FO371-23514 — Page 4

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C

1004

• 27 FEL 10-9]

From JAPAN.

Decode.

Sir R. Craigie (Tokyo).

25th February, 1939.

D.

6.30 p.m.

25th February, 1939.

R. 11.30 a.m.

25th February, 1939.

No. 185. (R).

193

Your telegram 95,

His

I called on the Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs this morning (Minister for Foreign Affairs being unable to see me before this afternoon) and carried out your instructions. Excellency did not appear to see great difficulty about the inclusion of assurances (c) and (d) in a supplementary paragraph to be added to the Japanese Government's note, but thought that insistence on assurance of 48 hours' notice of intended operations might create undesirable delay, since it would involve communication to the military authorities on the spot. I suggested that, if it were really impossible to include this in the proposed note, the Minister for Foreign Affairs or the Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs should give me this assurance subsequently in a semi-

official letter.

The Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs promised to take the whole matter up at once with the competent authorities and hoped to let me have his reply today.

He added that the Japanese military authorities had suggested sending representatives to Hongkong forthwith, to settle the matter referred to in the note, but that the Hongkong authorities had proposed to postpone the visit until particulars of the damage and details of the claims had been established.

Addressed to Foreign Office No. 185;

No. 157, Hongkong No. 32 and Canton No. 17.

repeated to Shanghai

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