800.515/9–1945

The Department of State to the British Embassy

Memorandum

1.
With reference to the Aide-Mémoire of September 19, 1945 (reference 2705/45) from the British Embassy regarding certain assets located within territories liberated from the Japanese, the Government of the United States agrees that it would be highly desirable to obtain as complete records as possible regarding the assets enumerated in paragraph 6 of the Embassy’s communication. The plans of the United States for the control of such assets include the requirement of a census in the areas occupied by forces under United States command. This census would require revelation of all property interests, public and private, including intangibles having their situs within territory occupied by United States forces of the following categories: (a) assets owned or controlled by Germany, Rumania, Bulgaria, [Page 1014] Hungary, Finland or the nationals thereof; (b) assets located in Japan owned or controlled by persons residing in areas under Japanese domination at any time since 1894; (c) all foreign exchange and external assets owned by the Japanese Government or Japanese nationals, regardless of where the assets or the owners might be located; (d) property acquired by the Japanese through acts of spoliation.
2.
Early in September the American Chiefs of Mission at London, Paris, Moscow, The Hague, and Chungking invited the Governments to which they were accredited to issue parallel instructions to the respective authorities of these governments in other areas liberated from the Japanese.
3.
There remains the task of developing a mechanism for coordinating and exchanging the information obtained through investigations along the above lines to be conducted by the various Allied occupation authorities.
4.
The United States Government would look with favor upon the exchange of census information and the results of other similar investigations in the areas occupied by the various Allies in the war with Japan. The United States Government agrees that it would be desirable to centralize the exchange of information at Tokyo. The United States Government suggests that the representative of the United Kingdom on the Far Eastern Advisory Commission may wish to raise with the Commission the question of the organization of an appropriate agency to perform this function.
5.
The foregoing does not relate to primary responsibility within the various occupied and liberated areas for conducting the investigations, but rather to the exchange of information obtained by the competent authorities within those areas.
6.
Copies of this memorandum under cover of appropriate explanatory statements are being supplied the Embassies of the Netherlands, the U.S.S.R., France, and the Chinese Republic.