22. Memorandum From the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the Secretary of Defense (Wilson)1

SUBJECT

  • U.S. Policy Toward Japan (NSC 5516)2
1.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff submit herewith their views with respect to a draft statement of policy prepared by the National Security Council Planning Board entitled “U.S. Policy Toward Japan” (NSC 5516) which is scheduled for consideration by the National Security Council at its meeting on 7 April 1955.
2.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff consider that, in general, the draft statement of policy is acceptable from a military point of view. With respect to the divergent views contained in paragraph 35,3 the Joint Chiefs of Staff would favor the adoption of the Defense–JCS proposal as constituting a more desirable criterion for the determination of the time when the United States should indicate its willingness to initiate negotiations. With reference to the wording of paragraph 52,4 the Joint Chiefs of Staff suggest that in the fourth line the word “ground” be deleted from the phrase “United States ground forces” and in the eleventh line that the phrase “will be devoted to” be amended to read “will be matched by Japan and the total devoted to”. Regarding the proposal contained in the footnote to paragraph 52 that “no steps should be taken under this paragraph until the Formosan situation has been clarified”, the Joint Chiefs of Staff feel that this would be unnecessarily [Page 34] restrictive and might serve to delay indefinitely the orderly development of a plan for the build-up of Japanese defense forces and for the phased withdrawal of United States forces. The Joint Chiefs of Staff assume that any such plan which might be formulated would be sufficiently flexible as to permit alteration in the light of contingencies which may develop.
3.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff recommend that the foregoing comments form the basis for the Department of Defense position with respect to the proposed policy.
For the Joint Chiefs of Staff:
Arthur Radford 5
Chairman
Joint Chiefs of Staff
  1. Source: Department of State, S/S–NSC Files: Lot 63 D 351,NSC 5516 Series. Top Secret. A covering memorandum from Lay to the NSC, April 5, is not printed.
  2. Dated March 29, not printed. (Ibid.) NSC 5516/1 is Document 28. For the differences between the two versions, see Document 26.
  3. This paragraph reads as follows: “Indicate [at a suitable early date]* [at a mutually advantageous time]** willingness to negotiate replacement of the present United States–Japan Security Treaty by a treaty of mutual defense which would include the right to maintain forces in Japan and the right upon Japan’s request to aid Japan in resisting subversion or infiltration by unfriendly forces.” A footnote in the source text indicates the language followed by one asterisk was a Department of State–FOA proposal, while the phrase followed by two asterisks was desired by the Department of Defense and JCS.
  4. This paragraph reads as follows: “Develop with the Japanese Government a general understanding on a long-range plan for the build-up of Japanese defense forces, a phased withdrawal from Japan of United States ground forces as consistent with United States and Japanese security interests, and related reductions of the Japanese contribution to the support of United States forces in Japan; and make such understanding public at a suitable time. In such understanding, seek to obtain Japanese agreement that the amounts released by any reductions in Japanese contributions to the support of U.S. forces in Japan will be devoted to the development of Japanese defense forces.” A footnote in the source text states: “Defense believes no steps should be taken under this paragraph until the Formosan situation has been clarified.”
  5. Printed from a copy that bears this typed signature.