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Minutes
JAPAN
W JH sGA ¦
Eight nev/ telegrams on the
subject of Japan are attached.
The telegrams from Tokyo
record the first interviews which the
British and American AmbassadorJ# had with
Mr. i:atsuoka on his return from Europe. These
interviews were followed by some rather extra-
ordinary correspondence be;twe en Mr.
and Mri Grew.    The upshot of these interviews
and of the correspondence is that Mr. "atsuoka
is conveying a warning that should a German
attack on W*e£convoy to Britain escorted by
American naval vessels take place, Japan would
regard this as creating a state of war betv/een
Germany and the United States, would there-
fore consider that the Tri-Partite.Pact had come
into play, and would be obliged herself to
enter the war against America.    There are in-
dications, see Tokyo telegram 821, that Mr.
Katsuoka in taking this line may not be speaking
for the Japanese Government as a whole.
2. The Foreign. Office link$# up these
developments with those reported in our telegram
No.2221 to the Foreign Office, describing the
negotiations between Mr. Hull and the Japanese
Ambassador here for a settlement in the Pacific,
and the proposal for Mr. Willkie to visit Japan.
They also connect*i*\vith the information con-
tained in Foreign Office telegram 2698 (attached
in manuscript).   They regard all these develop-
ments as forming part of a single manoeuvre
to enable Japan to create a split between America
and ourselves)to liquidate her commitments in
China, and to diminish American assistance to us
in the Atlantic.     They consider that this
manoeuvre has been concerted with the Germans.
3
The action which we should take
on these telegrams is, I think, as follows:
Foreign Office telegram 2698
should be read to Mr. Hull who might then be
given an Aide I.'emoire based on telegram 2727:
$ J?\ UA*, l+A. UA*v ^ tvtA^dA. c**M*± ClDiUkk, lm^('\
4. Mr. Watt of the Australian ^
Legation informed me today that they had received;
a telegram from Australia expressing lively in-
terest# in the American-Japanese negotiations
reported in our telegram 2221*     It might be as
v/ell for Mr. Casey to accompany H.E. when he
sfiCJ ^*r„ Hull to take action as proposed above.
5. Sir R. Craigie is anxious that it
should not be known that he received from his
American colleague* and reported to the Foreign
Office an account of Mr. Grew1s interview and
correspondence with Katsuoka.    This should, the:
fore, not be mentioned in s-eeing Mr. Hull. We
have, however, had an account of it from Mr.
Welles, see paragraph 9 of our telegram to
the Foreign Office.