusu to Washington has caused embarrassment and resentment to the Japanese Embassy in Berlin and that Ambassador Oshima is insisting to the German Government that Japan intends to go ahead in the south regardless of what Kurusu may arrange in Washington. Oshima is said to believe that the situation is more favorable for Japan now than it will be later and that the United States will not at present do anything to stop a Japanese attack on the Burma Road or the Netherlands East Indies.
These views on the part of the Japanese Ambassador may reflect partly the pains taken by the Germans to impress Japanese circles in Berlin with the magnitude and conclusive character of their victories in Russia but it is possible that he has also been influenced by the realization that any real change of Japanese policy in the direction of moderation would make his personal position difficult both here and at home.
Repeated to Rome and Tokyo.