740.0011 Pacific War/1456
Memorandum by Mr. Max W. Schmidt, of the Division of Far Eastern Affairs, of a Conversation With the First Secretary of the Japanese Embassy (Terasaki)
Mr. Terasaki called on Mr. Schmidt at the Department and left with him the attached newspaper clipping, said to be taken from the Washington Post of December 4, 1941.60
Mr. Terasaki said that he had been instructed by Mr. Kurusu to give this newspaper clipping to Mr. Ballantine and to inquire whether the remarks in the clipping attributed to the Secretary of State were correct.
Mr. Schmidt glanced at the newspaper clipping and said that he would be glad to give it to Mr. Ballantine when he came in. Mr. Terasaki said that he would like to have Mr. Ballantine call him or to have Mr. Ballantine send a reply to Mr. Terasaki in any way he saw fit.
Mr. Terasaki said that naturally newspaper reports of this sort were sent to Japan; that the Japanese people and possibly the Japanese Government might decide that it was no longer worthwhile to carry on with the conversations; and that the Embassy here might receive a telegram from the Japanese Government asking whether the newspaper report were correct or not.
- The 8-column headline of the story read: “U. S. and Japan Still Poles Apart, Hull Declares.”↩