FO371-23516 — Page 193

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QUARTERLY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE ACTIVITIES.

FOURTH QUARTER

1938.

240

During the quarter, the Japanese Consul-General

The new

has been changed and the staff has increased.

Consul-General was lately chief of one of the intelligence

branches of the Foreign Office and the rest of his service

has been spent in England and China. A Japanese claiming

to be a Vice-Consul at Shanghai, but not mentioned in

Consular lists, is making monthly visits to Hong Kong for

"inspection and sightseeing" and is believed to be a Consular

safe hand messenger. Following the Japanese occupation of

Canton 21.10.38 some of the Hong Kong Consular staff

proceeded to Canton and joined the ex Amoy Consul-General,

OKAZAKI, in re-opening the Japanese Consulate at Canton

3.11.38. On 24.11.38, OKAZAKI flew to Tokyo to report

and whilst he was away the Japanese South China Expeditimay

Force trekked to the British border to show the flag there

on 26.11.38 which move was preceded by the arrival in

Hong Kong of Japanese newspaper chiefs who returned to

their bases when the Japanese troops later withdrew from

the border. On 30.11.38 at the invitation of the Japanese

Consulate at Hong Kong, a party of local Japanese and

Formosan businessmen and "developers" left for Canton via

Formosa to re-open Japanese business houses in Canton, and

according to Japanese sources there are now 700 Japanese

merchants and civil officials in Canton. The Japanese

Consulate at Hong Kong is urging Chinese to return to

Canton, but is charging $10.00 for the necessary pass in

an effort to prevent the influx of undesirables. The

Hong Kong Japanese community has sent three Japanese

representatives to comfort the Japanese troops in Canton.

There

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