Foreign Relations of the United States, 1958–1960, Japan; Korea, Volume XVIII

187. Memorandum of Conversation⁰

Okinawa, June 19, 1960, 12:45 p.m.

PRESIDENT’S FAR EASTERN TRIP

June 1960

PARTICIPANTS

• United States
  • The President
  • General Booth
  • Lt. Col. Eisenhower
  • Mr. Hagerty
  • Mr. Parsons
  • General Goodpaster
  • Captain Sakamoto (interpreter)
• The Ryukyus
  • Chief Executive Ota

SUBJECT

• Aid to the Ryukyus; Immigration Quota; Grievance Petitions

After the opening amenities. Mr. Ota said that in order to save time he desired to read a statement (actually a letter to the President) the English text of which read as follows:

“19 June 1960

“Honorable Dwight D. Eisenhower

“President of the United States of America

“Mr. President,

“It is indeed a great honor to have this opportunity to meet you, and on behalf of the Ryukyuan people I wish to express our profound appreciation for the special visit you are making to our land. It is certainly a true manifestation of the deep interest and concern for the welfare and well-being of the Ryukyuan people which you and the people of the United States hold, and I wish to express my sincere gratification.

“Through the assistance of the United States the Ryukyu Islands are making steady progress in social, economic and cultural areas. Our objective is an era of prosperity during the 1960’s as we leave the era of reconstruction seen during the 1950’s. Every effort is being made to carry out the carefully planned objectives and projects.

“In order to accomplish these objectives, we require still further assistance and cooperation from the United States. This includes such things as a solution to those postwar claims arising prior to the ratification of the Treaty of Peace which remain outstanding, extension of assistance for which we have made a request through the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands and more expanded autonomy. We should like to extend our sincere appreciation for the assistance which has been rendered up until the present time and request the continuation of such assistance and realization of the foregoing points. In addition, we should like to express our deep and sincere respect for your devotion to humanity and your efforts in seeking world peace.

“In order to maintain peace and security in the Far East, it is our firm determination to properly recognize the present position of the Ryukyu Islands in world affairs, to endeavor toward the realization of everlasting peace in the Far East as well as for a continued close relationship between the United States and Japan and thus seek the early return of the Ryukyuan people to their natural status.

“In conclusion, Mr. President, we pray for the further growth of friendship between the United States and Japan and for the continued prosperity of the United States.

“Very truly yours,

“Seisaku Ota

“Chief Executive”

Following the reading of his letter, Mr. Ota said there were several specific matters which he would like to mention. First of all, he understood that there had been a cut of $1.5 million from the annual appropriation for economic support of the Ryukyus. This was a matter of concern and he wondered if anything could be done. In response to an inquiry from the President, General Booth said that this cut had been made by Mr. Passman’s¹ Sub-Committee on Appropriations and that it was most desirable that every effort be made to restore the cut in the Senate version of the Mutual Security Appropriation Act. This appropriation for the Ryukyus had three principal purposes: First, to reimburse the United States Civil Administration for expenditures on behalf of the Ryukyus; secondly, to reimburse the Government of the Ryukyus for similar expenditures; and, thirdly, a variety of economic assistance projects.

The President then asked General Goodpaster to telephone General Persons² and ask him to mobilize such support as he could for restoration of the cut. The President then remarked that there had been a restoration of $200 million in military assistance funds made by the House itself when debating the bill as reported by the Passman Committee. Perhaps that took care of the cut. Those present had no definite information on this point. However, in further discussion of the matter, General Booth emphasized that the Ryukyuan support item had been approved by the Bureau of the Budget, was fully supported by the Administration, and was essential for a wide variety of government operations, such as dredging, construction and various other matters normally funded by a central government. At the conclusion of this discussion, the President asked the interpreter to tell Mr. Ota that the President’s party would call Washington about this matter and see what could be done. If the matter could not be handled in one way, perhaps we could find some other way of dealing with it.

Mr. Ota then mentioned the Price bill³ which would provide for an annual expenditure of not more than $6 million annually for economic assistance to the Ryukyus. He said that this bill had passed the House, but not the Senate. General Booth confirmed this and said that the sums provided by this bill would be financed by the federal income tax paid by United States residents of the Ryukyus. The President asked if it was a question of the Senate being opposed to the bill or whether it just had not yet acted. General Booth said that it had not yet come up in the Senate and he knew of no strong opposition there. The President remarked that it was late in the session and maybe it was difficult to get the bill on the calendar at this stage. He then directed that General Goodpaster also bring this matter to General Persons’ attention.

A third matter mentioned by Mr. Ota was the Judd immigration bill⁴ under which there would be provision for 100 Ryukyuans to go to the United States annually. Mr. Ota said the passage of this bill was very much desired. Those present did not know the status of this bill and the President requested that the State Department and the Immigration Service be queried. In commenting on this legislation, General Booth said that it was related to the broader question of immigration from this area in general. Other countries in the area had token quotas of 100 persons a year, but in the Ryukyus where actually we were exercising the powers of a de facto sovereign, there was no provision whatever for immigration to the United States. This seemed rather anomalous. The President then remarked it was very late this session to hope for passage of the bill and perhaps preparations could be made to obtain its passage in the next session.

After the foregoing, the President rose to go, but first Mr. Ota showed to him the gifts which were being presented to the President, namely, Ryukyuan lacquer ware and coral. After showing him these gifts, Mr. Ota then handed to the President a large packet containing, he said, petitions of various sorts for action by the United States. General Booth explained that these were in effect grievance petitions on a wide variety of subjects. Before departing, the President gave his gift to Mr. Ota and indicated to him packages containing gifts for prominent Ryukyuan legislators.⁵

0. Source: Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, Miscellaneous Records. Confidential; Limit Distribution. Drafted by Parsons. Approved by the White House on June 20. The meeting was held at the Government of the Ryukyu Islands Building.
1. Otto E. Passman, Representative from Louisiana.
2. Wilton B. Persons, Assistant to the President.
3. The Price Bill (H.R. 1157) was signed into law on July 12, 1960, as P.L. 86–629. Section 4 of the Act states: “There is hereby authorized to be appropriated not to exceed $6,000,000 in any fiscal year for obligation and expenditure in accordance with programs approved by the President.” For text, see 74 Stat. 461.
4. No immigration bill for the Ryukyus was passed in 1960.
5. An analysis of President Eisenhower’s public reception in Okinawa is in message HC–LO 0251 from USCAR to DA, June 20. (Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, International Series) See Supplement.