JAPAN OPPOSES BLOCKADE

Southland Times, Issue 23988, 1 December 1939, Page 7

JAPAN OPPOSES BLOCKADE

LOSS OF EXPORTS FROM GERMANY POSSIBLE MEASURE OF RETALIATION SEIZURE OF SHIPPING OWNED BY ALLIES (United Press Assn.—Telegraph Copyright) (Received November 30, 7.35 p.m.) NEW YORK, November 29. The Tokyo correspondent of the Associated Press of America says that Japan is preparing a second protest to Britain and France about the German exports blockade and retaliatory measures are reported to be under consideration, in the event of rejection. Official sources only say that “decisive steps are planned,” but the newspaper Niohi Nichi Shimbun stated that the Government is considering the seizure of British and French shipping equivalent to the losses suffered by Japan. German exports to Japan for seven months of 1939 totalled 100,000,000 yen.

Action which the Allies are taking against German exports in retaliation for Germany’s violation of international law are in all essentials similar to the action they took in the last war,, when in March 1915, they found it was necessary to adopt reprisals for her then violations of the laws of warfare, states a British Official Wireless message from Rugby. Subsequently t in February 1917, after Germany had proclaimed unrestricted submarine warfare, further retaliation took tjie form of making exports of German origin in, neutral ownership liable, not only to seizure and detention, but to confiscation. Under yesterday’s Order-in-Council, however, neutral owners of goods seized and detained as exports from Gennany will not suffer total loss. Application of the measure upon which the Allies have decided bears a number of signs of the careful consideration which have been given to avoiding, as far as possible, the infliction of hardship on neutral interests. Moreover, it is stated that consideration will be given over and above the concessions announced in the terms of the Order-in-Council to any cases where it can be shown that special hardship is liable to result to neutral interests from the operation of the Order. According to a Berlin message, a Government communique states: “The British reprisal order, a new breach of the international law, hits neutral States as much as Germany. The Reich reserves the right to take counter measures.” The French decision to act in concert with Britain is not mentioned.