[Secret]
From: Washington (Nomura)
To: Tokyo
December 3, 1941
Purple (Urgent)
#1256.
Re
your #875 [a].
I
received your reply immediately. I presume, of course, that this reply was a
result of consultations and profound consideration. The United States
Government is attaching a great deal of importance on this reply. Especially
since the President issued his statement yesterday, it is being rumored among
the journalists that this reply is to be the key deciding whether there will be
war or peace between Japan and the United States. There is no saying but what
the United States Government will take a bold step depending upon how our reply
is made. If it is really the intention of our government to arrive at a
settlement, the explanation you give, I am afraid, would neither satisfy them
nor prevent them taking the bold step referred to—even if your reply is made
for the mere purpose of keeping the negotiations going. Therefore, in view of
what has been elucidated in our proposal which I submitted to the President on
November 10th, I would like to get a reply which gives a clearer impression of
our peaceful intentions. Will you, therefore, reconsider this question with
this is mind and wire me at once.
Army 25849 Trans. 12/7/41 (1)
JD: 7128
[a] See S.I.S. #2572—Explanation of Japan's increase of their forces in
French Indo-China.
(EXHIBITS OF JOINT COMMITTEE , EXHIBIT NO. 1 INTERCEPTED DIPLOMATIC MESSAGES SENT BY THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT BETWEEN JULY l AND DECEMBER 8, 1941)