690.9431/12–2249: Airgram
The Secretary of State to the Acting Political Adviser in Japan (Sebald)
A–242. The Department is planning to hold an economic-commercial conference at Tokyo the week of April 17 to 22, 1950 on the general subject of concrete proposals for increasing intra-regional trade in the Far East area with particular reference to increasing the volume of mutually beneficial exchanges of goods between Japan and the countries of south and southeast Asia. It is proposed that you will be Chairman of the conference and that it will be attended by the principal economic officer at each of the following posts: Manila, Seoul, Bangkok, Saigon, Singapore, Batavia, Hong Kong, Taipei, and possibly Rangoon, Karachi and New Delhi, as well as by such officers at Tokyo, Yokahama and Kobe as you may consider desirable. Representation from Washington has not yet been decided, but it appears that there will be not more than a total of six from the Department of Commerce and other concerned departments, thus making a total of approximately 19 persons excluding persons already resident in Tokyo. The Department would also desire that at least some of the sessions of the conference be attended by such personnel of GHQ, SCAP as you may consider desirable.
In order that planning for the conference may be completed as quickly as possible it would be appreciated if you would immediately approach SCAP to determine whether it will be possible to obtain suitable accommodations in Tokyo for the conferees during the period mentioned and promptly inform the Department by telegraph.
This matter has been informally discussed with and approved by the DA here.