Various alarming reports have reached Japan purporting to give an impression that the situation in East Asia has become radically tense. We are surprised to learn that some foreign countries felt undue concern regarding the alleged tension in the situation in East Asia, and want to emphasize that so far as we can see there is no ground for entertaining alarming views on the East Asiatic situation.
We want to repeat that the purpose of the Tripartite Pact is peaceful. We can not help feeling, therefore, a certain amount of anxiety, if not misgivings, as to the war-like preparations of the British and American Governments to meet the supposed contingencies in the Pacific and the South Seas. The press reports, concerning these movements on the part of Britain and the United States originating from British and American sources and elsewhere, are causing increasing misgivings, resulting in the contention advanced in some quarters in Japan that Japan should lose no time to take necessary steps to meet the worst eventuality in those regions. If the American Government could only be persuaded to restrict their activities in this respect to the Western Hemisphere and avoid causing anxiety unnecessarily in the mind of the Japanese people, the situation would indeed be greatly mitigated.
We are utterly unable to see any good purpose to be served by prolonging war, whatever the motive may be. The present situation demands statemanship of a high order. Such a statemanship, we trust, will not be wanting in the British Empire or elsewhere.
In concluding, we want to make it clear that Japan is fully prepared to act as a mediator or to take whatever action calculated to recover normal conditions, not only in Greater East Asia but anywhere in the world. Leading Powers have great responsibility of restoring world peace and civilization; and such responsibility can only be fulfilled by a wise and generous statesmanship willing to listen to other's claims and contentions.