Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, 1926, Volume II

711.417/725

The Japanese Embassy to the Department of State¹⁴

undated

• First, there is an instance in which the United States Government signed the International Postal Convention with Soviet Russia in 1924,¹⁵ notwithstanding the fact that it had not recognized the Soviet Government. Might it not, therefore, be possible that the United States, following upon this instance, would participate in the proposed conference and sign a modified or a new treaty with Soviet Russia without touching upon the question of its recognition?
• Second, should there be any circumstance in which the United States finds it difficult to follow such a procedure, it may be proposed that, without touching the question of recognition and previous to the formal conference of official delegates of the countries concerned, a preliminary conference be held by the experts of these countries on the understanding that so far as the United States is concerned, it may treat the Soviet expert as an observer, while so far as Soviet Russia is concerned, it may treat the American expert as an observer.

In the event of a unanimity of views being reached at such a conference, their findings might be submitted simultaneously to a conference of the official delegates of Japan, England, and the United States, on the one hand, and also to another conference of the official delegates of Japan, England, and Soviet Russia, on the other, so that similar treaties may be concluded separately among the former three countries as well as among the latter three countries.

It is not known whether under such an arrangement Soviet Russia will agree to participate in a conference, but from the nature of the case, a readjustment of this matter can hardly be achieved unless by means of a joint conference of England, the United States, Soviet Russia, and Japan, signatories to the existing convention. Furthermore, serious damage is now being inflicted upon our fishing industry on account of the tremendous increase in the number of fur seals in our territorial waters, and a speedy remedy of this situation is a matter of urgent importance to Japan. In these circumstances, the Japanese Government is reluctant to postpone the proposed conference, and it is earnestly desired that the United States Government see its way to participate under either of the arrangements above suggested.

The Japanese Government finds it difficult at present to set forth the terms of modification, but it desires to see necessary provisions made in the treaty for the removal of the danger to our fishing industry and such other modifications introduced into it as to make it conformable to the requirements of the actual situation.

14. This undated aide-mémoire was left with the Under Secretary of State by the Japanese Ambassador on Mar. 20, 1926.
15. See United States Post Office Department, Universal Postal Union, Convention of Stockholm (August 28, 1924) together with the detailed regulations for its execution (Washington, Government Printing Office, 1926).