286
2
defend the pact (it will be recalled that it met originally with a very lukewar reception in this country) in the Diet. He spoke, I am informed, entirely without conviction.
5. While, therefore, there seems to be good reason to believe that Mr. Arita is not personally antagonistic to Great Britain and may be counted upon to give sympathetic consideration to our point of view, I fear that circumstances will prevent him from taking any strong line of his own as regards foreign policy.
6. There has been little comment in regard to the appointment of Mr. Yoshiaki Hatta to be Minister for Overseas Affairs. He is a man of good reputation, and has, since he severed his connexion with the South Manchuria Railway Company, been at the head of a semi-official concern, the Tohoku Kogyo (North-Eastern Development) Company, which was formed some years ago with the object of promoting the welfare of certain prefectures in the north of the main island which have suffered severely during recent years from natural disasters. I do not doubt that this appointment is mainly due to the fact that the Prime Minister found that it was not humanly possible for him to devote sufficient attention to the affairs of the department. This applies also to Mr. Arita's appointment to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and it seems to be generally felt that in each case the appointment has been made more for the sake of facilitating the conduct of business than with any definite idea of strengthening the Cabinet. The real power remains, as I have said, in the Five Ministers Conference, and the position of the key members of that body is in no way affected by these latest additions to the Cabinet.
I have, &c.
R. L. CRAIGIE.