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Anglo-American Relations From
the Japanese Point of View
Following is the first of a new
series of articles from Mr. Gareth Jones, who has been captured
by Chinese bandits. (March 1935)
By
GARETH JONES
When I was in Japan I could hear the
rumblings of the battle in Britain between those who, condemning Japan
violently, advocate an understanding with the United States and those
who believe in close relations with Japan.
Such are in Britain the two main
schools about Japan. In the first there is Mr. Lloyd George, who has
protested vigorously against Japan
“devouring
large chunks of China”; there is Gen. Smuts, whose speech on November 12
last year in London had resounding effects throughout the world, and
almost forced the British Government into closer contact with America;
there are Lord Lytton, Lord Lothian, and Lord Cecil with the support of
the League of Nations Union. This is a formidable array at statesmen
and thinkers lined up in favour of an Anglo-American understanding.
Japanese Virtues
The second school is more military and
conservative. It believes in the principles of the Anglo-Japanese
Alliance, which terminated at the Washington Conference in 1922. It is
full of admiration for the courage and the other military virtues of the
Japanese. It views with sympathy Japan’s efforts to restore order in
Manchukuo and it regards any Japanese victory as a blow against
Communism.
What do the British people on the spot
think of these antagonistic points of view? In Tokyo and in Kobe I went
to see some of our leading fellow-countrymen and discussed with them
the speeches of Mr. Lloyd George and of General Smuts and the views of
the League of Nations Union. I am not allowed to reveal the names of
those with whom I talked, but the three conversations given below are
representative of the most informed British opinion in Japan.
“Dangerous Talk”
Mr. X (what an air of mystery such a
description gives!) declared: “The speeches of General Smuts, Mr. Lloyd
George and the articles of Lord Lothian do a tremendous amount of harm
to Great Britain and to the world. It is dangerous for us to talk of an
Anglo-American alliance, because that antagonises
Japan - it makes her more
nationalistic, it increases her fear, it leads to her making a spurt in
building up armaments, in strengthening her navy, and in trying to
double her air force.
“Mr. Lloyd George, Gen. Smuts, and
Lord Lothian have never been, I believe, to the Far East. They do not
know the Far East mentality. They little realise what effect their words
have on a sensitive nation like Japan by increasing its phobias and
it’s feeling of isolation. You cannot intimidate the Japanese into peace
by threatening an Anglo-American alliance. You must work with the
Japanese, cajole them, and discuss everything with them,”
Losses
To Our Trade
“Speeches like those of Gen. Smuts and
Mr. Lloyd George have meant great losses to British trade. I know of
big orders, which have not been made because of the belief among the
Japanese that Britain is antagonistic to them. Neither do I agree with
those who shout for a close alliance with Japan at the expense of
America. We must steer between the two policies and others and thus,
without antagonizing America, maintain good relations with Japan.
There has been a real improvement in
relations between Japan and Britain in spite of General Smuts and Mr.
Lloyd George. This is due to the visit last year of the Economic
Mission, which was important because for long the Japanese have
considered themselves insulted by the British. They think that they
were badly treated when the British denounced the Anglo-Japanese
Alliance in 1922, when the British sent battleships to Shanghai in 1927
without consulting the Japanese, when she sent in 1930 a mission of
second-rate business men who knew nothing about Japan and made a bad
impression, and when she opposed the Japanese entry into Manchukuo. The
Economic Mission has reverse these grievances however, and done a great
deal of good.
We must realise also that the Japanese
are going show that they desire peace that they want to
co-operate sincerely with China and with Soviet Russia. There has been
an amazing change from hatred to friendship with the Soviet Union. An
era of co-operation is beginning in the Pacific, and it must not be
marred by
anti-Japanese
talk in. England.”
The Other Point of View
That is what Mr. X said. My friend
Mr. Y had a completely opposite point of view. He applauded Mr
Lloyd George’s utterances, he said: “The L.G. Is quite right. The
Japanese are aiming at the domination of North China. They are going to
make the Emperor Kang Te (Pu Yi) rule over a great Manchurian
empire, which will control in, Japan’s interest, the vast area north of
the Yangtze.
“Watch Shantung. In that province the
Japanese will, by bribery and other methods create a bogus independence
movement. They will pay some Chinese politicians or generals to raise
the banners with the cry: “We want to be ruled by the Emperor Kang Te.
We want to belong to the Manchu Empire!”
The
Japanese will control Peking and they will extend their domination all
over China.
I do not mean to say that they will
send troops all over China. That is a physical impossibility but they
will seize some of the ports and they will be able to threaten South
China from Formosa. They will obtain possession of coastal places like
Amoy.
Only co-operation between Britain and
America can stop moves like that. I applaud Mr. Lloyd George for trying
to put a stop to Japan’s ravenous appetite!”
Majority Opinion
Let me repeat a third conversation -
representative of the opinion of most British people in Japan: “Talk of
a British alliance with, America is nonsense. The Americans will never
dream of an alliance. Don’t
they
always repeat the
parrot-cry of ‘No entangling alliances,’ which Washington is supposed to
have said?”
“We can
never rely upon Americans.
They are shot through
and through with a passion for isolation. They are at last realising
that they really have no great interests in the Far East and that their
investments are only one-sixth of the British investments in China.
America is withdrawing from Asia and entering into her own
shell. They refuse to join the World Court: they never wished to join
the League of Nations and the rest of the globe is an anathema to them.
We could never have faith in the United States especially since they are
abandoning the Philippines. They would never be willing to help us to
defend Hong Kong or Shanghai. Hence our only alternative is a
close understanding with Japan.
Which is the rights point of view? I
shall not make up my mind until been through the Far East
visited China and Manchukuo and
returned
for second visit to Japan.
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