740.0011 European War 1939/10025: Telegram
The Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Steinhardt) to the Secretary of State
[Received April 17—2:05 a.m.]
776. I have learned from a confidential source that the Slovak Minister reported to his Government the substance of a conversation between Sakamoto, Director of the European Department of the Japanese Foreign Office, and himself during the former’s stay in Moscow to the following effect:
Sakamoto stated that neither the United States nor Japan wanted war and that he did not anticipate war between the two countries. He said that in Japan the United States was not regarded as an enemy country and that the shipment of munitions by the United States to Britain was not a matter of concern to Japan, which had no intention of endeavoring to interfere with such shipments. He said that in the event the United States entered the European war Japan might be obliged to join the war on the side of the Axis but that he was convinced that there would be no necessity for the United States to enter the war for a long time to come. He said that Japan was “disinterested” in European affairs and that its sole interest lay in the Far East and that Japan did not wish to be drawn into the European war and that a war between the Soviet Union and Germany would be regarded by Japan as a European affair.
He said he believed Germany “wished to and was capable of destroying the Soviet Empire” and he believed that Germany would be successful in the event of a war with the Soviet Union. He then expressed [Page 953] the opinion that if the Balkan campaign did not prove too long or exhausting to the Germans they would attack the Soviet Union as soon as the campaign was over but that if the Balkan campaign proved exhausting Germany would first rest its armies and reorganize before attacking the Soviet Union. He also said that he was under the impression that the Russians are well informed about Germany’s designs and that he did not consider it out of the question that the Soviet Union might precipitate the crisis by attacking Germany while the Balkan campaign was still in progress if real and determined resistance was shown by the Yugoslavs, Greeks and British. He said in such event he anticipated that while Russia and Great Britain would be on the same side of the war the Soviet Union would not necessarily fight as an ally of Great Britain but independently and that in any event “Japan would definitely stand aside”.
Repeated to Tokyo.