711.94114A/419: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Minister in Switzerland ( Harrison )

1347. Request Swiss to inform Gorgé at Tokyo that the Department has noted with appreciation (your 2357, April 15, 7 a.m.) that he is continuing to press the Japanese Government fully to honor its commitment to implement Article 86 of the Geneva Convention and thus establish full reciprocity between visits permitted to places where Japanese nationals are held by the United States and visits to places where American nationals are held by Japan.

Request Swiss also to give Gorgé following information regarding activities protecting Powers for Japanese interests:

Representatives of the Spanish Embassy and Swedish Legation which have undertaken the protection of Japanese interests in the continental United States and Territory of Hawaii, respectively, have made frequent visits during the past two years to all places without exception where Japanese nationals have been held as detainees, internees, evacuees or prisoners of war, have been freely permitted to interview them without witnesses and have been allowed the greatest freedom in inspecting all features of the various places of detention.

[Here follows an account of visits made by representatives of Spain and Sweden to camps where Japanese nationals were held.]

The Department has just received a request from the Spanish Embassy Washington again to visit all places in the United States where Japanese nationals are held and desiring to provide complete reciprocity in this respect wishes urgently to learn from Gorgé what provision the Japanese Government has now made (or which he has good reason to believe is being made) to enable the Swiss representatives to visit all those places not yet visited where American nationals are held by Japan.

[Page 940]

The Department would be pleased particularly to learn that those places in the Philippine Islands, Netherlands Indies, Malaya, Burma and Thailand which it understands have not been visited since their establishment (in some cases more than two years ago) may now be visited and that the Swiss representatives will henceforth be permitted, as are the Spanish and Swedish representatives here, fully to enjoy the privileges guaranteed to them by Article 86 of the Convention.

Hull