The New Commercial Treaty with Germany: "Gentleman's Agreement" on Dyestuffs:
Reconstruction of Tokyo Frost Ove Own Tokyo, BMarch 31.
After several years of protracted negotiations, the first treaty of commerce and navigation between Japan and Germany since the war expected to come into effect Defore the end of April this year. The Foreign Offices of the two contracting powers have approved of the pact, while the Reichstag and the Diet have also approved of it. All that remains now is for the Emperor of Japan to sign the treaty, President Hindenburg having, already appended his signature to this important document. 'The signed treaty by Germany has already been received here and, according to the terms agreed to,' the treaty will become valid 15 days atter the signature of the Japanese Emperor has been affixed, regardless of the date of exchange of the documents.
'One of the greatest' stumbling Blocks in the way of negotiating a new treaty of commerce and navigation between Japan and Germany was the question of dye-stuffs Japan tried hard to secure certain clauses which would have put her in full and complete possession of certain dye secrets which, however, German industrialists and dye manufacturers refused to concede.
A so-called "gentleman's agreement," which Is not a part of the treaty proper, was afterwards agreed to, this being a separate understanding reached between the Government here and the German dye-stuff producers.
The agreement in the dye-stutts field came as a necessary prev requisite to the signing of the treaty of commerce and navigation. Failing to cajole German dye-stut manufacturers into yielding all their dye secrets, especially thave connected with the manufacture of explosives, the Japanese Government, in' June, 1924, evolved a Hieonce system which was practically a discriminatory measure against German dye-stuffs. As long as this arrangement was in force, Germany refused to conclude with Japan a treaty which would grant the latter most-favoured-nation clauses. The "gentleman's agreement,"—afterward reached, made possible a most favoured-nation basis between the two countries, The text of this agreement is being kept a secret and has been divulged in either Germany or in this country. The text of the regular treaty is not dissimilar to those signed by other. Powers to provide for reefprocal Privileges In commerce and naviga-
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