740.00116 P.W./7–2845: Telegram

The Ambassador in China ( Hurley ) to the Secretary of State

1237. On July 27th the Far Eastern and Pacific Subcommission of the United Nations War Crimes Commission listed approximately 100 Japanese military men, including a number of general officers, as war criminals. These were the first Japanese war criminals listed by the Subcommission here. As the Chinese National Office has now been reorganized and is functioning more efficiently, it is expected that the work of listing war criminals will be expedited.

The People’s Political Council on July 17 passed a resolution designating the Japanese Emperor as a war criminal, and during the past month there has been considerable editorial comment in the local press advocating that the Emperor be treated as a war criminal. It seems possible that the question of listing the Japanese Emperor [Page 902] as a war criminal will be raised in the Subcommission, and the Embassy would accordingly appreciate receiving the Department’s views on the position to be taken by the American delegate in this event.

Hurley