893.102/77: Telegram
The Chargé in Japan (Dooman) to the Secretary of State
[Received May 28—8:40 a.m.]
246. On May 24 the Foreign Office spokesman made to the press an oral statement concerning the status of the International Settlements in China. Versions printed in the papers the following day vary somewhat but the following is the substance of what he appears to have said:
Although the administration of the foreign settlements is in foreign hands, China’s sovereignty still extends over these settlements. As the object of Japanese action in China is to control Chinese sovereignty, this sovereignty may be controlled in the settlements as in parts of China under Japanese occupation. There is no room for admission of foreign interference in the elimination of anti-Japanese activities in the occupied areas. Japan has rights in the administration of the International Settlements and she may, therefore, resort to force to safeguard those rights, which should be legally recognized. The hostilities in China should not be permitted to constitute a reason for delay in Japan initiating reforms in the administration of the International Settlements. The cooperation of the foreign powers is desired toward bringing about such reform.
2. The Foreign Office describes this statement as “informal”, but I suggest that I be authorized to ask formally whether the statement as reported represents the views of the Japanese Government.66
Cipher text by air mail to Shanghai.
- For the Department’s instructions, see telegrams No. 149, June 2, 7 p.m., and No. 157, June 9, 5 p.m., Foreign Relations, Japan, 1931–1941, vol. i, pp. 846 and 848.↩