TRANSLATION
Minister for Foreign Affairs, No. 140.
Confidential.
46
19th September 1938.
Your Excellency,
I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of your Note No. 116 of the 15th August, together with the enclosed memorandum, in which Your Excellency
states that a sampan of the Hong Kong Junk 2012 H.D. was detained by a Japanese armed motor trawler, flying the Japanese flag and with uniformed Japanese on board, on the 17th May last at a point within Hong Kong
territorial waters. Your Excellency also states that three Chinese of the crew of this sampan were taken
away to Lin-tin Island and either killed or wounded.
I immediately made enquiries of the Ministry
of Marine concerning this case and, according to information which I have now received from the Navy, they have explored every channel in carrying out strict investigations, but there is absolutely no vessel of the Imperial Navy which has anything to do with a case such as that referred to by Your Excellency.
I avail, etc.
(sgd) Kazushige Ugaki,
Minister for Foreign Affairs.
His Excellency
Sir Robert L. Craigie, K.C.M.G., C.E.,
H.B.M. Ambassador.