711.94/1595: Telegram
The Ambassador in Japan (Grew) to the Secretary of State
[Received July 22—7:50 p.m.]
610. In a despatch from Osaka dated July 18 Allison28 concludes with the following: [Page 406]
“Whether the conditions will continue to become more serious cannot be said but it can be said with conviction that at no time in the past year and a half …30 has the local feeling been so pessimistic with regard to the possible future course of Japanese-American relations.”
In the body of the despatch he states that in conversations with representative Japanese and American business and professional men the possibility of war between America and Japan has been frankly mentioned as a possibility; that the Japanese people feel that the United States has shown itself so unfriendly to Japan that it might take “only one more step” to throw the two nations into armed conflict; that immediate and effective steps must be made to improve relations before it is too late.
The burden of the argument advanced by the Japanese in conversation appears to be that some generous gesture on the part of the United States is needed to show the Japanese people that America is really Japan’s friend although there is appearing no indication of realization that Japan need make some concrete contribution toward maintaining this friendship. The suggestion is made that the existing deadlock might possibly be broken by direct conversation between the President and Prince Konoye although the difficulties of this are admittedly great.
The despatch states that Foreign Office is agitating for the forging of closer ties with the Axis, the prosecution of the southward advance policy and the abandonment of reliance upon Great Britain and the United States.