JAPAN'S DIPLOMACY

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 50, 28 February 1935, Page 16

JAPAN'S DIPLOMACY

U.S. AND MANCHXJKXJO. THE FORTIFIED ISLANDS. AN AMBASSADOR TALKS. (By a Special Correspondent.) WASHINGTON", January 20. Great Britain may "scoop" the United States in recognising Mancliukuo, says Hiroslii Saito, Japanese Ambassador to America. ''•Recognition is inevitable," he predicted. "In dealing with an empire of 35,000,000 people situations are bound to arise requiring international representation. How can these matters be handled unless there is a Manchukuoan Government to discuss them'with?"

It was suggested that some administrative leaders at Washington were already urging American recognition as a practical business measure to facilitate Far Eastern commerce.

"I have heard such proposals have been laid before the President," replied the diplomat, "but I am inclined to think Great Britain will beat you to it. Great Britain is a realist nation. America is idealistic, and idealism in international affairs is a luxury.

"Remember that it took America ten years to recognise Soviet Russia," he added.

"But was not the tardiness in that case due to opposition to Soviet philosophy ?"

"Ah, just so." He held up slim, sensitive hands. "America is opposed to Manchukuoan recognition on moral grounds. When we aided in creating the Manchukuoan State, American feeling swung strongly against us. America held that Japan disregarded the terms of the Kellogg Pact and the Nine Power Treaty. America accepted Secretary Stimson's opinion—'We must refuse to recognise a Government established in defiance of treaty obligations.'

The "Shut Door" Rumour. "I feel," continued Ambassador Saito, "that with a clearer appreciation of our motives and as the empire of Manchukuo continues to thrive, public opinion will swerve away from the 'Stimson doctrine.'"

The Ambassador denies Japan desires to shut the "open door" to trade with Manchukuo by means of alleged Japan-ese-controlled monopolies, as in the oil situation.

"As far as our influence can prevail, the freedom for world commerce will always be maintained," he insisted.

The Ambassador was reminded of a recent statement by Howard E. Coffin, textile executive, that the real secret of Japan's demand for naval parity with Great Britain and the United States lay in her effort to lead the world in certain commercial lines.

"Japan will never bo the leader in world-wide markets of trade," he replied. "We have no natural resources."

He was asked to give his analysis of the position of the Japanese delegation at the London Conference.

"There appears misunderstanding of our views," he said. "We propose two ■important points — the first that equality or parity should bo attained in the naval strengths of the Powers concerned; second, that a drastic reduction at the same time should be accomplished in all naval armaments. Japan is earnestly interested in the reduction of navies so the chance of warfare may be reduced and the financial burdens of the people lightened."

Kecent questioning of a Japanese diplomat by the League of Nations regarding reported fortifications in the mandated islands of the Pacific received a not entirely definite reply. Not so with this forthright spokesman for the policies of his emperor.

"I Know to be False." "All these rumours about fortifications of the islands I know to be false," said the Ambassador. The explanation is quite simple. The charges have all centred about the Saipan Harbour project. The island is devoted to the sugar industry, but there is no bay to provide shelter from the open sea. Ships must anchor miles beyond the coral reefs, and in rough weather cargo cannot be loaded. To meet this difficulty Japan is using a section of the reef as a breakwater, dredging a harbour inside and blasting an entrance channel. "Whesn completed in 1036 this harbour will admit 3000-ton cargo vessels. The charge that the harbour has no justification other than naval purposes is absurd when one realises that £600,000 worth of sugar a year is shipped from Saipan to Japan." "And the contention that the harbour is a naval base in disguise?" The ambassador laughed. "That is certainly no compliment to Japan's knowledge of naval strategy. Those who make this claim obviously have never visited the island. Its position would make this highly impractical. The harbour lies at the north end of the island and is entirely exposed to the open sea, while a sloping hill behind it provides an excellent mark for attack." The three-year-old daughter of the embassy appeared, to perch herself on the ambassadorial knee. "Her name is 'Masa-ko,'" explained this very human statesman. "It is a favourite name in my country, expressing a quality we admire most in individuals or nations —that quality is justice. — (N.A.N. A.)