THE STATEMENT OF THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT
Dated August 15th, 1937
The Imperial Japanese Government, in its desire to secure permanent peace in East Asia, has always striven to promote friendship and cooperation between Japan and China. However, an atmosphere of hostility towards Japan has been created throughout China by anti-Japanese agitations used as an instrument by the Nanking Government to arouse public opinion and to enhance its own political power. The Chinese, overconfident of their national strength, contemptuous of our power, and also in league with the Communists, have assumed toward Japan an increasingly arrogant and insulting attitude. Herein lies the cause of all untoward events which have arisen repeatedly during recent years.
The present Incident is but the inevitable outcome of this situation. Dynamite had been ignited; the inevitable explosion merely happened to occur on the banks of the Yunting. The terrible Tungchow massacre is also traceable to the same cause. In South and Central China, Japanese lives and property have been so jeopardized that our people have been compelled to evacuate, abandoning everything they had acquired after years of incessant toil.
As has been frequently declared since the outbreak of the present Incident, the Japanese Government, exercising utmost patience and restraint, has steadfastly pursued a policy of non-aggravation of the situation, and has endeavoured to reach a settlement locally and in a peaceful manner. In the Peiping and Tientsin area, our Garrison, in the face of countless Chinese provocations and lawless actions, has done no more than was absolutely necessary to secure lines of communications and to protect Japanese nationals there.
On the other hand, our Government advised the Nanking Government to put an immediate stop to all provocative acts, and to refrain from obstructing the negotiations being conducted on the spot. The Nanking Government not only refused to follow our counsel, but proceeded toward the completion of war-like preparations against us. In flagrant violation of solemn military agreements, the Chinese moved vast armies northward menacing our Garrison, and concentrated troops in and around Shanghai. Their provocative attitude became more clearly defined at Hankow. Finally at Shanghai, the Chinese opened fire upon our naval headquarters and bombed our warships from the air.
In this manner have the Chinese insulted our Government, committed acts of unpardonable atrocity against our country, and gravely endangered the lives and property of our nationals throughout China. They have finally exhausted the patience of the Japanese Government. It has thus become imperative to take drastic measures in order to chastise the lawless Chinese troops and to impress upon the Nanking Government the necessity for reconsideration of its attitude toward Japan.
[Page 42 was transcribed with GPT (Codex CLI), not Claude.]
That matters should have come to this pass is deeply deplored by the Japanese Government which earnestly desires the maintenance of peace in the Orient and sincerely hopes for the attainment of common prosperity and public welfare in Japan and China. The aim of the Japanese Government is none other than the realization of Sino-Japanese cooperation. Its only desire is to eradicate the anti-foreign and anti-Japanese movement rampant in China, and completely to eliminate the fundamental causes of unfortunate incidents such as the present one, with a view to bringing about truly harmonious collaboration among Japan, Manchoukuo and China.
Needless to say, the Japanese Government harbours no territorial designs. Its sole intention is to bring to reason the Nanking Government and the Kuomintang Party both of which have persistently incited anti-Japanese sentiments among the Chinese people. The Japanese bear no ill-will toward the innocent Chinese masses. In conclusion we hereby state that the Japanese Government will spare no efforts in safeguarding foreign rights and interests in China.