[Secret]
 
From: Tokyo
To: Washington
19 November 1941
(Purple-CA)
#799 (In 2 parts, complete)
 

In the proposal for a joint declaration by Japan and the United States, given in your #1096*, there are many points to which it would be difficult for the Imperial Government to give consent, as I have already cabled you. Secretary Hull's advocacy of a reciprocal trade agreement stated in the same dispatch, we can consent to as something he has advocated for many years, but we imagine it would have as many as possible of the opinions of the State Department's China specialists woven into it. Therefore, if we were to go into a discussion of each of these particulars, we would have to give up hopes of the possibility of reaching a settlement in a short time, (see my #736**). Now that matters have progressed this far, we think the only way to reach a full solution is to conclude an agreement now on a few absolutely essential items in order to prevent matters from going from bad to worse by long-view political adjustments, thus first of all avoiding the danger of an outbreak of war.

 

(Part 2) 
 

Therefore you will please delete from my #780***, paragraph 6 (nondiscrimination in trade) and paragraph 7 (the Tripartite Agreement) and add my #801**** as item 2 of paragraph 5, and hand this to Secretary Hull. This will "drop" the question of non-discrimination in international trade which has heretofore been an important pending problem between the two countries, and in view of the United States attitude regarding troops stationed in China, this will be made the subject of conversations between Japan and China, in an effort to ease up the present tension. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ item 2: the transfer of troops from southern French Indo-China to the northern part, is an important concession we would venture to make for the sake of speeding the agreement, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ in order to save the situation and with President Roosevelt's immediate (this should mean within one week) approval, have it ready for signatures of both countries.

 

Furthermore if they insist, it will be all right to agree to the _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ of 6 and 7 (non-discrimination in trade and _ _ _ _ _ Tripartite Treaty) of my #780***, but because of the reasons stated in your #1129*****, in regard to our attitude to these two questions, we cannot change my #784******. (As Hull at present does not seem to be taking so much account of matters in China, I think he (or we) will not insist on deleting from "on the understanding" on.

 

In regard to paragraph 7 (the Tripartite Treaty) see the latter part of my #800*******.

 
25035
JD-1: 6659                               (F) Navy Trans. 11-20-41 (S-TT)
 
*JD-1: 6585 (S.I.S. #24931 and 25006). 
**JD-1: 6254 (S.I.S. #24373). 
***JD-1: 6555 (S.I.S. #24872). 
****JD-1: 6661 (S.I.S. #25037). 
*****Not available. 
******JD-1: 6561 (S.I.S. #24880). 
*******JD-1: 6660 (S.I.S. #25036).
 

(EXHIBITS OF JOINT COMMITTEE , EXHIBIT NO. 1 INTERCEPTED DIPLOMATIC MESSAGES SENT BY THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT BETWEEN JULY l AND DECEMBER 8, 1941)