With regard to the bombing operations that have been carried on against Chungking, the Foreign Minister, Mr. Hachiro Arita, advised on the 14th of this month the United States and other Powers through their ambassadors at Tokyo to withdraw their nationals from Chungking to a zone of safety. To this the United States Ambassador, Mr. Joseph C. Grew, under instructions from his Government, communicated to the Foreign Minister on the following day, stating that although the attitude and views of the United States concerning the Chungking bombing have already been made clear on several occasions, it is specially hoped by the United States that Japanese forces will avoid such military actions as will jeopardize the lives and property of Americans there.
Foreign Minister Arita, therefore, repeated his request to Ambassador Grew today that the United States will extend cooperation to our advice for the withdrawal of its nationals, in view of the fact that, since Chungking
is the most important base against Japan, its bombing cannot but be continued, but that the Japanese forces are never making indiscriminate bombing and that they fully respect the rights and interests of the United States and other Powers.