150. Memorandum From the Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs (Robertson) to the Secretary of State1
SUBJECT
- The Bonin Islands
Ambassador MacArthur has strongly urged (Tab B)2 that the United States permit the return of a few hundred former residents of the Bonins to those islands on which we do not maintain important security installations. In support of his recommendation he points out the inconsistency of refusing to permit the return of a small number of Bonin Islanders for security reasons when there is a large local population in the Ryukyus where we have much more important military installations. He also notes that allowing only those of Caucasian ancestry to return leads to charges of racial discrimination.
[Page 311]Our policy of keeping a relatively small number of Japanese out of the only potentially strategic Bonins for security reasons, when we allow 800,000 “Japanese nationals” in the Ryukyus where we have large and important military installations, seems capricious to the Japanese and tends to undermine their confidence in our intentions and pronouncements concerning the Ryukyus. Moreover, the exclusion of “Japanese” where “Caucasians” have been admitted is reminiscent of our former Oriental exclusion policy and arouses intense resentment.
Prime Minister Kishi is committed to readjust relations with the United States, and both political parties have great expectations of the Washington visit. In my judgment we must somehow accommodate the reviving Japanese nationalism with respect to which the Bonins have become an important symbol. To make our Ryukyu and Bonin policies consistent and to remove causes of resentment by permitting the repatriation of some of the former inhabitants is, I believe, worth considering, and I concur with Ambassador MacArthur’s recommendation that our policy be reviewed. To that end I attach a draft position paper (Tab A), which I would like you to consider for use during your talks with Prime Minister Kishi in June. This paper incorporates Ambassador MacArthur’s suggestions.
Recommendation
That you approve the draft position paper3 (Tab A) and authorize me to seek the concurrence of the interested departments.4
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 794C.0221/5–757. Secret. Drafted in NA on May 21.↩
- Tab B, telegram 2526 from Tokyo, May 7, was not found attached. (Ibid.)↩
- Inserted in Dulles’ handwriting after the word “paper” is: “as possible part of satisfactory over-all understanding”.↩
- A marginal notation on another copy of this memorandum attached to Document 165 indicates Dulles approved this memorandum on June 5.↩
- Dulles renumbered this paragraph as “3” and edited it by hand to read as follows: “United States willing repatriate some of the Bonin Islanders to islands on which there are no important military installations. The exact number will be determined by the U.S. after making a study as to what number the available areas will support.”↩
- Dulles renumbered this paragraph as “1”.↩
- Dulles renumbered this paragraph as “2”.↩