Office of the Historian

740.00119 Control (Japan)/5–2146

The British Embassy to the Department of State5

G18/ /46

Oral Communication

It will be recollected that in a private and personal letter of October 4th, 1945, from Mr. Bevin to Mr. Byrnes (copy of the body of which is attached),6 the former explained that the interest of the United Kingdom in Japanese affairs was such that, irrespective of the establishment of the Far Eastern Commission, His Majesty’s Government considered necessary the appointment of a political representative in Japan with a suitable staff. Mr. Bevin felt that the time for making such an appointment would have to be determined in the light of circumstances and he proposed, as an interim measure, that immediate representation needs would best be met by attaching political, financial and technical advisers to General Gairdner, the Prime Minister’s personal representative to General MacArthur. General Gairdner assumed the title of Head of the United Kingdom Liaison Mission and a staff of political, financial and other specialists has, in the interval since November 1945, been built up under his direction.

His Majesty’s Government have now decided that, as foreshadowed in Mr. Bevin’s letter of October 4th last, the time has come to appoint a political representative in Japan, and Mr. A. D. F. Gascoigne has been selected for the post. For administrative purposes the post will be of ambassadorial rank but Mr. Gascoigne will not, of course, use the title of Ambassador. This arrangement will permit General Gairdner, whose non-military work is on an increasing scale, to transfer his functions as head of the United Kingdom Liaison Mission to Mr. Gascoigne and to continue in his role of Personal Representative of the Prime Minister to the Supreme Commander.

It is expected that Mr. Gascoigne will leave London for Tokyo about the middle of June.

Mr. Gascoigne is being instructed to use his best endeavours to establish close and cordial relations with General MacArthur and the members of his staff, and it is the confident hope of His Majesty’s Government that his appointment will enhance the mutual confidence [Page 238] which already happily exists between the United States and the United Kingdom in dealing with matters affecting Japan.7

Washington, May 21, 1946.
  1. Handed on May 22 by the British Counselor of Embassy (Graves) to the Director of the Office of Far Eastern Affairs↩
  2. Not printed, but see telegram 10345, October 4, 1945, from London, Foreign Relations, 1945, vol. vi, p. 735.↩
  3. In his reply of June 4, 1946, the Secretary of State reported concurrence by SCAP in this appointment (740.00119 Control (Japan)/5–2146).↩