Office of the Historian

335. Memorandum of Conversation1

Tokyo, January 26, 1964.

PARTICIPANTS

  • The Secretary
  • Ambassador Edwin O. Reischauer
  • Mr. Robert W. Barnett, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Far Eastern Affairs
  • Foreign Minister Masayoshi Ohira
  • Shigenobu Shima, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs
  • Ryuji Takeuchi, Ambassador to the U.S.
  • Harumi Takeuchi, Director American Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
  • Toshio Shimanouchi, Counsellor, Public Information and Cultural Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

SUBJECT

  • Korean Settlement; US–USSR Relations

The Secretary invited Ohira to assess prospects for a Japanese-Korean settlement. He said that Washington had not entered into discussion of details of the settlement but was greatly interested in the outcome of negotiations. In effect, Washington wanted an agreement and did not much care on what basis.

Ohira said that the Japanese and Koreans had gone over the hump when they had achieved agreement on claims. The focus of negotiations now was on the fisheries issue: width of the exclusive zone, regulation of the “outside” zone, and fisheries cooperation. Japan had made certain proposals to Korea and, as of this moment difficulties were on the Korean and not the Japanese side. Ohira felt that Pak was being too much intimidated by the opposition and that he could overcome it just as the GOJ was determined to override its domestic opposition on the normalization issue. Ohira went on to explain that Japan’s proposals on the fisheries issue were subject to flexible negotiations. If this matter could be wound up others could easily be disposed of. The Secretary urged flexibility on both sides, expressed conviction there was room for maneuvering and hoped for an early conclusion of the settlement. Ohira said if there was some way he believed the Secretary could be helped in advising Seoul he would pass along his suggestions.

[Here follows discussion of US–USSR relations.]

  1. Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Secretary’s Memoranda of Conversation: Lot 65 D 330, January 1964. Confidential. Drafted by Barnett and approved by Reischauer. The meeting was held at the Foreign Minister’s residence.↩