Peking, July 97.
The Japanese Legation has today made the following announcement:—In view various groundless rumours respecting the relations existing between the Japanese Legation and the Waichiaopu since Mr. Yoshizawa's arrival at his post, tha Japanese Legation publishes the following statement. On July 20, Mr. Yoshizawa, tha new Japanese Minister to Peking, forwarded an official Note, dated July 16, to the Waichiaopu, advising the latter of his arrival at the post, and on the same day, tha Japanese Minister paid to Mr. Shen, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, an official visit. The Waichiaopu, however, has not only failed to acknowledge the receipt of the official Note in question but also Mr. Shen, Yice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, has failed to return the Japanese Minister's call. Furthermore, on July 24, the newly-appointed Chinese Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs notified the Japanese Legation. and not the Japan-Ministdr, of his assumption of office, and in consequence, the Japanese Legation, on the following day, sent back the notification to the Waichiaopu at the same time requesting the latter to change the direction of the notification, on the ground that a notice of this sort should be addressed direct to the Minister and not to the Legation. In addition to this, Dr. Wellington Koo, upon his assumption of Office, made a round of calls upon all foreign Ministers excepting the Japanese Minister.
In view of the foregoing circumstances, when the Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs intervidwed members of the Diplomatic Corps on July 25, the Japanese Legation had be-"forehand asked the Waichaopu whether Dr. Koo, the Foreign Minister, was prepared to interview Mr. Yoshizawa, the Japanese Minister, together with the other foreign Ministers. In reply, the Waichiaopu, presumably acting on the instructions from the Foreign Ministar, notified the Japanese Legation, suggesting that the Japanese Minister should call on Dr. Koo on the afternoon of July 25, as the Waichiaopu was sorry, it said, to keep the Japanese Minister waiting until he had finished his interview with the other foreign Ministers.
In_ these circumstances, Mr. Yoshizawa has postponed his call on the new Chinese Minister for Foreign Affairs—Eastern News Agency.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.