Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955–1957, Japan, Volume XXIII, Part 1

83. Memorandum From the Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs (Robertson) to the Under Secretary of State (Hoover)¹

Washington, July 17, 1956.

SUBJECT

• Secretary Wilson’s Comments on Buildup of Japanese Forces

The problem to which Secretary Wilson referred at NSC² in connection with the buildup of Japanese forces is not clear from his suggestion “that the slowness of the buildup might be connected with the MDAP activities, or, in some way, reflect on State.”³ In my opinion, the slowness in the Japanese defense buildup results from basic political and economic attitudes of the Japanese and has no direct relation to the manner in which the MDAP has been administered. The principal matter pertaining to the Japanese defense buildup in which the Department of State has been involved is the agreement with the Japanese Government on a formula for the progressive reduction of the Japanese contribution to the support of U.S. forces in Japan, which was reached in January 1956. This, it is believed, is a material contribution to the buildup of Japanese forces.

Secretary Wilson may have referred to the slowness in MDAP deliveries. The MDAP program for FY 1955–56 for equipment and supplies to the Japanese amounted to $252,315,000. As of February 29, 1956, deliveries of only $54,730,000 had been accomplished under this program. A possible explanation of the apparent slowness in deliveries may be the global reprogramming in the early part of 1956 which resulted in “new money” for Japan. The Department of Defense has primary responsibility for developing MDAP programming; the Department of State’s function is limited to concurrence in programs.⁴

1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 794.5/7–1756. Secret.
2. Apparent reference to the NSC meeting held July 12; see supra.
3. This statement is not recorded in the memorandum of the July 12 meeting.
4. An attached, undated handwritten note from Hoover to Robertson reads as follows: “Please keep me advised if you wish to push the Defense Dept to make further deliveries.” Several other attached notes indicate that the question of whether to approach the Department of Defense was passed down the line to NA, but no subsequent documentation on the subject has been found in Department of State files.