[Secret]
From: Tokyo.
To: Washington.
3 September 1941
(Purple-CA)
#524
Since
the existence of the Premier's message was inadvertently made known to the
public, that gang that has been suspecting that unofficial talks were taking
place, has really begun to yell and wave the Tripartite Pact banner.
In
the midst of this confusion at home Fleisher's story in the Herald-Tribune
relating the rumor of a proposed conference between the Premier and the
President broke, which was unfortunate, to say the least, as you can well
imagine.
The
government is not afraid of the above mentioned confusion; nor does it feel
that that condition will destroy the fruits of the said conference. It is only
that the government wished to keep the matter a secret until the arrangements
had been completed. I am sure that you are aware that such a policy is not
limited to just this case.
Because
of the circumstances being what they are, we would like to make all
arrangements for the meeting around the middle of September, with all possible
speed, and issue a very simple statement to that effect as soon as possible.
(If the middle of September is not convenient, any early date would meet with
our approval).
Will
you please convey this wish of the government to Hull and wire us the results.
If an immediate reply is not forthcoming, we plan to issue a public statement
describing our position in this matter. We feel that this should be done from
the viewpoint of our domestic situation. Please advise the United States of
this plan.
21792
JD-1: 4923 (D) Navy Trans. 9-5-41 (S-TT)