No. 73 (12/72)(1)/1959)
s xcellency,
Your Excellency,
BMITI 21 BABA JJY,
TOKYO.
14th April, 1939.
79
As Your Excellency will be aware I had
the bonour on a number of occasions last year to draw
the attention of the Imperial Japenese Government to
10 attacks by Japanese vessels on British-owned junks or near Hong Kong territorial waters. I have now been supplied by the Governor of Hong Kong with two tables (January to June, 1958, and July to December, 1988) of cases occurring in 1938 in which junks of all kinds
have been molested and in many instances destroyed by
Japanese in the neighbourhood of Hong Kong. * cony of
these tables is enclosed for the information of the
Japanese authorities concerned.
2.
The continuance of these attacks, fre-
quently accompanied by the use of violence, on fishing
and other small vessels, is a source of considerable
concern to His Majesty's Government both on humanitarian
and other grounds. In the first place is Majesty's
Government feel that the recurrence of such incidents,
apart from the 111 effects which the disregard shewn
for lives and property aust have on Anglo-j: panese
beve
relations ❤enerally, osmot fail to create difficulties
as between the local japanese authorities and the
Overnacnt of Hongkong. Secondly such attucks worle
appear to be clearly contrary to the socepted principles
kr. Hachiro
rita,
His Imperial Japanese Majesty's
Minister for Foreign ¿ITALrg.-
/ of