[Enclosure 1]
Memorandum for the President2
top secret
[Washington,] January 9,
1951.
You will recall that on September 8, 1950, you approved a Joint
Memorandum from the Secretaries of State and Defense concerning
the general basis upon which progress should be made looking
toward a peace treaty with Japan. The Secretaries of State and
Defense have now agreed that the time has come to implement
paragraph 5 of that memorandum, which provided that after the
initial discussions with the friendly powers “a United States
political representative will go to Japan to discuss
confidentially with General MacArthur the proposed treaty and by
arrangements through and in cooperation with
[Page 788]
General MacArthur will discuss the
proposed treaty with the Japanese Government and also seek a
procedure for Japanese participation in the treaty-making
process which will assure genuine acceptance by the
representatives of all important, non-Communist political groups
in Japan.”
It is recommended that Mr. John Foster Dulles, who has been
conducting the preliminary negotiations concerning the Japanese
peace treaty, be appointed by you as Special Representative of
the President with the personal rank of Ambassador to carry on
these negotiations: and to head a Presidential Mission to Japan
for the purposes outlined above.
There is enclosed a draft letter to Mr. Dulles informing him of
his designation and setting forth the terms of reference of his
Mission. It is recommended that this draft letter be approved
and transmitted to Mr. Dulles through the Secretary of State
who, in cooperation with the Secretary of Defense, will take the
necessary steps to implement this recommendation.
Dean Acheson
Secretary of State
George C. Marshall
Secretary of Defense
[Enclosure 2]
Draft Letter to Mr. Dulles3
My Dear Mr. Dulles: I appreciate very
much the splendid service you have been rendering in connection
with our desire to accomplish an early Japanese Peace
Settlement. In view of the importance of the series of
negotiations which are now before us, I hereby designate you as
Special Representative of the President, with the personal rank
of Ambassador, with the responsibility for conducting, on behalf
of the United States, the further negotiations which are
necessary to bring a Japanese Peace Settlement to a satisfactory
conclusion. In addition to the general guidance contained in
this letter you will receive further instructions from time to
time from me or from the Secretary of State. I know that you
will keep me and the Secretary of State fully informed at all
times of the course of your discussions.
In carrying out your Mission you are authorized to visit Japan
and any other country and discuss with appropriate authorities
and individuals
[Page 789]
the
general basis on which the United States is prepared to conclude
a peace settlement with Japan. In conducting such discussions,
you will be guided by the principles laid down in the Joint
Memorandum of September 7, 1950, of the Secretaries of State and
Defense, and approved by me on September 8, 1950. I believe
that, under the present circumstances, the United States should
proceed with further steps to bring about a peace settlement
with Japan without awaiting a favorable resolution of the
military situation in Korea, I recognize, however, that a peace
settlement could not come into formal effect except by normal
constitutional processes on the part of the United States
Government. This would give us an opportunity to control, in the
light of existing circumstances, the time at which any peace
settlement will become fully effective.
You should also, in carrying out your discussions, have in mind
that it is the policy of the United States Government that the
United States will commit substantial armed force to the defense
of the island chain of which Japan forms a part, that it desires
that Japan should increasingly acquire the ability to defend
itself, and that, in order further to implement this policy, the
United States Government is willing to make a mutual assistance
arrangement among the Pacific island nations (Australia, New
Zealand, the Philippines, Japan, the United States, and perhaps
Indonesia) which would have the dual purpose of assuring
combined action as between the members to resist aggression from
without and also to resist attack by one of the members, e.g.
Japan, if Japan should again become aggressive. In connection
with this latter point, the United States Government should
agree to this course of action only as the other nations accept
the general basis on which the United States is prepared to
conclude a peace settlement with Japan.
Your discussions will in no way involve any final commitments by
the United States Government, and you will avoid giving any
contrary impression. You should have in mind that, within the
framework of the Joint Memorandum, approved September 8, 1950,
and the general policy outlined above, our principal purpose in
the proposed settlement is to secure the adherence of the
Japanese nation to the free nations of the world and to assure
that it will play its full part in resisting the further
expansion of communist imperialism. Accordingly, you should feel
free to make such recommendations to me or the Secretary of
State during the course of your endeavors as will, in your
judgment, best accomplish this purpose.
The Secretaries of State and Defense will provide you with such
staff as you consider necessary and will arrange all pertinent
details connected with the carrying out of your Mission.
