TNAG-2016-FCO40-2871-Relations-between-Hong-Kong-and-Japan-1990 — Page 83

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Reference.

our

"No Imperial yen held by Administration or to best of knowledge by individuals. Not however considered desirable for political reasons to make detailed enquiries." It is not clear how this can be reconciled with the sums (over half a billion yen) that the Hong Kong Reparations Association claims they hold.

8.

considerable

the

the

The Supreme Command Allied Powers, then in charge of occupation of Japan, had been asked, in March 1946, about policy to yen holdings outside Japan and its reply was that

"S.C.A.P.'s policy and the Japanese Government's ordinances do not provide for taking in yen notes from outside Japan but I understand that arrangements could probably be made to establish yen credits here in place of notes held [gp. undec] British authorities outside Japan. Credits for individuals could be [gp. undec] only after investigation of sources of notes and then only in blocked accounts. This suggests that SCAP would not take а particularly accommodating attitude to individual holdings of Japanese

currency.

9.

In August 1946, the US Government asked the Far Eastern Commission (FEC) for a policy ruling on conversion of old yen held outside Japan into present legal tender. The American submission to the FEC included the following:

10.

"There are substantial quantities of old Japanese yen held outside of Japan by individuals, governments and forces. Australian forces hold 8,000,000 yen, mainly taken from captured Japanese. The USSR holds some 59,000,000 yen acquired from Sakhalin with the exception of some 20,000,000 yen acquired by the State Bank USSR before the War. Americam Military Government in Korea holds over 900,000,000 yen taken from repatriated Koreans.

The

"It is the position of the United States Government that yen held outside of Japan, either by individuals, governments or armed forces, should not be converted. Since the new Japanese currency is valid only in Japan proper, and since theater regulations prohibit the free import of currency into Japan, there appears to be no reason for converting old yen held in areas outside Japan since the value of currency held is in no way affected by the failure to convert. Failure to convert, therefore, should work no undue hardship or financial loss on any government and any hardship or financial loss that may arise is properly a matter to be taken up in a country's reparation claim against Japan. Any settlement in advance of an overall reparations decision would unwarranted prior advantage to some reparation claimants."

A revision of the US proposal was made by FEC Sub-Committee No. 3: Financial and Monetary Problems. This stated that

"It is the opinion of the Committee that if damage has resulted from inability to convert this currency, such damage is properly a part of the general claim of governments against Japan. Any settlement in advance of an over-all decision would give unwarranted prior advantage to some reparations claimants"

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