provisions of the Treaty were binding on Hong Kong." There is therefore no legal justification for us to approach the Japanese Government on this issue.
It
5. It is of course open to us to make a political approach to the Japanese. But the Reparation Association's case is not strong. was decided during the war that no value should be given to any
Japanese currency introduced under Japanese occupation, in part
because this might expose British currency to heavy inflationary
pressures from the very large amounts of currency circulated by the
Japanese, and also because non-recognition would discredit Japanese
currency and cast doubt on the question of how long Japan would be
able to maintain its control of its areas of occupation. There was
no difficulty about enforcing this policy in Hong Kong after the end of hostilities. A démarche after forty-five years is unlikely to carry much weight.
6.
'.
The Reparation Association has approached the Japanese
authorities on this issue. But it is very unlikely that the Japanese Government will be prepared to accommodate their belated
petition. I do not believe that it is worth our pressing them. One
of the reasons for demonetising the currency at the end of the war
was that large accumulations of it were considered to be a result of either profiteering or collaboration. There are more deserving candidates for belated Japanese reparations namely, former
Prisoners of War and their dependents whose cases the Japanese
Government are equally unlikely to satisfy after so many years.
Janium
D A Warren
Far Eastern Department
WH245
270 2949