[Secret]

 
From: Tokyo
To: Washington
9 November 1941
(Purple)
#752

Re your #1040* and #1053**.

1. This office is in complete agreement with the contents of your messages referred to above. The government is doing everything in its power to giving enlightenment to correctly guide public opinion. The censor bureau has evolved a plan whereby there will be no comments on the U. S.-Japanese negotiations. It goes without saying, of course, that the contents of the negotiations will not be published, but furthermore, all utterances which may tend to excite the United States will be censored. (It has been unofficially decided to even suppress information as to the dates on which the representatives of the two nations confer). We shall prevent the publication of anything that may interfere with the progress. We have issued a particularly vigorous warning to the Times of dire consequences if there are any infractions.

2. We see reports from correspondents in the U. S. area, (for example from the Domei office in your city), which are not in accord with our established policy of maintenance of calm and patience regarding the Japanese-U. S. talks. The situation here is a critical one, so please give correct guidance to all of the correspondents there.

 
24580
JD-1: 6375                               (D) Navy Trans. 11-10-41 (S-TT)
 
*JD-1: 6320 (S. I. S. #26479).
**Not available. 

 

(EXHIBITS OF JOINT COMMITTEE , EXHIBIT NO. 1 INTERCEPTED DIPLOMATIC MESSAGES SENT BY THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT BETWEEN JULY l AND DECEMBER 8, 1941)