WAR	427
and isolationists at home who would have said that we have no
business in the Far East anyway, but once they attacked Hawaii
it was certain that the American people would rise up in a solid
unit of fury. Senator Wheeler was quoted on the radio as saying
that the United States must " lick hell out of the Japanese.^1" This
may be easier said than done ; it may take a very long time and we
may get some serious knocks before our full power is able to register.
But in the long run, Japan's defeat is absolutely certain, for the
American people, once aroused, won't let go. With the United
Statesj Britain, Australia, the Netherlands East Indies, and perhaps
Soviet Russia, as well as China, eventually out against her, she will
have her hands full before very long.
I am glad to have gone on record in a recent telegram to the effect
that Japan would be perfectly capable of an all-out, do-or-die attempt
to render herself impervious to foreign economic pressure even if
it meant national hara-kiri, and that we should be ready for any
step of " dangerous and dramatic suddenness." That is now precisely
what has happened.
Fortunately, all pf our staff, including the non-commissioned staff,
were in the compound when ingress and egress were forbidden,
except Jones, who was in Yokohama and got safely in. I had already
forbidden anyone of our staff to leave the compound even before we
were locked in. Rumours are flying around of a difficult domestic
situation ; even that martial law has been declared in Tokyo, but
that I doubt. But there are probably demonstrations going on
against us, and Makinson, our First Secretary and Consul-General,
reports seeing from the windows of the chancery a group of some
two hundred Japanese, headed by a larjje swastika flag, coming
towards the Embassy* They apparently never got to it, however.
Max Hamilton telephoned to me from Washington to-day ; I could
hear him perfectly but he appeared to have difficulty in under-
standing me. He said that the Department was considering to whom
we should confide our interests in Japan and asked for my views,
I mentioned the Argentine and Brazil, although I thought that the
latter might come into the war. The British have turned their
interests over to the Argentines. Later I sent a telegram mention-
ing also Switzerland, Spain, and Portugal among the neutrals but
don't know if the telegram got through. I said that we had informally
suggested to the Foreign Office that the Tatuta Maru should continue
her voyage to the United States to pick up the Japanese Embassy
and Consulates, and that the Japanese might place another vessel
at our disposal, but of course we made no commitment as I didn't
know what the attitude of the administration might be* There are
a lot of Americans and diplomats on the Tatuta^ so I suppose we
would not wish to interrupt her trip. But perhaps she has already
turned back to Japan, anyway. Hamilton expressed a very kind
message from all in the Department*
At 645 in the evening we had the entire staffs of the Embassy