CO129-580-1 Sino-Japanese War- handing over of suspected terrorists to Japanese authorities 1-5-1939 - 24-8-1939 — Page 118

This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government, and should be returned

to the Foreign Office if not required for official use.}

118

41

FROM JAPAN

Decode and Decypher.

Sir R. Craigie (Tokyo).

6th June, 1939.

D.

12.35 p.m.

7th June, 1939.

R.

9.30 a.m.

7th June, 1939.

No. 520.

IMPORTANT.

"R" begins:

37. Your telegram No. 263.

Minister for Foreign Affairs has been engaged at a Cabinet meeting most of the day but I saw him this afternoon and carried

out your instructions.

Mr. Arita replied that he feared that this decision could

only produce a serious state of affairs in Tientsin where feeling

I stated was running very high. He hoped it was not our last word. that my instructions made it clear that this was the considered decision of His Majesty's Government after careful examination and that I can foresee no modification of it unless it were possible for Japanese authorities to produce convincing evidence of connexion of these men with the crimes alleged. Minister for Foreign Affairs

referred to confession made by accused but I explained to him the

circumstances in which this had occurred and subsequent repudiation.

I then emphazised to Minister for Foreign Affairs the importance of instructions issued to His Majesty's Consul-General as regards

future cases, pointing out that they seemed to me to give Japanese every reasonable assurance and indeed as regards future to meet

their demands in toto. It would be most unfortunate to destroy

this favourable prospect merely on account of four men against whom

no evidence of a particular crime could apparently lie adduced. I

hoped His Excellency would emphasize strongly to local Japanese

authorities....