UNORTHODOX DIPLOMACY : FOREIGN MINISTER MATSUOKA

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AN APPARENT CLEAVAGE IN JAPANESE

FOREIGN POLICY
May 15, 1941

Sent a long telegram to Washington reporting and commenting
on the apparent cleavage between Honda, Japan's Ambassador to
Nanking, and Foreign Minister Matsuoka on the subject of China.
Honda advocates strengthening the Wang Ching-wei regime and an
all-out effort to create in the areas under the control of the Nanking
Government a condition which can be presented to the Japanese
people as a " settlement" of the China Incident. The press was
instructed to play up the news of military operations in China, and for
the next several weeks the Japanese newspapers were full of reports
of tremendous Japanese victories and the annihilation of one Chinese
army after another, which didn't quite click with reports from the
other side of the fence. I said to the Department that Honda's
views concerning a new trend in Japan's policy in China might
more properly have emanated from the Prime Minister or the
Foreign Minister. Foreign diplomatic circles therefore saw in them
a significant indication of divided councils within the Japanese
Government.

May 16, 1941

The apparent cleavage set forth above was given further substance
by remarks made by Matsuoka to the French Ambassador and related
to me by Ars&ne-Henry himself. Matsuoka, it appears, considered
himself largely instrumental in bringing about Wang Ching-wei's
flight from Chungking, and he therefore felt obliged to support Wang
in every possible way. However, in view of Wang's attitude towards
Japan, Matsuoka felt that Wang had no further - claim on him for
support, and that in his opinion Chiang Kai-shek was-the only
person who could now carry out any settlement with Japan.
No third-party nationals or Chinese had been authorized to
make any approach to Chiang, but he, Matsuoka, was ready at
some auspicious moment to permit somebody enjoying the con-
fidence of both sides to approach Chiang with some proposal
satisfactory to Japan.

A CHAPTER IN UNORTHODOX DIPLOMACY:
FEATURING FOREIGN MINISTER MATSUOKA

May 27, 1941

As a chapter in not quite orthodox diplomacy the expressed attitude
of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Matsuoka, towards the
Tripartite Pact of September 27, 1940, and its bearing on the question
of war between Japan and the United States in case war should
occur between the United States and Germany, are interesting.