THE INTERNATIONAL SITUATION AND JAPAN'S POSITION
—Radio Address of the Foreign Minister, Mr. Hachiro Arita, delivered on June 29, 1940—
JAPAN'S ideal since the foundation of the Empire has been that all nations should be enabled to find their proper places in the world. Our foreign policy has also been based upon this ideal, for which we have not hesitated at times even to fight by staking our national existence.
What all mankind longs for is the firm establishment of world peace. But it goes without saying that peace can never endure unless it is a peace in which all nations enjoy their proper places. Unfortunately, however, the establishment of world peace in this sense is difficult of speedy realization at the present stage of human progress. In order to realize such a high ideal, therefore, it seems to be a most natural step that peoples who are closely related with one another geographically, racially, culturally and economically should first form a sphere of their own for co-existence and co-prosperity and establish peace and order within that sphere, and at the same time secure a relationship of common existence and prosperity with other spheres. The causes of strife mankind has hitherto experienced lie generally in the failure to give due consideration to the necessity of some such natural and constructive world order and to remedy the irrationalities and injustices of old. The war in Europe brings home the truth of this with special emphasis. Accordingly, in order to establish international peace on a permanent foundation every effort must be exerted for the rectification of the errors that have been committed in this regard.
It is in this spirit that Japan is now engaged in the task of establishing a new order in East Asia. It is extremely regrettable, therefore, that there should be those who not only fail to understand Japan's great undertaking based upon this fundamental principle, but on the contrary, obstruct the establishment of peace in East Asia by supporting the regime of Chiang Kai-shek. We have urged them to reconsider such an attitude in the past, and now we intend further to urge their serious reflection. We are determined to leave
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no stone unturned in order to eradicate all activities for assisting Chiang Kai-shek.
Sometimes there are those who would disapprove a change of the status quo by force of arms regardless of the reasons therefor. It is for the purpose of bringing about a just and permanent peace that Japan has been fighting in China for the past three years. Her employment of armed force is an act looking beyond the immediate present. The sword she has drawn is none other than a “life-giving sword” that destroys evil and makes justice manifest.
The countries of East Asia and the regions of the South Seas are geographically, historically, racially and economically very closely related to each other. They are destined to cooperate and minister to one another's needs for their common well-being and prosperity, and to promote peace and progress in their regions. The uniting of all these regions under a single sphere on the basis of common existence and insuring thereby the stability of that sphere is, I think, a natural conclusion.
The idea to establish first a righteous peace in each of the various regions and then establish collectively a just peace for the whole world has long existed also in Europe and America. This system presupposes the existence of a stabilizing force in each region, with which as a centre the peoples within that region are to secure their co-existence and co-prosperity as well as the stability of their sphere. It also presupposes that these groups will respect one another's individual characteristics, political, cultural and economic, and they will cooperate and fulfill one another's needs for their common good.
When the present European war broke out, the Japanese Government at once declared their policy of non-involvement and made it clear that this country did not intend to intervene in Europe and at the same time did not want to see the war spread into East Asia. Quite naturally Japan expects that the Western Powers will do nothing that will exert any undesirable influence upon the stability of East Asia.
Japan, while she is carrying on vigorously her task of constructing a new order in East Asia, is paying serious attention to developments in the European war and to its repercussions in various quarters of East Asia, including the South Seas region. I desire to declare that the destiny of these regions—any development therein and any disposal thereof—is a matter of grave concern to Japan in view of her mission and responsibility as the stabilizing force in East Asia.
[Page 79 was transcribed with GPT (Codex CLI), not Claude.]