FO371-23516 — Page 104

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153

pre-

On arriving at the Institute of Pacific

Relations, ir. Vespa was shown into a room occupied

by Mr. Oakie (who turned out to be a Japanese;

sumably his real name is Oki), Mr. Bruno Lasker,

alleged by Mr. Vespa to have been known to him in

China as a paid Japanese propagandist, (Mr. Lasker

is now employed in the Department of the Pacific

Area at the Exposition; we have had some corres-

pondence with him), and by a Jewish journalist named

Jacobi, who is shortly going to China.

Mr. Oakie (ɔr Oki) told Mr. Vespa that he

wished to see him again and in private. This meet-

ing was arranged snd, after some benting about the

bush, Mr. Oakie enquired whether Mr. Vespa was in

need of money. On the assumption that this was the

cace, he had a proposal to make. He was aware, he

said, that Mr. Vespa was not the author of the book

"Secret Agent of Japan" published under his name;

similarly a hook dealing with the war in China

published under the name of Hr. H. W. Timperley,

"Manchester Guardian" correspondent at Shanghai,

was not the work of its alleged author. (It should

be explained here (1) that Mr. Timperley's book

incurred the disapproval of the Japanese army on

account of a description of Japanese atrocities at

Nanking and (2) that he wrote an introduction, vouch-

ing for the authenticity of Mr. Vespa's book).

Oakie then went on to auggest that Mr. Vespa should

sign a statement under oath to the effect that

neither of these books were the work of their re-

puted authors, but were actually written by members

Mr.

of the British Intelligence Service. Mr. Vespa stutes

that he declined to fall in win this suggestion.

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