Office of the Historian

793.94/16598: Telegram

The Ambassador in Japan (Grew) to the Secretary of State

Tokyo, May 7, 1941—11 a.m.
[Received May 8—5:50 a.m.]

647. Department’s 259, May 2, 8 p.m., bombing of Kunming. A first person note, dated May 6,30 prepared along the lines of the Department’s telegram and referring to previous representations, was personally handed to the Director of the American Bureau of the Foreign Office31 yesterday. This morning I made strong oral representations to the Vice Minister32 and handed him a statement marked “oral”33 calling attention to the fact that the Embassy has sent to the Foreign Office 5 notes in 7 months concerning the bombing of Kunming, that the attacks are indiscriminate and apparently aimed at terrorizing helpless noncombatants, and that although Americans have not been killed or injured recently such an occurrence would have serious repercussions especially at the present juncture.

The Vice Minister expressed regret and said that he would take up this matter with the competent authorities. He added that the bombing [Page 877] of Kunming was necessary to stop the shipment of American military supplies to Chungking.34

Sent to the Department via Shanghai. Shanghai please repeat to Peiping and Chungking for Kunming.

Grew
  1. Foreign Relations, Japan, 1931–1941, vol. i, p. 711.↩
  2. Taro Terasaki.↩
  3. Chuichi Ohashi.↩
  4. Foreign Relations, Japan, 1931–1941, vol. i, p. 712.↩
  5. For Ambassador Grew’s further representations on May 17, see Foreign Relations, Japan, 1931–1941, vol. i, p. 713.↩