740.00114A Pacific War/167: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Minister in Switzerland (Harrison)
2180. American interests—Japan. Department’s 1773, July 14, and your 3686, August 10, and 4027, September 2.53 Inform Swiss Government and International Red Cross Committee that this Government has taken note of the information obtained by them regarding the activity of the official Japanese Information Bureau and that, since the receipt by the American Information Bureau of Red Cross telegram U.S. 70 of June 16 reporting the presence of 28 prisoners of war from Wake Island at Zentsuji, only occasional individual names of internees or prisoners of war held by the Japanese have been reported to the American bureau by the Committee’s Information Bureau. The records of the American bureau still contain the names of only approximately 2,000 American prisoners or internees in Japanese hands.
The American Government is unable to accept as a satisfactory reply the statement of the Japanese Foreign Office that lists of civilian internees and prisoners of war are communicated as in the past, as prepared, to the International Committee of the Red Cross and urges both the Swiss Government and the International Red Cross Committee to impress upon the Japanese authorities the great importance that this Government attaches to prompt fulfilment by the Japanese Government of the obligations it has assumed under Article 77 of the Prisoners of War Convention and 4 of the Red Cross Convention. It desires that the Swiss Government and the International Red Cross Committee call to the attention of the Japanese Government that the American Information Bureau transmits to the Central Red Cross Information Bureau weekly lists of all Japanese nationals interned, released, paroled, detained, taken prisoner of war, transferred from one camp to another, et cetera, that are based on official information regularly and promptly furnished to [Page 820] the Bureau by the government agencies concerned and point out that the American Government has a right under the Geneva Conventions to expect Japanese agencies concerned to furnish the Japanese Information Bureau promptly with like information for transmission through the Central Information Bureau to the United States. In this connection, it desires that the Japanese Government be reminded of its agreement that such lists shall be transmitted by cable to the Central Information Bureau at the expense of the state of origin of the prisoners of war or internees.
This Government would like to know at the earliest possible moment whether American prisoners of war held by the Japanese have been allowed to prepare and post the capture cards which paragraph 2 of Article 36 of the Prisoners of War Convention specifies may be written by each prisoner of war “within a period of not more than a week after his arrival at the camp” and which “shall be forwarded as rapidly as possible and may not be delayed in any manner”. If Americans have been permitted to prepare and post such cards this Government would like to know urgently how the cards are being forwarded to the United States. If they have not already been forwarded by some other route, it is urgently suggested that they, as well as complete lists of prisoners and internees containing information supplementary to that furnished by telegraph, be forwarded on future trips of the exchange vessels.
- None printed.↩